16Before, we go on, I should note that I'm mostly using official translations for OT. Also note that this is the LN version of Angel Fall (Despite the fact that I prefer the anime version).
Ok, as usual, expect OOC and wacky situations. This one is a bit longer, so enjoy!
#19
August 28. The weather was fine.
A high school student named Touma Kamijou awoke to a female's milky voice calling, "Hey, big brother!"
"…Huh? What was that hair-raising screech?"
Touma cracked open his eyes, still half-asleep. He saw the towel blanket that had been covering him at some point lying crumpled up in a ball next to him.
He thought he'd heard the girl's voice from the other side of the door.
"Is that… A Certain Scientific Railgun?"
Touma blinked. Then he sat straight up and grabbed his head in anger.
"Not again! First, I get woken up by some screech, then my brain decides to do its thing!" He stood up, his sleepiness washed away. "Maybe I'll just-"
"Hey, big brother, wake up!"
There it was again! Touma glared at the door. It must be one of those "useless brother plus reliable sister" dynamic duos. But wait, why would-
The door flew open with a resounding bang!
"Hey, hey, how long- oh, you're already awake!"
Touma blinked. Why the hell was Mikoto Misaka calling him his sister? He opened his mouth to ask about that, but something else came out instead.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing the Silent Party Arc?"
Mikoto tilted her head in confusion. "Ehh? Big brother, you're saying some weird things right now!"
Touma felt his eyes twitching. "Look, I don't know why you're acting like this, but at this point, I'm not going to bother with it. I'm moving on with my life."
Mikoto giggled. "You're funny, brother! I'll see you downstairs for breakfast!" Then, as if it was the most natural thing ever, she bounded lightly out of the room.
…Outside of my brain doing its thing again, something is definitely wrong.
#20
"Good morning, Touma. Hmm? Hey, you've got some pretty bad bedhead in the back."
It was his father's voice.
Touya Kamijou. A man with a stubbly beard in his mid thirties whose features somehow resembled Touma's, he actually traveled overseas three times a month on business for a relatively large firm with foreign affiliations. Reflecting his lifestyle, perhaps, he gave off an intrepid yet intellectual air.
For the amnesiac Kamijou, his "father" presented a bit of an odd topic. Of course, Touma himself didn't remember the man. Nevertheless, his parents would encroach upon his personal space without the slightest hesitation.
As a high school student, even college students two or three years older than him represented people living in a functionally different world, one whose life and habits were completely foreign to his experience. The age difference between Touma and his father was even greater than that, which made it all the more challenging to figure out how to bridge that gap.
"Mm…mornin'... Wait, what?" When Toumaa turned around, he gave a start.
"Hm? What's wrong, Touma?"
His father, Touya Kamijou, frowned.
Leaving him aside for the moment…Kamijou shifted his gaze toward the cause of his discomfort—the person standing next to Touya.
"Hey, why is A Certain Magical Index-tan wearing that? Also, please ignore the nickname I just used."
Touya seemed confused. "Touma, is it strange for your mother to be wearing her own clothes?"
Touma blinked. He turned to face his father again. "What?" He looked at Index again. "That's not my mother!"
#21
All of a sudden, the door next to Touma opened with a click.
Touya blamed him, saying it was his fault that he woke her up because he was being so noisy.
Kamijou turned his gaze to the side, saying, "Index…?"
…And out the door came Blue Hair, wearing a completely white nun's habit.
He was a large man, reaching 180 centimeters in height. Moreover, he hadn't forced himself into Index's habit; it appeared that he had gotten a new one from somewhere, with the exact same design, just in extra large.
The large man spoke.
He spoke heavily with a deep, manly voice that would surprise even the Three Tenors.
"Ahh, mm? Touma, you seem really excited for morning time. Did something happen?"
"…"
The large man rubbed his eyes in a very cute way indeed. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to say good morning, Touma. Anyway, the beach! Beach, beach! I always thought that Japan's beaches were covered with concrete, and there was oil and stuff floating around, but it's actually really pretty. Yeah, let's go play!"
"...Oh, I get it now. It must be the start of the Angel Fall Arc."
