NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22: chapter 22
Kaibi and Rikuri stood over Touma's bed with arms crossed.
"I don't know how should I put it..." the middle sister began" Rikuri onee-chan, I know it's stupid to envy elementary schooler, but..."
"No, I unfortunately get what you mean..." Rikuri's long, wavy curls swished on her back as she sceptically looked at what was in front of them.
Kamijou Touma was sleeping without a care in the world, with Amazora in his arms.
After Kyozetsu incident and the preceding one night disappearance of Kaibi the sisters found themselves with an ever so slightly changed dynamic.
By this point, it was still unknown how Amazora got to this stage (maybe it wasn't really a pinpointed event like it was for her older sisters) but all three of the blond assassins were in love with Kamijou Touma. Although they did not address the issue, it remained as the unspoken truth and each of the trio had their own theories on the matter.
What ensued was a certain game with the aim to monopolize time with Touma.
The presence of single target of their affection did not made the sisters actually worsen their relations. The small runaway trio had bonds forged in blood, sisterhood, and shared fate, that could not be tarnished by something like that.
That being said, they had no problem in introducing the element of small rivalry. Just normal sibling pranks, like spiking drinks with chemicals inducing diarrhoea, using mental ability to get other sisters away, or snapping the bra hooks from the distance using rubber bullets, causing the embarrassed prey to change in private.
Rikuri was in Touma's strike zone, so she could get the boy's attention with one word from her. But two elements were in her way. First, with incredibly attractive young woman being genuinely in love with him, there was no way Kamijou would come to the conclusion that his luck would allow that. That was why most of Rikuri's hints went over their head. And when they almost did get through, there came the second problem. The misfortunate dealings of Touma's life and Rikuri's own schedule meant that most of the time they had to stay on flirting and teasing.
One could almost hear Kumokawa Seria sigh in the distance. Rikuri had no way of knowing, but Touma's senpai had the exact same problems.
Kaibi on the other hand still found herself struggling with some forms of denial. Admitting she was in love was one thing, but apparently going on dates, holding hands and doing some night activities from her fantasies were another. Tsunderes were dying hard and Kaibi still was unsure how to cope with first genuine love. She was so surrounded with artificial feelings created by her ability that she genuinely did not know how to act once confronted with true ones. She had very vocal and vivid ideas of what she and Touma could do, but somehow, turning those ideas into action proved difficult.
Why was that, Kaibi could not possibly fathom. She was once a rental girlfriend, for crying out loud! It should not be that hard. She accompanied many people, holding hands and saying sweet things, but here, she got paralyzed with butterflies in her stomach.
As for Amazora, she did not seem to overanalyze things, as was a general rule with her. She simply knew that she treasured her onii-chan. And if being a good little sister was a way to keep her onii-chan, than Amazora did a lot to ensure she will remain in privileged, spoiled position. On one hand, her age created obstacles because any way to show off the so called "Amazora's womanly charm" was met with either horror or panic by the boy. On the other...
The girl snuggled deeper under Touma's arm, and slightly opened her eyes, looking at her sisters.
Amazora's age allowed her to get away with many things and get closer to Touma without raising suspicion for her motives. Amazora always wanted a brother and Touma really wanted to ensure that the reckless girl was safe. So in no time they formed a really tight bond, with going to school together, getting back from there, helping her dress up, and in general doing lots of things side by side, in synch.
It all started when Amazora was experiencing terrible nightmares back when she was sick. Everyone's best big brother Kamijou Touma could not watch the girl suffer like this and the two slept together whenever Amazora had troubles with her own slumber. Soon enough, it turned into a routine, because in Kamijou's eyes it was for a good cause.
Except... Amazora was not exactly the little angel she seemed. Being quite skilled and daring in manipulating men despite very young age (Kaibi and Rikuri had absolutely no idea where she picked up on that...). It was true, sometimes Amazora really did had nightmares.
But other times, she simply wanted to sleep with Touma. Kaibi and Rikuri were keen on noticing when Amazora was faking, but Kamijou still didn't live with them long enough to pick on such subtleties.
Right now, Amazora's eyes narrowed as her lips formed a wide grin as she looked at them.
"Heh"
"Oh, that's it. Sister or no sister, I will not stand for-"
"No, no, Kaibi-chan..." Rikuri grabbed furious Measure Heart, before she could jump and yank Amazora out" It is simply not the way. We have to accept it here and think of a strategy tomorrow."
"But nee-san-"
"No buts. We will walk out of this room and away from this very tempting and warm bed with dignity to actually devise something original. On count of 3. 1...2..."
(15 minutes later)
Rikuri and Kaibi laid in Kamijou Touma's wide bed, at two sides staring at the ceiling.
"So let me get this straight..." Kaibi began, twisting her neck to look at Rikuri, who already managed to latch onto Touma's arm "You wanted for me to leave, and then returned after 5 minutes? Hah, you think too little of me, sister."
"You grow up so fast, Kaibi-chan. Now, this might sound, a little embarrassing, but each time I sleep in this bed, I feel..."
"Safe. Like no one is going to hurt you" Kaibi said "I didn't feel like that ever since..."
"We left home. Just like when dad was still with us and before mom... went too far" Rikuri concluded.
They returned to staring at the ceiling, in a silence disturbed only by Amazora's occasional mumbling, like "secret thigh flash" or "my gattling gun shoots oysters now" and many other absurd things.
"Is that possible? For one many to change our lives so much?"
"I don't think that's what he does" Rikuri mumbled sleepily, shifting and looking at Touma's sleeping face with a small smile "I think he brings out the change from what we always had in our hearts. But maybe that's just me being romantic."
"Then... if we met him earlier..."
"Don't think too much about it. Who knows, maybe if we weren't dark siders for that part of our lives, our paths wouldn't intertwine as well? Don't worry about it, and get some sleep..."
(HOURS LATER)
"It's... heavy..." Kamijou Touma muttered, awakening.
With Amazora's hand over his face, Kaibi soft breathing by his side as her cheek was pressed against his own, and Rikuri smiling silly with the face plastered to his chest and body alongside his own, Touma was left in stupefied daze.
Was this it? The day in which Kamijou Touma would realize the signs of affection and feelings directed towards him?
"Do... do all of them have bad dreams? If so, this is a little bit of an overkill. Oh no! Maybe they all wanted to sleep with Amazora and I got in the way?"
No, today was not that day. It would take a lot more to fight the density greater than that of a black hole.
As Touma managed to look on the electronic clock, he almost screamed out loud.
'10-10 AM?! It's that late? I will miss the sale, god damn it!'
(LATER ON)
After getting out of the bed situation after a particularly hard struggle (Kaibi kicked him angrily in her sleep as he tried to sneak away), Touma left the prestigious apartment in the search of food.
He was to eat lunch with Komoe-sensei before his weekend supplementary lesson. Then, he would utilize the opportunity of being so close to his original dorm and check how things were going with the renovation. But first of all, he needed to resupply in once a month opportunity. The special, level 0 dedicated sale.
That's right. No longer would he latch on those sister's wallet. Rejuvenated by money from his parents, Kamijou felt like he could handle the decent shopping.
However, he paled once he noticed the supermarket and people already gathering in front of it. That battle would be hard, even for such a sale-searching veteran as himself.
