Capítulo 38: Chapter 1: Imagine Breaker. Part 2
There was a problem, though.
"Ah, yes, right, right, what am I going to do with this much juice?"
Kamijou dazedly looked at the large pile of nineteen juice cans (Mikoto only consumed one can of plum cider), but in the end, he had no choice but to carry them all back; that's an estimated 350 g * 19 = 6.65 kg mass of garbage or something. As Kamijou did that useless calculation, he felt himself slip further into sadness. His state of mind was the same as that of an acrophobic inadvertently looking below a suspension bridge.
With that, Kamijou Touma began to head back unsteadily through the crimson twilight with his hands full of juice. The residential road leading to the student dorm was narrow, too narrow for even cars to go through; but, just when he thinks that "cars probably won't go through here", he was almost sent flying by a car suddenly backing out from a garage.
But no matter the bad luck of Kamijou, he had yet to experience the misfortune of dying with a smile by being run over just five minutes from the dorms.
"Returning home is an adventure in itself," said Kamijou as he lifted up the cans again.
The cold juice cans would considerably lose their coolness while they remained in Kamijou's arms. But in this shitty hot Japanese summer, how was it that he could not help but feel driven to the verge of frostbite!? Kamijou's heart grieved.
And, as Kamijou was thinking of that, he noticed a tennis ball suddenly rolling in front of his foot.
(Someone playing must have neglected it,) Kamijou thought.
"Hey, hey."
Kamijou, aware of the danger of stepping on the tennis ball, stopped his raised foot and moved it a bit horizontally to avoid the ball.
(Hey, that's dangerous; what'll I do if I step on it and fall?)
As he thought of that...
A sudden gust of wind appeared.
As if the rolling ball were calculating, it slid into the gap between the ground and Kamijou's foot.
"Hiii! Hey, hey, wait—!"
With his entire weight already on his foot, it was too late to stop. Kamijou, having stepped on the ball full force, flopped onto his back.
Thanks to the large pile of juice cans, he couldn't balance well. Kamijou, his back totally flattened, coughed up air, squirmed, and rolled. Bad luck, and even the air didn't tell him that.
The juice cans that should have been in his hands rolled and scattered about with a clattering sound as a sprawled Kamijou breathed deeply.
(Well, I think I won't care if the juice cans are somewhat dented,) he thought.
"Sh, shit. Dammit, just what the hell have I done...?"
"Ze-ha," as he said that, he finally got himself up. As he gazed at the nineteen juice cans scattered about, he became desperate.
(I still have to walk while carrying a little over 6 kg of baggage,) a reeling Kamijou felt as if he were speared; having said that, there's no way around it. In the end, only a lonesome person would have to pick them up.
And as Kamijou, shoulders hunched, picked up the juice cans, a shadow fell over him.
(...Clouds?)
(Oh?) And Kamijou instinctively raised his gaze upward.
Misaka Mikoto was standing in front of him.
(Uoo!?)
Feeling the pressure of a middle school girl looking down silently at him from above, Kamijou instinctively stepped back.
"Y-you—eh? I thought you were off carrying your imouto somewhere else? Now what? If you want more juice, you're gonna be taking two or three of them this time, though."
"..."
Mikoto did not respond to Kamijou's words.
(Something's weird,) Kamijou thought. Then he remembered, Mikoto said something along with an unintentional flash of lightning. Should he win, the winner has a responsibility to fulfill, she had said. I would make sure I stick to it and announce it openly, she also said.
And how about it? After all, the Kamijou Touma in question had stepped on a tennis ball, flipped over on the road, scattered his carried juice all over the ground, and had to gather them alone and with hunched shoulders.
(Gah! Dammit, she approached me way too closely, her skirt—speaking of which, it was short pants a while ago; why did she change into panties!?)
He thought anyone would be angry at the one looking at them even when chaos is in progress.
Mikoto was already looking down at Kamijou with her expressionless eyes.
"If it's important, help is in order, as Misaka would propose with a sigh."
"???"
Far from being a sigh, even by breathing suspiciously quietly, Mikoto made Kamijou doubtfully look at her; at that point, he finally noticed the pair of NV goggles hanging from Mikoto's hand.
"Ah, right, it's the Imouto-type. You, you really look like Mikoto."
