6 Mission
Alex woke up the next morning. He was still feeling a bit stressed at how he acted, but he pushed such thoughts aside and picked up his tablet.
"I miss you…." He said quietly as he looked at her picture.
He wouldn't dwell on it for too long, he needed to get his morning routine out of the way. He would do his sword swing sets and some basic magecraft practice to get warmed up for the day. He was still a bit off from being able to reinforce his body, he would rather not accidentally overload a limb or something.
The morning sword exercise didn't do much except keep his form correct, he didn't even sweat. His body was much too used to moving at speeds that would destroy his apartment if he tried to do them.
Just as he finished his last set, he heard a knock at the door.
"Didn't except you both to be up this early." Alex said as he opened the door.
It was Index and Touma who were standing in his doorway.
"Well I was about to start breakfast, so come in" He said as he motioned for the duo to follow.
They both perked up at his comment, once you had reinforced cooking, it was hard to go back.
As Alex layed down the plates, he could see the look on their faces.
"Something on your minds?" He asked.
It was obvious after the latest fiasco that had just occurred, but it was polite to ask anyways.
"I…..remember bits and pieces" Index said hesitantly.
"Go on." Alex responded.
"I remember something dark taking hold of me and even John's pen. It wasn't something from one of my grimoires." Index said.
"And.....i remember what John's Pen designated you as….." Index added with a bit of confusion.
"I see." Alex responded
"Let me address the first part, you are correct in your assumption and even I'm in the dark to as what it was." Alex said.
"And for the second part…..i ask that you keep it to yourself for now." He said with a smile.
Index's eyes widened a bit at his statement, he pretty much just confirmed his identity with her.
"But how...….?!" Index said with utter confusion. It made no sense that he is THAT person.
"You should understand how much annoyance would come if my identity was revealed." Alex responded to her statement.
Touma just looked on at their conversation, Index didn't tell him the information and Touma didn't push her. It wasn't her secret to give out freely.
"Now, if you don't have any more questions..." Alex said as he turned and face Touma.
"Your training will continue after breakfast" He finished with a sadistic smile.
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Alex and Index were sitting down outside a popular restaurant in the middle of town. Index being the glutton she was, was currently devouring several plates of food even after the large breakfast.
Touma was currently running around the block. He was covered in sweat and had a paniced expression on his face.
"You slowed down again." Alex said as he pushed a button on a strange device he was holding.
As he finished saying that, Touma felt a shock go through his body and he sped up. Alex had purchased some weights in the city and reinforced them to increase the weight. He also got a shock collar and reinforced that to increase the output when he uses it. Truly, Reinforcement was one of the most convenient abilities that Alex had learned.
He was having Touma run around the block to build up his stamina and endurance. If he dropped below a certain speed, Alex would shock him.
Alex figured out pretty early that it would be useless to teach Touma 'how to fight'. He isn't a fighter in the same sense that Alex is, so his best option was to increase his instinct and develop his body so the boy could figure out how to fight around his own ability.
"Alright Touma, break time." Alex said as Touma turned around the block and finished another lap.
He collapsed onto the seat next to the two who were enjoying an early lunch. Index barely paid him any mind as she continued her meal. Knowing the identity of the man next to her, she held almost absolute faith in him.
A few minutes passed and a newcomer had arrived as she shouted at the end of the street and ran toward the group.
"I FINALLY FOUND YOU" She roared as electricity was discharging from her.
It was one Misaka Mikoto, she had several run ins with Touma, who was able to nullify her ability which sparked a conflict between the two. She had a good amount of pride as she was one of the few level 5 espers in the city.
"Ah….Biri-biri." Touma said in exhaustion.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT" she said angrily as the electricity was becoming stronger.
She was about to rage until she noticed his state.
"Whats wrong with you?" She said, looking at the exhausted boy.
"He's currently training his body." Alex answered on his behalf.
"Who are you?" She asked as she finally noticed the other people sitting at the table.
"His personal trainer" Alex answered with a smile.
"Are you his girlfriend?" Alex asked the girl.
"Wh….what?! We're not dating!" She quickly said as her face became red.
"I hate you..." Touma spat out in exhaustion.
"Oh my, look at the time. I believe you should get back to running" Alex responded.
Touma was about to retort until an electric shock was felt throughout his body.
"Chop chop, get to it." Alex said with a chuckle as the boy huffed up and continued with his run.
"Are you shocking him?" Misaka asked.
"Yup." Alex answered bluntly.
"Can I help?" She asked with a strange smile on her face.
Alex handed her the device that was tied to the collar.
"OUUUCH" Was heard from down the street as the girl just held on the button down for several seconds.
"Today is going to be a good day." She said.
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The week passed by pretty quickly. Touma was doing his best to adjust to the 'training' while Misaka decided to join in on the fun.
Alex was getting a better hang on his reinforcement, he was able to use it on himself to a very small extent. It was hard to figure out the amount his body could sustain without suffering damage and he wasn't in a position to do it while throwing caution to the wind.