Looking around, he noticed a familiar girl walking from around the corner. He ran forward towards her.
"Hey, 'Jime!"
The girl wearing a military jacket over bare shoulders flinched and in the next moment Touma had to dodge the trashcan that materialized above him out of nowhere.
"There goes usual hello..."
"I wouldn't do that if I not for that stupid nickname! Stop calling me 'Jime'!" the girl pointed finger at Touma before, sighing and rubbing her red hair" Your reflexes are as good as ever though."
"Good to see you as well"
"W-Who said anything about this being good..." Musujime Awaki, because this was the girl Touma encountered, fumed a little bit more but finally relaxed" You are alive. I guess that's cool"
"Thanks for your confidence. More importantly, what brings you here? The nearest elementary school is kilometres away"
"You are absolutely hilarious, start a comedy club" Awaki rolled her eyes, but smiled a little, before rising up empty bags in her hands" Komoe wanted to have few things before lunch. And you?"
"Well, I thought that I could contribute to the lunch in some way, so I guess... we got the same idea"
Awaki's smirk widened
"Great minds think alike, huh?"
Kamijou Touma and Musujime Awaki met when Touma encountered her after she was absolutely obliterated during one-sided fight against Accelerator, and he took care to call an ambulance for her. Afterwards, as Musujime moved in Tsukuyomi residence, she saw Touma in brief several times, before, following Komoe's advice, inviting him for something to eat. There was the first time they actually talked and actually interacted with each other. During that time, Touma found out about Awaki's abilities and they both learned, through accidental mention, that they shared relationships with people that formed the ex-dark side fraction, GROUP. Ever since then, the pair sort of bumped into each other on occasion, usually doing each other's favours in the spur of the moment.
For Kamijou Touma, Awaki was someone very odd but not distant enough to not like. In fact, he had no reason to dislike the girl, even if he felt somewhat worried about her tastes in anyone younger than middle school age, and in time the two developed a friendly relationship. They were not close by any means, and probably stuck somewhere between acquaintances and good friends. Yet, with the teasing dynamic they had going on, they were slowly getting to know each other better.
They had many differences, like power level, lifestyles, schools, or strike zones (younger than oneself for Musujime, older than oneself for Kamijou). But for all of that, they had at least one thing in common.
Both of them were, in different periods of time, cared for by Tsukuyomi Komoe. After the incident with Accelerator, Komoe apparently became Awaki's mother-like figure, and the redhead warmed up to her a lot. And although technically Touma never lived with Komoe, she helped him a lot in his time in the city. Both he and Move Point could agree that the pink sensei's smile was something that needed to be protected at all costs.
Touma looked at the market and his eyes widened
"Jime, with you being here, I have a plan!"
"Give me one reason for me not to teleport you hundred meters into the air for using that dumb nickname!"
She pointed her finger at Touma. After a few moments, she screamed in frustration.
"Oh right. For whatever shitty reason, my power does not work on you."
Touma almost chuckled, remembering the first time Awaki tried to teleport him when he angered her. She simply could not believe that he was immune to teleportation and tried to remotely move him for such a long time that her face became as red as her hair.
"I just don't get it. Well, no helping it. I guess your mind is so dense that it makes you above my weight limit. Mass equals density times volume after all"
Touma tried to cover the damage caused by the comment of smug teleporter.
"Anyway, there is a sale here. A sale that can benefit us both if we play it right."
"Huh..."
"With my skills in sale-hunting and your ability, we can get a good laugh and fool those overconfident bastards who think they outsmarted us just because they are first in line."
"I am listening..."
"First, with my resources..." Touma reached to his pocket.
Then he searched in it... before his fingers stuck on the other side of his hoodie, revealing a torn hole in the pocket.
And of course, no wallet in sight.
"F-Fukou da! That was 1/4 of my allowance... J-Jime-sama!"
"Even if you add honorific, you still want to annoy me! Why do you even call me with that nickname anyway?!"
"Well, I thought that we are not nearly close enough for me to call you Awaki"
"O-Obviously!"
"So I stuck with your surname instead!"
"Which is Musujime! Mu-su-ji-me. Not Musu, not Jime, Musujime!"
"Musujime-san is way too long for casual conversation. Besides, it sounds cute"
"It's only one syllable longer than your own surname, you hypocrite. What would you say if someone called you Tom or Jou?"
"Tom? Joe? Is this some British cabaret show?"
The girl could only facepalm at Kamijou's equivalent of a linguistic dad joke. For some ojou-samas learning three languages was still insufficient, but Touma felt like he achieved godhood while ordering sandwich at the foreign bar.
"Please, I will do anything you ask!"
The girl inhaled.
"Except taking my DNA to clone me and create my shota-clone for yourself"
"Boo, you greedy jerk. Okay, genius, what's the plan?"
"You see, there is a limited number of on-sale products in the shop and the person who first manages to get them and arrives at the cash register gets ultimate price reduction over 70% and coupon for next sales. I am determined to get those privileges. Thanks to them, I would be able to have a real feast for you and Komoe, and also something to get my flatmates."
"So what do you want me to do?"
Touma gave her the sheet of paper.
"This is the layout of this supermarket. And this is the camera I got from one of my flatmates. So, once I get inside, could you... whisper, whisper, whisper..."
After listening to the boy, Awaki grinned.
"If you pinpoint the exact locations, I am sure I can do it"
(10 MINUTES LATER)
The doors to the supermarket opened as the hordes of level 0 teenagers flooded the inside. All in the rush to get the limited sale, tumbling forward in chaos.
All, except a single boy with a dark spiky hair who walked in with an empty shopping cart... and headed straight to the counter.
"What is this idiot doing? If he doesn't buy anything, why did he went here in the first place?!"
Touma did not mind the laughter coming from all around him from passing sale hunters and arrived at his destination, addressing the supermarket's cashier.
"I would like to collect my reward"
The lady gave him an irritated look.
"Look boy, I am not paid enough to deal with all of this chaos and those stupid jokes. You have nothing to buy, so you clearly-"
"Nothing. Don't you see this mountain of food? To be honest, I have experience, but I really outdid myself in this shopping hunt and it's really heavy, so let's get to business"
Touma said, motioning to the cart filled with the literal mountain of various food items.
The cashier blinked and rubbed her eyes.
"What? I could have sworn there wasn't-"
"What?!" multiple screams echoed through the market" why are so many items missing already?! I was here first. What the hell is going on here?!"
"Miss, as you said, you are overworked and not paid enough." Touma shrugged with a smug face" It's no wonder your eyes are playing tricks on you. Now, about that reward..."
5 minutes later, a frustrated crowd left the supermarket, cursing and shaking their heads with confused faces.
They were observed by the pair of boy and girl, standing near few large shopping bags.
Touma's lips twitched, as Awaki put a hand on top of her own mouth.
And in the next moment, they both burst laughing, so loudly and contagiously that they had to support each other to not fall down and roll on the pavement.
"Their faces when they realized you won... s-stop, I will piss myself if I laugh any harder" wheezed the teleporter.
"How could this happen? What did you do?" Touma mimicked the other people from the shop, in the rare display of open superiority. "Man, that was priceless. It's all thanks to the fact that you could teleport all the things to my cart without even entering the shop itself!"