"...Mikoto, is it? as Misaka would ask back. Aah, you mean Onee-sama, is it?"
"Who else?"
(As always, she's setting her own pace,) Kamijou thought. "...Ah, right, it's Imouto. Indeed, it's from the short pants; you must have done a class change."
"Short...?"
"Nah, just talking to myself! Wh-what should I say—that's it! What are those tough military goggles for?"
"Misaka doesn't have the skill to follow Onee-sama's different electric or magnetic fluxes, so this device is important for visualizing them, as Misaka would explain thoroughly."
"..."
(Don't think that anything becomes polite when you use honorifics,) Kamijou's heart grumbled.
"Temperature and humidity were high, so I took off the equipment, but when necessity is felt, it will be put back on, as Misaka would suggest."
As Misaka Imouto muttered alone, she hung the goggles back onto her forehead.
"Hm, eh? But you, weren't you carried off by your sister a while ago?"
"Misaka came from that direction, as indicated."
Misaka Imouto pointed at the direction of the street. Somehow, it was an entirely different direction.
"?" Kamijou bent his head.
"But apart from that, what will you do with the scattered juices? as Misaka would ask. At this rate, you run counter to the road traffic rules and you may be fined no lower than 150,000 yen—or possibly more."
"...That would be bad. I'm picking them up fast and going for it."
Even Kamijou knew that this different Misaka Imouto didn't speak in a disagreeable or sarcastic manner, but "quickly destroy the surrounding troubles" was, for some reason or another, becoming irritating.
And, as Kamijou was silently picking up the juice cans one by one,
"If necessary, Misaka, too, will lend a hand, as Misaka would propose."
"Hah? It's alright, I can do this. Generally, your help is not required anytime—I think."
But at that moment, a light truck came through the residential area. The truck stopped rudely in front of Kamijou, and really honked at him with ill humor.
"—"
Misaka Imouto started to gather up the scattered cans silently. Having an unknown girl clean up after his clumsiness made Kamijou feel ashamed, but he couldn't say anything with the truck honking at him to hurry up. It couldn't be helped, so they each picked up an equal half of the pile.
Nonetheless, Kamijou whispered something after collecting.
"Sorry, I guess I'll have to indulge you with some dessert from the convenience store, sorry about that—!!"
As Kamijou said that, the instant he saw Misaka Imouto's figure again, his breath involuntarily stopped.
The defenseless, squatting Misaka Imouto wasn't worried about her short skirt. He was secretly peeking at something white and blue in-between her legs.
As Misaka Imouto squat, she looked up at Kamijou expressionlessly.
"...What is it? as Misaka would ask for confirmation."
"Hi...!! No, well, it's nothing, you know? Nothing to see, you know?"
"In comparison, your dilating pupils, restless respiratory action, abnormal pulse, and the like are detected, as Misaka would show her objective assessment. In conclusion, aren't you under mental strain? as Mi—"
"No, it's nothing! It's really nothing! I'm really sorry!"
"??"
Whatever is he apologizing for? With that impression, Misaka Imouto vaguely nodded her head.
As the light truck's horn depressingly blared, Kamijou, urging himself on, hastily picked up the juice cans.
With the recovery completed, the truck violently pressed forward, apparently very angry. Incidentally, as the truck ran past, Misaka Imouto's short skirt flutters, but the girl didn't even bother to push her skirt down.
(Somehow, I feel like I know how to differentiate between the sisters.) Kamijou sighed. Mikoto, even with shorts beneath her skirt, probably wouldn't have let that pass by.
"Well, then, to what place will these juice cans be transported to? as Misaka with hands full of juice cans would ask."
"Ah? It's alright, I can carry them myself."
"Well, then, to what place will these juice cans be transported to? as Misaka would demand."
"I told you it's okay, it's okay; no need for you to carry them..."
"Make it quick."
She sharpened her voice. Kamijou gave up and let Misaka Imouto carry the load.
Luckily, the student dorms were only five minutes away. The identical buildings all stood in a dreary location, but since the building winds all converged in the same direction, it was also the spot of Academy City's number one wind farm.
The buildings stood a little over two meters apart. Slipping under the back alley-like opening, Kamijou and Misaka Imouto passed through the emergency entrance and headed for the dorm elevators.