"Angel Fall?" His father asked curiously.
"Don't ask me what that means. Sometimes my brain likes to do its own thing."
"Oh my~. Should we bring you to a doctor, Touma?" Index asked.
He simply stared at her. Then he walked away without a word.
"...Is he okay?" Touya wondered.
"Maybe he didn't sleep well last night. Oh dear."
#22
Despite the reality before him appearing to be so ludicrous, time marched on.
Touya, Index, and Mikoto immediately made plans to go to the beach, leaving behind Touma, who was still clueless. Confused, he'd been commanded to change into his swim trunks post haste and come along. Then, he was ordered to go onto the beach and set up the parasol for them. He now sat underneath it, alone on a picnic sheet with his hands clasped around his knees, not altogether sure of when he had actually put it up.
Is this okay? Is it okay to be lazing around here? It really seems like the world has gotten itself into a huge mess, but I have no clue how to deal with any of it!
…Maybe that "Angel Fall" thing I said earlier has something to do with it?
A hit song was lonesomely crackling out of the speakers stuck on the wooden poles placed at regular intervals along the shore. When he beheld it all, the world seemed so very peaceful.
Unfortunately, though, he had seen pure mayhem on TV. No matter what channel he flipped to, all he saw were people with mixed-up clothes. The fact that the broadcast stations were like that meant that the disaster didn't only encompass their beach house; the same thing was happening all over Japan. No, maybe, just maybe, it was the entire world.
Of course, it was possible that Touma was hallucinating. Frankly, after everything that's happened since he lost his memories, that wouldn't be terribly surprising.
"Hey, Touma. Thanks for saving our spot. Though, well, since there isn't anyone else here, I guess that means you didn't do any work!" The male voice bellowed a "Wa-ha-ha."
Oh, it's just Dad. Touma twisted his neck to look behind him—
—and he froze.
"Hmm. What is it, Touma? Does Dad's swimsuit strike your fancy?"
Kamijou ignored Touya completely and looked next to him.
He looked at Index, standing where his mother, Shiina, should have been. W-wait. What's with that insane swimsuit?!
Index was wearing a black bikini, unsuited to her childlike body.
"This isn't A Certain Magical Index: Imaginary Fest!" Touma angrily pointed at her. "We're in the middle of a story arc!"
Touya and Index blinked with confusion. "Uh, son? Are you still angry at her?"
"Oh my. This outfit just isn't convincing for you, Touma, is it…?"
"No, there's a bigger problem! What's with that bathing suit? You had a different one yesterday! Did you buy one with my money?!"
"Ohhh, I see!" Touya laughed. He jammed his thumb at himself. "Don't worry, son! I bought her that swimsuit!"
The moment he heard that, Kamijou's eyes flared up.
#23
Kanzaki saw his dubious face and sighed. "Tsuchimikado, it is cruel to expect a comprehension of the truth out of one who does not even understand the tree of Kabbalah."
"I got it. But doesn't that mean your own hypothesis was wrong, nyaa?" Tsuchimikado grinned. "This swapping of outsides and insides, the grand sorcery Angel Fall…You really think a magic amateur like Touma Kamijou could have caused this?"
Angel Fall? Wait, I said that earlier!
"Oi! Tell me about that Angel Fall thing!"
The two magicians looked at Touma, before looking at each other. "Uhh, Angel Fall is, well…It's hard to explain. Kanzaki, go for it, nya!"
"Tsuchimikado, would you please stop saying 'nya' all the time?" Kanzaki exhaled in exasperation. "Putting it simply, this whole substitution was set up by somebody using magic. It's a man-made incident."
"…Incident?"
"Yes," she nodded quietly.
As opposed to the confusion they expected from Touma, his eyes lit up. "Ohh! So I wasn't hallucinating! It's just the next arc of A Certain Magical Index!"
"...I apologize, but what?"
Touma blinked, then sighed. "Sorry about that. Recently, my brain has been acting up. Sometimes, I'll just suddenly say a weird sequence of words. It only happened occasionally, but today it's determined to annoy me."