"Yeah, but it would never work if you didn't tell me the exact locations of them and didn't have that micro-camera. So that's team effort!"
They started walking, with each holding a bag in both hands, savouring their victory.
Awaki finally stopped laughing and after a moment of silence, she looked at Touma from the side.
"I know I asked about this before but... you knew that I was a dark sider when we first met, right?"
"Yeah"
"And did you also know that I fought with Shirai Kuroko, the girl you rescued from me?"
"I suspected so"
"And even after that, you still decided to help me? Why?"
"I don't need a reason to help or save someone. Besides, you were badly hurt. I couldn't just leave you there."
Awaki sighed and shook her head.
"That's the thing, you could. Any dark sider would do that. That's why you are weird. But... that's also probably why I like this attitude of yours. I can't complain in the slightest. Thanks to you, I didn't bleed out on the street, you also convinced Komoe to take me in. Thanks to her contact with Yomikawa Aiho, I was able to secure my friends, the group I was fighting for before the whole Remnant fiasco. So, I owe you a lot. The least I could do was met you and try to be friends"
Touma smiled, facing forward.
"Don't mention it. You also helped a few times. Remember that time with vending machine?"
"That was embarrassing! All I did was teleport the cash the machine eaten from you back to your wallet and you started to hug me, breaking into tears. Are you really 16 years old?"
"When you are as unlucky as me, every single bit of luck counts. There was also that time when you saved my life from the truck."
(FLASHBACK)
As he finished doing shopping for himself, Index, and Othinus, when he noticed a speeding truck heading towards a boy on the zebra crossing.
"Look out!" he screamed, speeding up and pushing the kid out of the way.
He could not make it in time. There was no time to him to escape the speeding vehicle.
Suddenly, someone pushed him away, just like he did to a child before. He only managed to get the glimpse of red hair, which disappeared after a blink of an eye, as he fell to the pedestrian zone and the truck zoomed away.
(END FLASHBACK)
"In that moment, I knew you had a good heart" Touma looked at the teleporter, who crossed put the bags down, crossing her arms. "You didn't teleport the truck itself because there were people and other cars around, and it was riding totally out of control, so you worried that it may crash into someone if you suddenly change its place and scare the driver. And of course you couldn't teleport me either, so... you got there yourself, and then teleported away."
"D-Don't read too much into it" the redhead looked away, somewhat awkwardly" I was really pissed at you for forcing me to teleport myself. But what you did next made it more than even, I have to admit."
(FLASHBACK)
Kamijou Touma ran into the nearby alley following being saved from the truck, to find Musujime Awaki on the ground.
"I knew it was you! Wait... what's wrong?!"
The girl was unresponsive, shaking, her breaths were very fast and shallow, her pupils were dilating, and cold sweat covered her skin. Touma could only imagine how fast her heart was beating.
Touma suddenly realized what was happening. Komoe-sensei told him about it, Tsuchimikado also mentioned something along those lines.
Long ago, in the past, Musujime Awaki was on a way to level 5, yet misfortunate accident, in which she teleported herself with her lower leg phased through the wall and had to be forcibly pulled out with muscles and skin, made her experience trauma. This traumatic experience was always present when she was teleporting herself, so she usually avoided that and had to mentally prepare if she was to do that for limited number of times that she was capable of.
'Is she under a severe panic attack? Is it because she jumped in to save me? She didn't have time to prepare and she couldn't teleport me out of the way like she would with anyone else. I am responsible for this.'
Looking at the suffering girl, he had no hesitation. He crouched down and tightly grabbed her left hand with his right one.
"Awaki-san, I am here. I will stay with you so focus on my hand and voice. I am here, and you are safe"
The girl's fingernails dug into his skin, but Touma endured the pain and just kept his hold on Musujime's hand, whispering words of encouragement and support.
At first, nothing changed. But after half a minute, slowly but steadily, light came back to the girl's eyes. Her shallow breaths turned into panting, then completely calmed down. She blinked, and slowly turned her head towards Touma
"Thank you... "
"Welcome back. I should be the one thanking you"
"You knew... you are the same as me?"
"I've been there too. Feeling as if your life is ending, fear so terrible it makes your body freeze and shake. I dreamed of... dying, from the hand of someone I battled for a very, very long time. So I know what I would want when I wake from a dream like that. I thought... you might want it too."
(END FLASHBACK)
"How did you do it back then?" Awaki asked, shaking the not so pleasant memory away" When I have those episodes, I usually have my massaging machine to help get them under control... but back then, I felt like I was... splitting away. As if I was unstable, and tried to teleport in every direction. But when you touched me, this splitting feeling disappeared."
Touma did not tell Awaki about Imagine Breaker and was not yet on the level of figuring out how or if to tell that groundbreaking fact about himself, so he tried to divert the subject.
"I have a question too. Why were you there in the first place?"
"Gah?!"
The diversion worked. So there could be only one explanation.
"Don't tell me you were stalking elementary schoolers again. You know the way to all elementary schools in District 7?"
"Of course not, in all of the City!"
Staaaare...
"Right. You know, I didn't want to bug in or anything, but why do you even like those kids in the way you, well... do? Don't tell me it's only physical... oh my god, do you like Komoe-sensei also because she is... you know..."
Touma made a gesture indicating small height, and Awaki paled and shook her head.
"No! It's not for those reasons. Even if they do look cute, I am not liking this for physicality, hell no. Who do you think I am, some degenerate pervert?"
Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare...
"Good. So if not for that, what do you value in this?"
Awaki blinked and put a finger to her cheek. Touma challenged her, as she never evaluated her likes before.
"I guess... it would be for purity and innocence. They are so untainted and free and full of hope, it's just so precious. I wish I could gather all of that and bask at it myself. They are still unchanged by this shitty world, they are still trying their hardest, and are so cutely naive. Just like..."
Awaki paused suddenly.
Just like...
Wasn't Kamijou Touma called reckless and naive? Wasn't he called out for being idealistic and hopelessly bent on saving everyone.?
In this city filled with broken ideals and corruption, his naivety and heroistic idealism was the torch of innocence and purity. He never abandoned his ideals of salvation and shared them with others in equality, no matter how absurd it seemed.
In a way, if Awaki's tastes extended on purity, innocence, and idealistic naivety besides cuteness that smaller boys had...
Would Kamijou Touma also...
The boy shivered as something changed and shifted in Musujime Awaki's gaze...
"W-What is it?" he muttered as the girl closed in on him with a hand on her chin, suddenly deep in thought.
"I am not sure..." Awaki muttered, twinkle of mischief dancing in her irises" But I am ready to examine this new discovery..."
Touma gulped and started walking again, with the girl still scanning him, up to down, with a newfound revelation in her heart.
"T-That was quite a conversation. I thought you were into little boys because you were getting desperate being single in your age group"
"Oi! Just because I am single doesn't mean I wasn't popular in Kirigaoka. Although... I was usually treated like a taxi so..."
"You say that, but then, why don't you try to wear your hair more confidently. I think you would rock loose hair or ponytail!"
Musujime got stunned into stopping again and she looked at her reflection in a shopping display with a small blush on her face.
"Not that I care, but do you really think so?"