And, just ahead of Kamijou, a cleaning robot came up—one with tires and a rotating mop attached to a drum eighty centimeters long and forty centimeters in diameter.
Up to this point in Academy City, even the mysterious was harmless, but it was a little different from here on. Atop the cleaning robot, a maid about thirteen or fourteen years old was sitting seiza-style.
"Whee, Kamijou Touma!"
Her name was Tsuchimikado Maika, and was Kamijou's neighbor. She, as a sister's promise to Tsuchimikado Motoharu, went to a home economics (maid) school and was now wearing a maid outfit as her uniform. Something disagreeable and a change of pace made her escape from the girls' dorm and come there as a runaway girl. But even with his memory lost, for Kamijou to constantly encounter her in this place, it appeared that there was nothing he could do to stop her from slipping into the boy's dorm constantly.
"The air con's damaged today, so I'll be coming over. Also, I think my brother will be making noise tonight, so please pardon us."
"...I see, home economics school must be dreadful; they don't even have summer vacation."
"Yes. 'A true maid never rests,' my school precepts say. Not even on Saturdays and Sundays can a maid apprentice rest, and had I not taken a guerrilla weekly leave for two days, I'd be down and out."
"Will it be the ice age when maids with truant habits are in demand?"
"But of course; maids that complete the course are in greater demand than drop-outs, they say. By the way, Kamijou Touma, did those spoils of war in your hands come from the lottery?"
"I paid for them all (maybe). The cans may be dirtied up a little bit, but take one if you want."
"If there's green tea, I'm taking it—"
"...Then milk with powdered green tea would be fine for you."
"Thank you," as Tsuchimikado Maika stretched out her tiny hand and grabbed the milk tea from Kamijou's hand. Then, the cleaning robot changed course, leaving Kamijou and Imouto behind. Maika waved her hand vigorously to say bye
"Finally, trick number one for hiding a runaway girl: never leave the girl behind in your room during daytime. Make them loiter around peacefully in the city; then, at nighttime, recovery by baiting them is the easiest option. Leave her behind 24/7, and the sounds of someone living in your room will escape just like that and the neighbors might just notice. I mean, isn't that sister making too much slapstick noise?"
The cleaning robot with the sitting girl went somewhere else.
"Do you have preferences for confining other people? as Misaka would inquire a little seriously."
"It's nothing serious; it's only hiding a freeloader."
Kamijou said clearly. He clearly said it... but no doubt about it, what will the law nut say? Kamijou was clearly hoping it would not be underage kidnapping- or worse.
(If a yokozuna gets on here, the cables would snap.)
A worried Kamijou got on the dilapidated elevator with Misaka Imouto, and ascended to the seventh floor.
*Kinkon* went the cheap electronic sound as the elevator arrived at the seventh floor. As Kamijou's dormitory was rectangular in shape, there was no way to go but straight ahead when leaving the elevator.
Just ahead, in the vicinity of Kamijou's room's door, were mysteriously new metal handrails. Kamijou could recall no matter how much he tried, but some idiot had apparently used fire to blow them off. Here and there, if one looked closely, the walls and floor, too, were mysteriously new.
And, in front of Kamijou's home's door, Index and Himegami Aisa were facing them, both of them squatting, hands stretched, and playing with a calico cat. Interposed between the two of them, the calico cat was being stroked by four hands and was pleasantly rolling along the floor.
"...Hey, what are you doing, the two of you? Hey! What's the matter, have you been locked out even though you don't need a key?"
As Kamijou raised his voice, the two looked up at him.
"Ah, it's Touma. Well, fleas got onto Sphinx, so we're picking them—eh, what! Touma brought an unknown girl again!"
It was Index, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, who shouted that. A girl with a 100% false name, she was wrapped in a plainly extravagant porcelain-white gold-embroidered nun's habit. Somewhere, there was a certain world where someone called "Index" existed, but for Kamijou, she was insensitively treated as a "girl who became a freeloader without me realizing it".
"Perhaps that is his fate: to raise other people's flags, and go down their story routes." (! )
It was Himegami Aisa, a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl, who said that. She had long, black hair and the appearance of a normal miko, but hanging from her neck was a, strangely floating, huge silver crucifix. It was no surprise, as that was the barrier created to seal Himegami's power, Deep Blood.