"Nya, looks like your other side has emerged!"
He had no idea what Tsuchimikado meant by that, so he elected to ignore it. "Anyways, the words 'Angel Fall' came out earlier, so that's why I was curious."
Kanzaki looked at Tsuchimikado with concern, before turning back to Touma. "That's concerning. However, that's something we can deal with after we stop Angel Fall."
#24
Click-bzt. Suddenly, all the power went out.
A blackout? Touma thought, frowning in the dark. The entrances to the beach house were wide open, so enough moonlight was shining inside to make it not pitch-black…
When the power goes out, perhaps you have a habit of unconsciously turning to look at the silenced appliances. Touma casually directed his eyes up to the fluorescent lamp on the ceiling that had abruptly lost its light—
—scratch.
He heard a sound from underneath the floor, beneath his feet, like something lightly scratching its wooden planks.
What's that? He stood up in spite of himself and immediately looked down at the floorboards underfoot—
—craaack! The blade of a crescent-shaped knife pierced up through the floor under his feet.
Rather than stay silent or scream, Touma's brain decided it had a better idea.
He grinned. "Looks like it's Angel Falling Time!"
Through the new hole in the floor, Touma saw bloodshot eyes filled with madness. Yet, that didn't deter his grin.
The knife cut through the floor again, but Touma simply jumped away. However, a moment later, the knife cut under his feet. It appeared to be following him.
Touma continued to grin. "I have the power of A Certain Magical Index! You can't stop me, you bastard!"
The assailant tried to go a step further. An arm burst out of the floorboards and attempted to grab Touma's leg. However, as if he had seen that coming, Touma jumped out of the way just in time.
"Give it up!" He cried out. "I defeated A Certain Scientific Accelerator! You think you can beat that?!"
And then, Touma froze. Someone else was watching him. How did he know? He had no idea.
With alarming speed, a sister in red burst into Touma's vision suddenly from the side.
She went so fast that he couldn't even see that it was a human girl.
The figure in red ran so low to the floor she could touch it with her tongue. She took out the L-shaped nail pullers on her waist and drove them with all her strength like a bat into his assailant's wrist, which was sticking out of the floor.
Crunch!
With an amazingly dull sound, the assailant's wrist twisted around in an unnatural direction.
It wasn't just broken. It was nearly torn asunder.
The arm retreated back under the floorboards, only for the red girl to follow it down. A few seconds later, a floorboard five meters in front of him shot up into the air like a geyser. It jumped like a dolphin leaping above the water, and a black shadow burst out from underneath.
It was not the sister in red.
It tumbled onto the floor, then rose—the shadow was a skinny, middle-aged man.
The injured beast brandished the knife and looked up at Touma. The teen's grin had faded, but it didn't seem like his normal self had quite returned yet.
The beast dashed towards Touma with the knife, ready to cut him up. However, he had a plan.
He dove into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He grinned again, then flipped open the phone with his thumb. He aimed its camera lens at the enemy figure running at him.
Pshee! went the camera's intense flash through the darkness.
"Bweeeh!" The middle aged man stepped back, trying to cover his eyes. But then, he suddenly stopped.
He swayed. His body relaxed and he muttered something to himself.
"My precious Angel…"
Something around the chest of the work uniform glinted in the moonlight.
It was a name tag.
"My Angel, my precious Angel!"
The plastic name tag, sewn firmly onto his clothing, had this written in inorganic letters:
Prisoner Number 7-0687, Jinsaku Hino
"My Angel, what's happening? My precious Angel, I listened to what you said, so you can't be wrong! What's going on, my precious Angel? I've faithfully offered up twenty-eight to you!" the man in the prisoner's clothes screamed. He screamed like he was broken, like he had gone mad, like it was all over.
Touma stood there, staring at the man. Ever since the attack began, he had known who it was. It made no sense how he knew. But his brain somehow collected the knowledge.
It was Jinsaku Hino, the man who was shown on the news earlier.
He looked at the confused, screaming man. He could tell he was a criminal. And from the clothes he wore, he could figure out that he was Jinsaku Hino, broken out of prison.