"Yup. I mean, everything looks better than a pair of long toothpick look-alikes sticking from your head"
"You just had to throw that in! Maybe if I throw a building at you... hah?!"
Kamijou quickly let the bags down and grabbed Musujime by her long tails of hair, pulling them together.
"Ow! What the-"
"Mwahahaha! This Kamijou already has skyscraper throwing girl in his life, and that's quite enough, so I read your attack patterns, Jime-san! You can't drop something on me if we stay close in one place, and you can't teleport me away too!"
"Y-You fool! I will just risk teleporting myself-"
"You're welcome to try, but your power won't get past my hand. Which means the tails are going bye-bye! Gehahaha!"
Dark overlord Kamijou Touma almost made Musujime Awaki cry, as her revenge attack was fully denied.
"N-Not the tails! Without them, I will look like one of those matchsticks with red tips, god damn it!"
(2 HOURS LATER)
Lunch was delicious. Touma ate it in the company of Musujime, Komoe-sensei, and Himegami. Even the details of make-up lessons didn't make his mood bad.
But the questions from both his friend and teacher about Index made him steel his resolve to come here. To his 'normal' dorm.
He was happy to converse with Index, he missed her very much already. But when it came to her getting back to Japan... that was something that Touma found himself delaying, without much of a reason.
Was it because of Gokusai sisters? Possibly. Touma, through sheer fate, managed to reunite with them, and did not want to separate with them just yet. There were still things they needed to do together, including the case of Mitsuari Ayu, which the sisters agreed to help with.
His worry was about how Index would react to the fact that he was living with 3 girls (4 counting Hasako sleepovers) in one dorm, while she was away. Index was hard to read in that regard. Sometimes she would be somewhat benevolent. Other times, she would just jump and almost chomp his head off. And to be completely honest, the latter happened most of the time.
Yeah, it was strange enough to introduce Othinus to Gokusai sisters. Knowing that they would never believe stories about either magic side (he did not wish to provide proof if he didn't need to) or his time in Infinite Hells and the real context of his relationship with Othinus (where he could not provide the proof), Touma decided to make a cover story, at least for the time being.
(FLASHBACK)
"So, Othinus here, emm... got miniaturized by an experimental shrink ray. We met in rather specific circumstances, but I care for her after she was affected by that ray. Heh, Academy City's technology is surely crazy"
All sisters were fascinated by small figure on Kamijou's palm, touching her and examining her closely.
"Oi, were are you looking at?!" the fairy screamed in protest" Show some respect. I tolerate you because my human has reasons to help you, but don't allow yourselves too much. I may look like this now, but I was ageless deity of war, and I was already ancient when your civilizations first came to be. I shifted reality more times than I can remember and I led armies to countless battles"
Touma chuckled awkwardly, rubbing Othinus' head.
"Before the accident, she was a writer and she is a bit..." he tapped his head with a finger a few times" on a chunni side, if you know what I mea...aaaaaaah?!"
Othinus bit him in the finger. Hard.
Rikuri accepted the explanation without much of a problem, instead bombarding Touma with technical and scientific questions about Othinus accident.
Kaibi didn't seem convinced, but said nothing, instead trying to figure out the existence that was Othinus on her own.
And as for Amazora...
"What a cute dolly!"
"Humaaaaaaan!"
Touma's cover story was not needed, because she already created one for herself.
"Human! She is taking me away! She has that strange smile on her face! No, don't take that off! Waaaaaah!"
Apparently, Amazora believed that Othinus was high-spec doll.
Touma tried to help her, yet Kaibi and Rikuri didn't provide any opening in both physical passage and their questions, allowing the youngest sister to flee with screaming Othinus.
(END FLASHBACK)
That night, Othinus returned dressed in a pink dress, with makeup and styled up hair.
Touma made the mistake of laughing. He never knew ear bites and hair pulling could be that painful.
Still, he needed to have both Index and the sisters by his side. Who knew, maybe he actually worried over nothing?
He decided to see how things were going on with his dorm. That would give him some push towards settling other things.
In the present, standing in front of his door, Touma felt kind of strange. Long time passed since he returned to the truly empty dorm. To humour himself, he knocked.
He knew there was no one to answer it, so he reached to the doorknob.
But he was in for a surprise as the doors opened before he could grab it.
"You are back already? That was fast, I thought that-"
Touma came face to face with a girl. A girl fresh out of the shower at that.
She was wrapped around in towel, with steaming coming from her skin. She had short brown hair, with a small singular strands standing out within generally brushed back hairstyle. The girl had decently sized forehead, with two slimly trimmed eyebrows, and chestnut coloured eyes, that widened as she saw Touma.
She screamed.
He screamed back.
She screamed even louder.
Touma shut the door back.
"I am sorry!"
As he said that, he suddenly froze, surrealism of this situation getting to him.
"Why the hell do I apologize... someone is..."
He looked at the nameplate. Everything was as he saw before.
"Someone is inside!"
He opened the door, rushed past the still stunned girl in the towel, and entered the living room.
Yes, that was undoubtedly his dorm. But there were also certain new elements.
Namely, there was yet another girl, polishing something that looked like a strange spear-like weapon. It had a strangely familiar shape to Touma.
Come to think of it, the girl, blond haired with dark blue eyes, also seemed familiar. Upon noticing him, she shot up, pointing finger at Touma.
"H-Huh?! YOU?!"
In a rather comical display, she tripped over the rug and fell on her butt with a squeal.
"What are you doing in my dorm?!"
Maybe because of the face she made during that fall, Touma suddenly recognized her.
Because the first time they met, they fell down together from a high speed train.
But... that meant...
"Surprise~" someone practically purred into his ear in japanese with a twinge of english accent, as arms held him from the back and spun him around. Not expecting something like this, he fell onto the bed.
Which suddenly shot out ropes that tied him up on the spot.
"Huh? What the hell is-"
"Hello again, Lover Boy..." the owner of the voice pounced from the edge of his vision to the position above his tied torso.
Long dark hair with yellow dyed streaks. The twinkling blue eyes. The still on the small side yet developing slender body frame and mechanical tail, moving along each lick of tongue brushing against cherry lips and between pearly white teeth.
Lessar of the New Light broke into wide grin, as she got her flushed face so close to Touma's that their noses were almost touching
"Les..."
"Did you miss me?"
"Lessar? Why are you here?"
The mechanical tail of the girl in lacrosse uniform wagged from one side to the other, as she traced her finger down his chest.
"That's a very metaphysical question. I guess everyone has to be somewhere. Then again..."
She pinned him down, and whispered into his ear, warm breath making his hair stand on ends. He looked in terror at two other girls, but, for some reason, the looked at them as if it was some kind of weird spectacle, without interfering. The blond forgot to get up from the ground, and the towel girl frozen on her way to the living room.
"... the important question is not why, but what. What are we going to do now..."
"Lessar, if this is going where I think it is going..."
"Oh, it is clearly much more than you think" Lessar smiled, pulling her blouse through her head. After a considerable amount of skin showed up, Touma's heart almost stopped.
"L-Lessar-san?! Let's be rational here. Things like this require..."