He felt a nagging feeling in the back of his head that the 'thing' that had happened to Index was going to show up again. He needed to be prepared and at his best.
As the group, minus Misaka, were out and about they were approached by the familiar magician.
Stiyl had flagged them down and motioned for them to follow him to a secluded area.
"I have a mission from Aleister Crowley" He said abruptly.
He had to meet with the head of the city to reiterate the non-agression pact between both the magic and science worlds.
Stiyl and Kaori had been allowed into the city on the condition that they do not interfere as the city would also not interfere in their business.
Stiyl looked over to Alex.
"He's investigating you. He asked me about any information I might have discovered. I'm getting more and more curious about your identity if even that man couldn't figure it out in this amount of time." Stiyl said.
The 'ruler' of academy city. Aleister Crowley was know throughout the world, he had a lot of pull in certain circles and even the church was a bit hesitant to deal with him in any capacity.
"A magician set up a cult in a cram school here in the city, he's using an esper designated as 'deep blood' for a ritual. Apparently...she has the ability to attract….vampires." Stiyl said hesitantly.
Vampires in this world were a very big threat when they appeared. Even most magicians were ignorant to their existence. They were considered something far beyond human reach.
"Meh, as long as there isn't a dead apostle ancestor then it should be fine." Alex answered nonchalantly. As long as there wasn't anything on that level he could handle most vampiric threats.
"Dead Apostle Ancestor?" Stiyl asked curiously. The term was unfamiliar to him, even Index was confused.
"Something like a super vampire." Alex replied, realizing that it would be an unfamiliar term for them.
"I don't even want to know…." Stiyl said with a sigh.
"Anyways, Aleister said that you and Touma are to accompany me in this mission. He said he would overlook your 'intrusion' into his city if you complete this mission to satisfaction." Stiyl explained.
"Ha! Aleister can kiss my ass" Alex responded as he looked at a camera that was homed in on their group. There wasn't much that happened in the city that Aleister didn't know about.
"You are a lot different than how I would have previously imagined you..." Index said quietly.
"You know his identity?" Stiyl asked curiously. He had been meaning to talk to index but he had been preoccupied with dealing with the politics involved in him being in this city.
"Yes…I also know other things, so far its just bits and pieces of memories from before…." She said looking at the magician with a new look in her eyes. It was the look of one looking at a friend.
Stiyl lost interest in Alex immediately as his expression softened at her words. His eyes were close to watering when he realized that she was starting to remember him.
"As touching as this is, I think we have a job to do?" Alex interjected in the warm atmosphere between the two.
"You're going to help?" Stiyl asked. He thought the mysterious man would blow him off after his comment regarding Aleister.
"Never said I wouldn't." Alex responded.
"Then why did you goad him when it was obvious he is watching?" Stiyl asked. He knew how much control the man had over the city.
Alex just shrugged at his comment. He was fine acting a bit 'immature' from time to time. He was no longer that emotionless machine he once was, it helped him stay grounded when he 'acted out'. But he also made a mental note at how easily it came out, he was starting to wonder if maybe his mental age didn't match up to that of his previous lives.
"Anyways, the magician's name is Aureolus Izzard, he's a known Alchemist. We don't have any other information on him other than that he established a cult that 'worships' science in a cram school in the city and he enlisted the help of the esper known as 'deep blood'. Stiyl explained.
"Doesn't sound like a lot of information….." Touma said a bit reluctantly.
"It's not." Stiyl answered.
Alex wasn't familiar enough with this realities magic, he couldn't make assumptions based on his status as being a 'alchemist'. He was making mental notes at the possibility of things that the show didn't have.
If this was before the index incident, he would take a passive role in the mission, but he couldn't risk another one of 'those' things turning up and causing untold amounts of damage.
"We're going to hit it tonight when there will be no pedestrians around." Stiyl said as Alex was lost in thought.
"I'm coming." Index declared as all eyes turned to look at her. They were all about to deny her request until she spoke again.
"I have almost all magical knowledge in my head, you need me." She said with no room for argument.
It would make Alex's job a bit easier, sure he was bringing her along into danger, but it could possibly be even more dangerous to leave her undefended. He still had a few trump cards saved just in case and there were not many beings in this reality that could match him, unless those magic gods wanted to descend from their little pocket dimension.
"Alright." Alex said at the other two's surprise.
"My job above all else is to protect her." Alex said.
"And bringing her into a possible trap is protecting her?" Stiyl said with annoyance.
He wasn't being impulsive in his response. He did put thought into it, he didn't know if that 'thing' was targeting index or merely used her out of convenience. He needed to keep her close by incase the former was the case and he was confident enough to protect her in this upcoming situation with the knowledge of the future plot added on to his overall strength.
"I can protect her better if she is close by ." Alex responded.
"I trust him." Index said bluntly.
Stiyl couldn't form a retort as he looked at the resolute expression on her face.
"If anything happens to her, you'll be learning my magic name." Stiyl said as he tossed a folder at Alex.
A magician telling someone their 'magic name' is akin to declaring a duel to the death.
"Don't be late." Stiyl said as he walked away.