But if that was the case, then why wasn't Jinsaku Hino swapped with somebody?
It was so odd that not everyone had swapped because of Angel Fall.
And who is the "Angel" he's been yelling about this whole time?
What was the Angel Fall sorcery ultimately trying to achieve?
Touma had reached a conclusion. And he was about to act on it. But before he could, Jinsaku Hino waved his knife in the air and screamed:
"Answer me, my precious Angel! What should I do? What should I do from now on?! My Angel, you'd better take responsibility for this! Answer meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
He brought it down.
But not towards Touma. He stabbed his own chest with the crescent knife. Scratch-scratch. The blade's tip moved all over the place. The knife he was so absurdly wielding sliced through his work outfit, cut into his sweat-soaked shirt, and immediately began to draw blood.
At a glance, the countless wounds seemed random, but they were in the form of letters, like scribbles carved into a desk.
GO ESCAPE
There was no grammar to be seen, just two English terms next to each other. However, when Jinsaku Hino saw those words, his blood-covered face turned into a grand smile.
In the next moment, the floorboards between Touma and Hino shattered all over and the nun in red jumped out. The pliers she held in her hand were gripping something small and white. It looked like human teeth even. She gripped the pliers and smashed them to bits with ease.
Jinsaku Hino, who happened to be without his front teeth, took one step back, then another, without paying any mind to what the red sister had done. Then, he took out a moist leather cloth, wiped the blood from the blade, and hurled it at the nun.
The red sister smoothly moved her head out of the way to avoid it—so smoothly that the word whoosh would be appropriate.
Having lost its target, the hurled weapon came straight for Touma's face.
"Oh come on!" The knife was moving incredibly fast. He attempted to roll to the side right away, but the knife grazed his cheek.
That was all.
#25
Touma awoke to a dry throat, like he had come down with a fever. He was resting on a hard floor. As he lay there, he looked around and saw various pieces of the floorboards blown out. Tsuchimikado and Kanzaki crouched near him, talking to Misaka Imouto in hopes of driving her away. As they did, he tried to recall what had happened.
I was sitting on the floor, when a knife went through the floor. And then… my memories seem a bit fuzzy from there. I remember some red sister and a middle aged man trying to kill me? But… Why do those memories feel so off?
There was one thing clear in his mind, however. Jinsaku Hino had likely caused Angel Fall. But how did he know that? Was it him who had attacked Touma?
Ugh, I feel like I've suffered more brain damage since the fight with Accelerator. Maybe Heaven Canceller wasn't able to fix it?
His eyes drifted over to the sister in red, who was hiding herself to the side.
Who is that?
#26
The four had caught up to Jinsaku Hino in Touma's house and defeated him. However, they had come to the conclusion that he was not the one who started Angel Fall. Touma glanced at the cabinet where Hino was leaning on and looked at the pictures inside.
Through a series of realizations, they concluded that Touya Kamijou was the real perpetrator of Angel Fall. Misha had declared her his target and left the house, with Touma and Kanzaki in pursuit.
Thankfully, Touma was able to find Touya first. He was walking on the sunset-tinted beach.
Touma could see exhaustion on his father's face. His body was dripping with sweat, too. He'd probably been running all over the place looking for Kamijou, who had suddenly vanished. Tonya was dog tired, but he wouldn't allow his feet to stop. He walked across the beach, almost dragging those legs of his, filled with exhaustion.
He looked nothing like a sorcerer.
He looked nothing like a combat professional, either.
"…Dad," he called out.
The moment Touya turned around, his truly drained expression transformed to one that looked relieved and happy.
It was the face of a normal person.
It was nothing but a father's expression, given after having finally found his missing child.
"Touma!"
After waiting an ample five seconds, his face finally turned to anger.
"Where have you been?! Why didn't you tell us you were going somewhere?! Your mother is worried sick! In the first place, you said you were resting in the house because you were fatigued from the summer heat. Are you all right? You're not in any pain or about to throw up or anything, right?"
Touma didn't answer any of those questions. Instead, Touma asked, "…Why…?" while taking care not to let any trembling into his voice and not to break out crying.