"I am very rational" the girl said, fully loosening her hair and allowing her to fall into black cascade reaching almost to her butt. "Me, the ultra-sexy Lessar, will bear the child that will be the future hope for United Kingdom. But before that, let's have the most passionate make out ever. And you are going to love my skills!"
Looking at her and being fully, objectively honest, Touma could not deny that Lessar's looks got better since they last saw each other sometime in the past. It wasn't actually all that far away, so maybe she had puberty episode? Her silhouette and face looked more proportionate, the hair had considerable luster, and chest appeared to grow by one cup size.
She was younger than Touma by two years, but he didn't doubt that she could become really attractive as an adult. But that didn't change the fact that things were happening much too fast.
He was tied to the bed, unable to negate the ropes (did Lessar actually set a mechanical trap for him?), and Lessar's hands grabbed his pants. The boy paled and tried to free himself, to no avail.
"Now, let's not keep you waiting any longer. Say hello to momma and let's free this dragon!"
"HEEEELP!" Touma was pretty sure that his voice turned into falsetto.
And then, the door opened and another female voice shouted angrily
"LESSAR!"
There was a flash of light, a booming noise and Lessar suddenly fell down from Touma, twitching, as the sparks of electricity danced on her skin.
"Bay... Bayl..."
"I knew there was something fishy around here" the other girl cut her off " You were a little bit too eager for me to leave. Of course I didn't really go, it's not like I know you from yesterday"
This girl seemed more mature than the others, as indicated by her older features and bigger chest. She had blue eyes, pale skin and silver-white hair, that seemed to shine like a precious metal, with some kind of artefact within the locks. Like others she wore a lacrosse uniform, accompanied with a spear, that Touma now recalled was named "Steel Glove"
The girl flashed him a smile and approached the bed. With one motion, the ties were cut and Touma could get up. The girl extended the hand to still shaken Touma.
"Off you go. Are you alright?"
"Thank you, silver angel onee-san"
She blinked, before laughing and sending a short, coy gaze Touma's way.
"Silver angel? No one ever called me that before. Well, sorry for the ruckus. I am just as confused, but I am sure that we can explain that here and now
(5 MINUTES LATER)
After a moment, all girls and Touma sat on the floor.
"Before we explain this mess, let's go with the introduction" the silver haired girl said in an authoritative tone "You already know Lessar quite well..."
"Yeah, let's start again. It's nice to see you are okay, even if that welcome was quite... physical. But then again, that's so like you"
"You bet!" Lessar gave him a thumb up. Apparently, the silver girl was mad at her and forced her to wear a a small piece of paper on hold in a necklace-like fashion, that said:
"I WAS TOO HORNY. I AM SO SORRY"
Apparently, Lessar was equally irritated that her moment with Touma was ruined because she rather boldly wrote "NOT" before "SORRY" with permanent marker. Silver girl gave her a truly terrifying look, but Lessar seemed stubborn enough to endure it.
"I also heard that you met Floris." the older girl motioned towards the blond, who huffed and crossed her arms while looking away.
Now Touma remembered that she was the girl he met and escaped from a train, jumping in the river to flee the Knights of England.
"I am not talking to you" the blond girl named Floris stubbornly glanced at Touma "Not after what you put me through last time"
"I apologized for that" Touma muttered, and the brown haired girl next to Floris smiled to him.
"Don't mind Floris. She is the stern one of the group, but she actually got a bit worked when it came to you and wanted to thank you as well. She can be a little bit melodramatic, but that's how she shows affection"
"Lancis! I didn't-" Floris shouted, before calming herself down and facing Touma with a pouting lips" Well, I never thanked you for that one. I was so focused on the fact that we jumped from one danger to another and at that time I was really mad at you. I mean, first I get captured by Amakusa, then I escape from Amakusa, then I get captured by the Knights, then you make me almost die in that jump and get me back to the Amakusa of all people and-"
"Floris" the silver haired girl said firmly" Stay on track. What do you wanted to say?"
"Oh, right" Floris fidgeted, before taking a deep breath and saying" Thank you. You really saved me back then. We and the Knights are not exactly in best relations, so... yeah, that's what I wanted to say"
She tried to look indifferent, but it was clear that she was waiting for his reaction.
"You're welcome. It's nice to see you are okay and also, to meet you outside of the chaos of British Halloween."
"Uhm..." Floris looked away as her heart sped up ever so slightly and she felt the tips of her ears burn.
"My name is Lancis" said the brown haired girl, previously in the towel. She was wearing long, pink, talon-like nails on her fingers" I am sorry about the moment at the door. I think I made quite a bad impression"
"No, that's fine. You seem calm and nice, so I will go along with that. We never met before, right?"
"No, although Lessar told me about you. She also suggested for me to go overseas and...ekhm, no, never mind. I was quite interested to meet you"
They both shook hands, and Touma looked at the oldest girl.
"My name is Bayloupe. I am the leader of New Light and I care for those fools." said the silver haired girl" So, you are Kamijou Touma. You may look quite plain, but I've been in a game on magic side to know that judging book by the cover is a very bad idea. You have been a subject of my interest of quite some time. Although Lessar should mainly be credited for bringing that attention to you. Initially, I was not convinced that a foreigner and a complete amateur could be a good asset to Britain. But she praised your tenacity, fighting spirit, and heroic actions"
"She did?"
Lessar beamed at Touma, clearly enjoying being the focus of his attention.
"Thus, I want to ask you. Kamijou Touma, what do you think of United Kingdom?"
Touma was silent for a bit
"Well, it's a nice country. Rather different from what I know, but I had rather good impression. I also know some pretty great people from there-..."
"Excuse me, is it true that you also have close ties with Royal Family?" Lancis cut him off with a question.
"Well, I don't know if close is right word... I met the Queen, I also did work with Princess Villian during British Halloween. I think that I got closer to Carissa during our battle and after it. As for Princess Rimea, well... she and me... I can't really tell much, but..."
"Kamijou" Bayloupe said, bowing to the floor, emulating the japanese way of appology" Firstly, as New Light leader, allow me to apologize for inconvenience Lessar caused you. She means well, but does not know the word STOP"
"N-No, no, don't bow! Beautiful girl bowing before me is just wrong" Kamijou frantically waved his hands" Lessar is a great ally, even if she sometimes can't control herself and doesn't think things through. I am grateful to her"
"Beautiful? My my, your tongue is quite sharp indeed." Baylope straightened herself and twirled strand of her silver hair in between her fingers." Keep being like this and I would want you to stay with us just as much as Lessar. So..."
He thought he saw a different kind of light in Lessar's eyes in that moment, but chose to ignore it, as she slid closer to him and snuggled into his arm.
"That being said, I have to ask you. Would you come with us and help serve the glory of the United Kingdom?"
Touma smiled and shook his head
"I am honoured, but no. I have my life here and I don't think about leaving it"
"Such a shame..." Bayloupe sighed" yet it was expected. However, such a critical figure, with Imagine Breaker nonetheless, doesn't come in every era. We won't resign in trying to convince you."
"I expected that as well. And that reminds me... why are you here, specifically now and in my dorm?"
Lessar froze with a comical expression on her face.
"Well, time to use the toilet... oh, that's your bedroom too, right Lover Boy? I guess I will just wait for you there-"
"Wait just a moment..." Bayloupe said it quietly, but she started to give off a menacing aura "Wasn't it you who said we could use this place? That you informed Kamijou? You actually wanted to get into his pants this entire time, didn't you?!
"I regret nothi-aaaaaah?!" Lessar cried out, as Bayloupe pulled her away by the ear
"Excuse me for a minute" she said closing the door to the bathroom. Yet even from behind that barrier they could hear the sounds of argument and sounds of pain.
"Will they be okay?"
"Yes. We are more than just coworkers" Lancis said, slightly bemused. " Bayloupe is a great leader and she is really just, but tends to have a short fuse at times. Like, she really gets mad. She is pissed because Lessar got distracted with you. Again. Even if she approves of Lessar's motivations of getting you on our side, she doesn't like that Lessar has head in the clouds ever since she met you"
"Distracted?"
"Oh, you wouldn't believe it! She sleeptalks and recites all the things she would do to you. Which in turn causes my dreams to become... ekhm, anyway..." Floris fumed, causing Touma to become slightly red" It goes on, and on, and on! It's damn unbearable. Even gagging her doesn't make it better."
"Kamijou-san... the thing is..." Lancis' elegant eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the boy" Lessar is not actually messing around with you. In her own way, she is being serious... as contradictory as it sounds."
"What do you mean by that?" Touma asked in confusion.
But by the time the girl could answer, Bayloupe returned with Lessar.
"Kamijou! Comfort me!" the imp girl cried, jumping onto the boy, with a small bump on her head, likely from Bayloupe's fist. Touma sighed and massaged Lessar's head, to which she reacted by relaxing and leaning her body against his.
"Y-Your butt is right on my family jewels..."
"Oh? Does that turn you on?"
"If you press harder, there will be nothing to turn on, so get off a little"
"Cutting to the chase" said Bayloupe" we were sent here on a diplomatic mission, given to us by the Church and approved by the Crown"
"Really? I thought that your relations with them were a little... iffy"
"Yeah, but we agreed to do it cheap" snickered Floris" and left others in the dust"
"I would like to believe that our professionalism was recognized, but that seems like a bit of a stretch..." Lancis also rubbed her head sheepishly.
"Which meant we could see you. Only...I had no idea you changed addresses. Heh heh, my bad" added Lessar.
"Anyway, we are going to have a call now. Lancis, can you put up a soundproofing field?"
"Yup, right away."
"S-Seriously, Lessar-san, can't you get off?"
"Don't tell me you are not enjoying it"
"I would be lying if I said that I didn't but that's not the issue here! My legs got all tingly from the lack of blood!"
"You know what else got tingly? Hint: It's like Niagara Falls within my-"
Suddenly, a fit of giggling startled Touma who jumped slightly, shaking Lessar off.
Lancis put a hand to her lips to stifle giggles threatening to escape her lips.
"I am sorry, I didn't want to scare you"
"Lancis has amazing magical sensory perception, but she also has this strange condition that causes her own mana to tickle her when she refines it" Lessar explained the situation to Touma.
"D-Don't worry, it didn't really scare me or anything. And you don't have to apologize, having a cute laugh is not a bad thing. If anything, it's an attractive quality... Emm? Lancis-san? Moshi-Moshi?!"
The girl started at him with open mouth. And then...
POOF!
Her entire face became red. She scrambled to her feet, muttered a short "excuse me" and ran to the toilet.
"D-Did I say something off?"
"Well..." Bayloupe gave an amused look to the bathroom's door." this condition of hers was never really quite welcome. It was called..."
"Annoying. Loud. Distracting" Floris gave a few suggestions.
"We learned to tolerate it, but it does get annoying sometimes." Bayloupe continued" She definitely never heard anyone call her laugh cute before."
"Good job" Lessar clapped with a hint of sarcasm" You broke her. Honestly, your conquest never stops, does it?"
"What conquest? I am just a high school boy you can find anywhere, not some harem lord"
"Good old dense lover boy. Never change, never change"
In that moment, the broach like amulet that Bayloupe held in her hands played a music box melody of Rule Britannia.
"It's the call regarding our task"
"So this is the person who interrupted my sweet and much needed time with him" the agitated Lessar pounced forward and pressed the red gem on the center of the broach, answering the call.
"Oi, I don't know who you think you are but you messed big time. You don't take a man from under the girl's face without consequences. Not only that, but I am on a super important mission!"
The amulet puffed out a cloud smoke, in which the colourful image began to take form.
"Lessar..." Floris began nervously, but the energetic seductress wasn't done.
"It is on! I am having only the best future of Britain at heart. So much that I will dedicate my body and heart to the task. So who is the idiot who interrupted my time with Lover Bo-"
The image cleared, showing the mature face of black haired woman with a monocle, wearing a blue dress.
"That would be Her Royal Highness, Princess Rimea." Bayloupe said, facepalming. Lancis, who returned from the toilet with redness fading from her face, also watched in anticipation.
Lessar bit her lips as her blue eyes became the size of dinner plates.
"P-P-P-Princess Rimea..." in one moment, her voice shifted from that of the mighty warrior to the one of grandma suffering from asthma attack" W-What a lovely day we are having. E-E-Except those neighbours shouting the stupidest things next walls and all those terrible words, because that surely wasn't your faithful servant..."
She mouthed small help to Touma with pleading eyes.
"How... interesting" Rimea muttered" It appears you are also here, Imag... Kamijou Touma"
The girls tilted their heads, confused why Rimea suddenly decided to drop Touma's epithet... and seemed rather proud of doing so.
"Please don't blame Lessar. She didn't mean it, and we had a rather emotional reunion" Touma was hoping he did not blush while saying that.
Rimea looked at Lessar for a few moments, before sighing
"If you take her side, I take no offense. I take it you were informed that New Light will be arriving?"
Touma noticed fear, mainly in Lessar's eyes, but also in the gazes of other girls
"Yeah, I knew. They are on some sort of diplomatic mission, right?"
Fear shifted into gratitude, as Touma covered for Lessar's earlier, nefarious plan.
"Correct. They are sent to clarify deliver some messages and retrieve some things from your Board Chairman, on request of the Archbishop, the nature of which I will not needlessly disclose."
"Oh, I see. And you probably thought that I will understand the situation much better than anyone else in Academy City, so you hoped to use my dorm for your stay. Doesn't the Church have some sort of Embassy now?"
"No. Not yet, anyway"
"Well, that's not really a good place to live for a moment. The walls still need to be refreshed and there is a hole in outer one... I generally moved elsewhere temporarily"
"I see..."
Rimea looked undecided what expression she should make before asking.
"Are you... alright?"
"Huh? Yes, I am. Everything is fine, that was just a onetime accident"
"Truly? I thought that with your right hand, your entire life seems like a continuous accident"
"You... don't hold back on words, don't you?"
"It a inborn talent" Rimea's lips curled upwards ever so slightly. "Oh, by the way, Carissa is reporting again. She will probably come to see you too"
As if on cue, there was an aggressive sound of heels on the floor and something red zoomed to his vision.
"Kamijou!" the second princess yelled out into the vision.
"Carissa... you look well. Wait... did you run here for that call?"
Carissa opened her lips, before angrily stomping her foot on the ground.
"Yes! No! I... just wanted to see you and tell you that we have a score to settle."