Touya frowned at Touma, but he continued.
"What are you doing trying to get involved in this story?! You're one of the normal people! But the main characters of A Certain Magical Index are all insane! One way or another! So why the hell did you go and get caught up in stupid occult bullshit, Dad?!"
Touya froze. Half of what his son said made no sense. And the other half…
"What…are you saying, Touma? More importantly—"
"Don't play dumb! I'm asking you why you're pretending to be a magician! If you're trying to become someone important to the story, I can't allow that! It's way too dangerous!"
Touya's expression vanished like a cord had been cut.
It wasn't the expression of a sorcerer who had sensed that he was in danger. It was the kind of look a father would give his son if he'd been caught guilty.
"…Before I answer, just tell me one thing. Touma, I won't ask you where you've been. Do you feel alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"
His words were so very unfitting for the situation that Touma was taken aback.
Even now that it had come to this, he was still worrying about Touma's health.
Like a father would.
"It doesn't look like there are any problems, then." Touya sighed a small sigh of relief. "Now, then…Where should I start?"
Touma remained silent.
He couldn't find anything to say to him. There was no reason he could have. But he kept his gaze fixed. He didn't take his eyes off his father for even a moment.
Touya's face was as blank as a toy with dead batteries.
To Touma, it looked like the man had suddenly put on ten years.
"I knew it, myself…I knew that trying to grant my own wish with those sorts of methods was idiotic." At last, he began. "Hey, Touma. You probably don't remember this, since you were sent to Academy City right after you graduated from kindergarten," recalled Touya, "but when you were still with us, do you remember what people around us used to call you?"
Touma frowned. He didn't have any memories from the start and couldn't even remember anything from before this July.
Touya swallowed once, like he actually had something caught in his throat, then continued.
"They called you a protagonist."
He said this looking as if he might bite off his own tongue. His expression belied his unending regret at the fact that he needed to declare that word to his son.
"Do you understand, Touma? You've certainly stood out ever since you were born. That's why you were called by that name. But do you understand, Touma? It wasn't just children recognizing the main character." Touya gritted his teeth. "Even fully grown adults called you that. There was no reason. There was no cause for it. They called you that name just because you stood out so much."
"With you nearby, everything around you became something straight out of a novel. Children believed that you were amazing and would look up to you. The adults didn't even stop it. When they saw you, they would even join in. They would praise you, while also asking why you hadn't already defeated the big bad."
"If you went away, your plot armor would go away, too. Children believed that rumor and tried to stay as close to you as possible. Even the adults believed in that. Do you remember, Touma? You were once even chased around by the prime minister of Japan. He wanted to have you by his side for the next election. The people across Japan would have instantly voted for that man. After all, you were seen as the protagonist. If the protagonist supports it, that means they must be right. That's what they thought."
"That's also the reason I sent you to Academy City. I was scared. I was scared of the people around you—where people would believe you were the protagonist and try to force you into things, or even use you." Touya's face didn't change one bit as he continued his lament. "I was scared. It seemed like you wouldn't be able to live an ordinary high school life, Touma. That's why I wanted to send you to a world where you did not stand out."
Wasn't I in kindergarten when I was sent to Academy City?
"But even on the cutting edge of science, you still came to be treated like a protagonist. I could tell just from the letters you sent. To make matters worse, the unlucky incidents that occasionally happened in your childhood seemed to become more common. Though, at least no one tried to use you." He smiled. "I couldn't be satisfied with just that. I wanted to give you a normal life. But that was a wish that wouldn't be granted, either using common sense or the latest scientific methods."
And still…even though he knew it couldn't be granted…
Touya Kamijou never, ever wanted to give up.
"Only one option was left. I decided to try to become the protagonist myself."
Touya Kamijou still wanted to protect him.
Even if he were to become a criminal, he wanted to protect his own son from being forced into a position he had no say in.
So Touma, unable to endure it, roared:
"You freaking moron!"
Touya looked surprised. Touma couldn't forgive that.