"Right... you are in great shape alright"
"When I see you next time, you are going to have to pay for what you've done"
Touma backed off a little
"I am a little poor so what exactly are you talking about"
Rimea raised her eyebrow, while glancing at Carissa with expression of boredom.
"Translation: my brutish sister is the type of woman who thinks that the only way to spend quality is recklessly cause violence, so she thinks challenging you can substitute her wish to spend more time with her"
"Spend time? Me? With person who humiliated me! You think that I am some fool whose heart would change because I was hit into the face?"
"When you say it like that... "Touma muttered deep in thought" Lots of people that I hit became my friends"
"Correct. Based on what I've read on Kamijou Touma's previous exploits, hitting an enemy increases the probability of close relations by..."
"You calculated a probability? I am done, you two are impossible" Carrissa looked like she was a step away from slamming her head on the surface below the smoke projection.
"Well, even if you are still mad, I am glad that you are well. Oh, did you like the flowers? I didn't know what kind you like, so I went with the ones that reminded me of you..."
Carissa laughed, although, if one listened carefully, there was a nervous note in it, without her usual arrogance.
"Flowers? Don't make me laugh. I am a princess of war, I trample the cutesy flowers and drench them in blood of my enemies. Do you really think that I would not throw those plants away at first occa-"
The doors on the other side of the chamber opened
"Sister!" the owner of the cheerful voice was none other than third princess, Villian. "I put the flowers from Mr. Kamijou back by your bed after watering them, as you asked. I know how much you like to look at them when you wake up. Oh, and he is on the call? Hello there! Nice to see you in good health!"
"Hello to you as well, Princess Villian"
Carissa could as well become a stone statue, that was how much she tensed up.
"Thank you, Villian. What a diligent little sister you are. What a god damn impeccable timing you have" she hissed under her breath
Rimea addressed Touma once again.
"There you have it. Please be understanding of this situation and lend a helping hand. But knowing your disposition, you are probably already set on helping. Oh, and by the way, I am expecting your letter. Do not keep me waiting"
"Okay, Rim... your highness. I am looking forward to it."
Both Lessar and Carissa looked at Touma with narrowed yes. Was he about to call the first princess by the name?
Rimea's gaze became slightly more gentle, even if it was microscopic change.
"Then I shall await it eagerly and expect you to visit us in possible future. Kamijou, remember also, that by our agreement, if any subjects of my mother cause you problems, you are free to invoke the law of lessè-majesté through my name, and deemed that person guilty" she looked at Lessar, as if giving a warning.
"I doubt I will ever have the need to-"
Yet another time that day Touma was interrupted.
"Oh, that's it! Letters? Secrets? And the fricking lessè-majesté of all things? Sister, what is going on between you and him?"
"Yeah, I would like to know too. What Lassie is she talking about?" Lessar shook Touma by the shoulder.
"What transpires between me and Kamijou Touma is strictly private and confidential. And as such, you have no reason to know" Rimea explained calmly" We agreed upon certain assignment that my mother requested."
"Mom did? Is that why are you acting so strange?"
"How so?"
"I saw you trying to smile at the guards. You almost never smile for people you distrust. And to be honest, it was kind of terrifying." Carissa spread her arms wide "And I know a thing or two about terror"
"I don't want to hear that from someone who could scare potential suitors with her smile"
"At least when I smiled, I actually had the intention to keep those assholes away!"
The heated debate emerged between two older sisters, as Villian took hold of the call.
"Is everyone fine with you, Princess?"
"Oh, it's wonderful. I am trying to be more proactive and usually go to some parties. And I have to say, ever since we encountered you, our family actually got closer. Mother is often interested in your action, while it seems Rimea and Carissa have formed separate connections, with you. It sure is lively out here... I am also very glad and honoured that I met you. I am sure that William would say that too. He is temporarily released and away on the mission right now, but he sends his regards."
"No, the pleasure is all mine."
Villian smiled at him, watching something beyond the screen with somewhat tense expression.
"Well, I hope we will meet in the future... sister, no! That's mom's antique-"
There was a crash and the vision from smoke faded away.
"Well, that was something else. But I kind of get all the situation now..."
"What do you with first princess?" Lessar screamed out" Do you provide the services of-"
"N-No, it's not what you think" Touma quickly raised his hands in defensive gesture" But I can't talk about it, so let's just say that what I do is important for her mother and probably also to Rimea"
"I knew it. You call her by her first name" Lancis pointed out.
"You really are slaying maiden hearts" Lessar muttered, with a grumpy face, her tail wagging as if she was an irritated cat.
"Kamijou, lessè-majesté is a pretty big deal. It means that the princess considers you as tied to her. In a way, it means you are in her area of influence and in her protection, so the affront towards you can be treated as affront towards her" Bayloupe explained to the confused Touma.
"Huh... I had no idea. Say, this was a lot of things in rather short amount of time, so what would you say about some sightseeing?"
(LATER)
The tour was pretty eventful.
Touma spent pretty decent amount of time with Lessar and had one-time encounter with Floris, but never experienced the overall group dynamic of New Light.
They planned route went from the river bank, through the restaurant, an indoor onsen, and finally, a shopping center. Touma felt rather weird, being a single guy in a group of clearly foreign girls, and he was sure that they attracted a lot of attention.
However, he stopped himself from worrying too much and instead put together everything he was thinking and experiencing throughout the outing in regards to the girls.
Floris tried to keep her distance from Kamijou, clearly not sure how to act around him, but it seemed like the fate had other ideas. When the group was having a walk near the river, Touma tripped and accidentally sent her tumbling alongside him down into the water. When they were at the restaurant, they accidentally got the same noodle in the grasp of their chopsticks, giving him a near-kiss experience and punch to the cheek by crimson faced girl. Not to mention that when they went to the onsen, the separating wall somehow collapsed and the blond girl somehow fell into male section, causing Touma to scramble and run away.
Seemed like the record of Kamijou keeping Floris a step away from panic/embarrassment attack was more of a pattern than an exception to the rule, as both of them seemed to have same affinity from double meaning situations. Floris was second oldest, and personality-wise she was stern, rational, usually freaking out when things didn't go the safe and planned way. However, Touma noticed she was also fond of humour and displayed similar sassy, cynical kind of jokes that he encountered in Kumokawa Seria or Othinus. According to other members of New Light, Floris had tendencies to perfectionism and often denied her feelings, which ultimately resulted in her having dramatic outbursts, often accompanied by some sulking. As Touma already knew, she wore magical item resembling steam punk wings that allowed her to fly and glide, which she greatly enjoyed.
Lessar was the energetic one of the group, which Touma could tell even without his knowledge of her sultry antics. During their outing, she had resumed her talkative, careless attitude. She and Touma talked a lot, with Touma asking a bit about situation in UK, and Lessar telling him some details about their life as a reserve cabal. She was also quite invested in hearing of all the adventures Touma had in her absence, although she paid quite huge emphasis on question regarding any encountered female and, as Touma noted, was writing something in a notebook with a face of some grand scientist.
Touma could not help but smile. Sure, Lessar was usually over the top in lot of details, but he realized that he missed that wacky, loud, and enthusiastic girl. Which is why he found himself a little bit conflicted.