"Yeah, I guess I have done protagonist-like actions," he spat in response. "I've almost died a whole bunch of times already just during summer break. I had my entire right arm completely cut off. And to cap it off, my brain has gone insane! If you compared me to everyone else in my class, I'd probably be the only one who had such a protagonist-like summer break."
"But," Touma continued. "Did I ever once say that I regretted it? Did I say that I didn't want to be a protagonist, damn it?! You've gotta be joking. Yeah, I've gotten into insane situations, all right. But so what? You think I'd regret something so stupid like that?!"
"Yeah, if I wasn't the protagonist, I think I could have lived in a more peaceful world. I wouldn't have nearly died over and over again just this summer." Touma glared at his father. "But would that really be worth it? I would live a relaxed life, and in the shadows, others would be suffering, would be bloodied, would beg for help, and I wouldn't notice any of it! What part of just floating along through life sounds like good luck to you?!"
Touya looked at Touma, taken by surprise.
He continued. "Don't force yourself to be the protagonist! Don't take this beautiful life from me! I will walk this path. I've done so until now, and I'll keep doing it, so that I won't ever regret it!"
"Don't look down on the protagonist role! I'm the happiest person in the world right now!"
He was probably smiling.
A savage smile, a barbaric smile, a rough smile, without a shred of panache.
But Touma Kamijou was smiling the best, strongest smile as he declared that.
"…"
Words couldn't find their way out of Touya Kamijou's mouth.
In this world dyed in orange, with only the sound of the waves to fill their ears, Touya smiled. He smiled wider, wider, wider, wider, stretching his grin out thin across his face.
"What, really?" he said in a relaxed voice. "You wanted to be the protagonist from the start, Touma?"
"...Well, 'want' is a strong word. I want to be an ordinary high school boy, like you wanted. But being a protagonist won't stop me from accomplishing that goal. If being a protagonist lets me save people in despair, then I'll take it!" Touma declared with a grin.
Touya gave an expression like a huge weight had been released from his shoulders.
"I'm such an idiot. This would have the exact opposite effect. Was I trying to steal my own child's happiness from right before his eyes?" He laughed at himself in relief. "Though it's not like I was able to do anything, I suppose. Boy, am I a moron. I should have known that collecting all those sorts of souvenirs wouldn't change anything. I should know that occult stuff doesn't have any power at all."
#27
Touma was once again in the hospital. Angel Fall had ended, and it turned out Tsuchimikado was alive. He and Index had visited, but now he was all alone.
…Say, doesn't this sound similar to what happened after the sisters arc? And why was he calling that an arc?
At that moment, Heaven Canceller came into the room.
"Hello once again, Touma Kamijou. So, I got your brain scan."
That made him perk up. He had asked the doctor to scan his brain, perhaps to see if his brain had been damaged severely. After all, he remembered asking his dad a different question than what he intended. Something about protagonists?
He also remembered his dad playing along with it. Touma had a feeling the backstory Touya gave was wrong. Maybe it was a family thing and they both had screwed up brains?
"Before I go describe it, can you explain to me again what the issue was?"
"Sure. So sometimes, I'll intend to say something, but then my brain will interject and say something else. I think I said 'A Certain Scientific Railgun' a few times."
"Ah. How peculiar. Well, unfortunately, your brain is completely normal. At least, on paper. Your situation is strange indeed."
Touma sighed. "Welp, that's the life of A Certain Unknown Level 0 right there." He blinked. "See, it just happened!"
"Unfortunately, I cannot do anything about that."
"...Such Misfortune…"
And that's OT4! Definitely more ambitious than OT3. I also wrote this in a single day, lol. Yeah, I haven't published since September and its December, but motivation is a strange thing, you know? This being a crackfic means I didn't have to think things through as seriously, so that helped.
Its also the longest chapter so far. I'm sure that won't stay for too long, but who knows?
I've also decided to include arc names, as we saw in #19 and #21. Just to give me more options. I also have decided to recycle a lot of them. I probably used "A Certain Magical Index" several times in this chapter alone. My original plan was to spread out the names equally, but that just made things hard for myself.
I think that's it! See you in OT5 and be sure to check my profile for status updates!