On the one hand, he liked her and was happy to see and be with her again. On the other, he could not say he felt fully comfortable with her 'recruitment efforts'. Why was that? It wasn't really because the fact that he didn't find her attractive. On contrary, although Touma wasn't falling for Lessar's many traps, he had to honestly admit that she was pretty, especially for her age group of middle school. It didn't even concern the fact that she wasn't in Touma's self-proclaimed type. What bothered Touma were two things.
Firstly, Lessar was skipping all the steps and going straight to physical intercourse. Kamijou was a healthy young boy, but in all honesty, the nature and circumstances of Lessar's actions irked him up a little. She kept saying serious things and acted in a very direct way. But with her omitting the psychological process of forming a bond with someone, romantic or not, Touma could not say what kind of relationship they really had and that unnerved him. Which brought second point. Did Lessar treat him just like a way to get her goal? Or most importantly, did she think so little of herself that she chose the role of mere tool to achieve that ideal? Touma wasn't a fully pure romantic, but he knew that any affection, be it friendship or romance, especially something that Lessar seemed to seek while trying to seduce him, would not be right when born this way.
Were the definitions of friendship, affection, and love in minds of Kamijou Touma and Lessar so different that they were forever keeping them from establishing common ground? The space they both actually wanted in their relationship?
Well, Lessar certainly did cause a lot of her usual ruckus on the way. From a few seduction attempts during the city tour (some in response to Floris' luck) one caused Touma to run around without clothes, another ended up with Lessar jumping on him in the shower, with just a small strap covering her crotch area. So boy and girl were in their usual dynamic. Only... Touma could be wrong in exasperation caused by stopping the overly lustful girl, but he thought that her reactions felt a little bit... stronger than usual. As if she was... more focused and did it because something in her heart added foreign element to the equation.
Lancis turned out to be someone that Touma found common language with. Compared to other three, she was more mellowed down, soft-spoken, even apathetic at times. Yet for Touma this was very refreshing. He spoke with the brown haired girl and learned a fair deal about her. Apparently, she cared for New Light's base, liked to cook, and did a lot of smaller, logistic errands. She was second youngest, between Floris and Lessar. She was the type to have many smaller interest, but don't excel in anything in particular. Because she was blessed with sensitivity to any form of magic and could detect it much faster than normal magicians, she was usually tasked with lookout and information gathering.
Contrary to what other girls said, Touma found out that Lancis wasn't really all that reticent, she was just reflective and usually overwhelmed by her more outspoken peers. However, Touma was a good listener, and in rather short time, both he and Lancis felt very comfortable with just talking to each other and learning about themselves. For example, they shared experiences of doing chores, cooking, and funny stories about everyday lives. The helping factor could also be the earlier compliment from Touma, thanks to which Lancis laughed without restraint in his company with no worries of judgement, which definitely improved her mood.
Another bit of trivia was the fingernails on Lancis' fingers. This was apparently her weapon, and after infusing the claw-like extensions with mana, she could slice and cleave through almost all solid materials.
Finally, Bayloupe seemed like a big puzzle to Kamijou. He kept glancing at older girl, for more than one reason, before turning away when she sensed his gaze. He didn't manage to exchange any more words with her, which was kind of frustrating, yet many things he could deduce from observation alone. Obviously the oldest (which didn't lessened any of the charm, oh no), she exuded aura of confidence and control, being the older sister to other girls, even Lessar not questioning her all that much. Although very gentle and graceful, she apparently was prone to intense outbursts when irritated. She was just as energetic as Lessar, but showed it in a completely different way. Her inner power was cold, channelled, and focused. She was just, fair, and intelligent, being a pragmatic girl, in the way that she carried herself and spoke. But when she wanted, she had this ice queen charm that made everyone focus attention on her. That contradiction of control and emotionality, of pragmatism and sensuality, was quite mesmerizing.
Besides her silver hair, one other characteristic was a very confident smile that she showed practically all the time (besides the times she was mad at someone) that looked like she was ready to conquer and dominate the world. Or, alternatively, it was the look that said 'I have secrets, come take them if you dare'. Yes, there was definitely more to this girl that Touma was able to see for now.
Bayloupe apparently had the biggest proficiency in using New Light's signature weapon, Steel Glove. She also had lightning powers, which Touma experienced, when she suddenly (seriously, what was with people with electric abilities attacking him out of the blue?!) conducted an attack, sending lightning strike towards him, that he managed to block in time with his right hand. She nodded in approval, and actually laughed at the boy's cries of distress.
On finishing note, one could probably compare New Light to the cycle of seasons. The vividness and drama of Floris was like spring, energy and physicality of Lessar like summer, the reserved and calming nature of Lancis like autumn, and dominant yet aloof Bayloupe like winter.
With his musings on New Light members concluded for now, Touma found himself standing before the shopping center. And that was where his luck truly ran out.
"Onii-chan's knows abroad students?! They look as if they are bunch of weird people..."
"Amazora, be polite. We are not completely normal either, though I agree that their sense of fashion is rather bizarre." came Rikuri's reply.
"Oi, can you explain this to us?" Gokusai Kaibi's eyes were quite literally glowing as she faced New Light members.
They just had to encounter Gokusai sisters here. Touma had absolutely no intention of introducing them earlier, but now he had no choice, when Lessar spoke:
"Hey to you. I am mother of Kamijou's child"
Amazora shouted a big 'NO!', Kaibi gave icy cold look to trembling boy, and Rikuri swayed from one side to the other, whispering 'he has a child?'
CHOP! Touma's hand landed on Lessar's head, who shrugged
"Not my fault he didn't realize that yet"
After this memorable introduction, Kamijou decided, for the sake of his corporal integrity, to take things in his own hands.
He introduced Amazora, Kaibi, and Rikuri as his past acquaintances, for now omitting the details of them being his flatmates, as this would put a major death flag. It was just a suspicion, but the one he was willing to follow. As for New Light, they were introduced as students from a special boarding school that came to Academy City for a trip. He met them once before during his own trip to England and so, he volunteered to gave them a tour on the city.
Both sides seemed to accept his explanation, but Kaibi was relentless in joining in with the group, so it grew as they entered the mall.
"Come on, Bayloupe. We can't let out best friend down" Lancis said to the oldest girl.
"Yeah. They seem okay" Floris also spoke up after a moment.
It seemed that Measure Heart affected them without a flaw, and Touma noticed that Bayloupe was struggling with it as well. Her mental fortitude had to be impressive, but she finally relented and the group split up for shopping.
Touma found himself on self-appointed duty of protecting already daring Amazora from being enlightened in the ways of perversion by the cool aunt Lessar-san. It would do some irreversible damage. Besides that, Amazora managed to charm her way into the heart (and wallet) of Lancis, as the poor girl could not help but spoil her, as they walked through various shops.
Rikuri was intrigued by reality of England and questioned Bayloupe about it, to which the silver haired answered and in return, asked about life in Academy City. Turned out that the girls had the same interest in certain academic endeavours and happened to like classical music, which shifted the topic of their conversation.
The strange duo of Kaibi and Floris wandered around, and Touma was not sure about the topics of their conversation, but it seemed like good match, as both of them were slightly apprehensive towards new people in this particular scenario.