Kamijou remembered Index's words a while ago about the crucifix.
"Touma, Touma, didn't I tell you not to touch Aisa's Celtic cross? That's the cross from the Walking Church that can generate and preserve only a minimal barrier. Well, if it were an ordinary church, I wonder if this would be the equivalent of the cross high up on its spire?"
"Hah. Then that means if my right hand touches it, it'd be gone."
"...Yes. Just like what happened with my habit..."
"Ha? I can't hear you, what is it?"
"It's nothing! I didn't say anything, so forget about it!"
After that, Kamijou was chomped on and bitten by a somewhat furious blushing Index. The point was, that crucifix must not be touched at all costs, probably.
Incidentally for Himegami, because that crucifix had sealed her powers, she had been judged as a Level 0 from a private elite school, and was urged to drop out. Even Kamijou could enroll in that private school; their minimum requirement was being a Level 2. An athletic scholar dealing with a debilitating injury would probably have understood Himegami's circumstances easily.
Right now, if the crucifix were removed, Deep Blood would probably manifest again; that made Himegami vow never to do so.
With those circumstances, Himegami had been automatically expelled from the girls' dormitory. However, if she left Academy City, she might be a targeted by magi out for her power. To an aimless Himegami, it was unbelievable that Kamijou's advisor, Komoe-sensei, had picked her up, and turned her into a freeloader.
For them to easily meet fortuitously in this wide town, there were reasons, too; the truth was that there were certain locations where runaway girls spontaneously went. Komoe-sensei, a specialist in social, environmental, behavioral, and communicational psychology among other things, had a knack for going around to such places, finding runaway girls, and taking them in. Acting on good intuition at the area around the flag, and then triggering the shock of transfer students at the opening of summer vacation... Kamijou was feeling bad about something.
And that Himegami glanced at Kamijou's pile of juice cans.
"What's with that pile of goods you have there? Are you a weakling that cannot drink tap water?" (?)
"That's not it at all. Generally, juice will not make you sick," Kamijou sighs. "Here, Index, you're in charge of the stuff."
"Uh-huh. I like juice, but I hate 'pull tabs'. Touma, open a can for me, will you?"
Since she was only barely familiar with modern civilization, Index probably couldn't open the pull tab. It wasn't that she didn't know how or have the power to do it; it was more like, "If I overdo it, I might somehow break a nail or two, so it's scary."
As a pull-tab-phobic Index gave her can back to Kamijou, her gaze landed on Misaka Imouto.
"Huh? Really, there must be a reason why Touma's encounter rate with girls is way too high. Anyhow, I don't think I wanna listen to it. Well, then, who are the parents of this child?"
"This is only my personal opinion: I only see a poor, unlucky girl being pursued by some mysterious organization."
"You're noisy, pipe down; not one person should mistreat the people around me for any reason," Kamijou said as he carried the juice. "...Let's overlook that one for now. Didn't you say something? What do you mean by 'fleas attaching to the calico cat'?"
"Yeah," Index nodded tiredly. "When I woke up one morning, I found Sphinx with fleas all over. I think I'm certain Touma's futon is in bad shape."
"'I think', my ass! Didn't I tell you brats 'no cats on the futon'? Even fallen cat hair will make it bad-! Wait a minute, so this is why I'm itchy all over! Aaaaagh!" Kamijou screamed. "And that's why you left the room; it's turned into a hotbed for fleas! That's why you brats are here, dammit!"
Kamijou's eyes landed on the doorknob, but he hesitated to open it.
Ignoring the hesitant Kamijou, Index put her hands into her sleeves, and began to rummage for something.
"...Eh, Index, why are you pulling out a green leaf from your pocket?"
"It's called a sage plant! I found it unexpectedly outside, didn't you know?"
"..."
In Academy City, drug use is the norm for esper development. Medicinal knowledge has long been chronicled.
Sage plant: of the "Labiatae" family, perennials, native in the Mediterranean region. Used for medicine, the leaves are called Salvia leaves, and they are also cultivated as spices or ornamental plants... where they are found.
"Then what are you pulling out that medicinal herb for? You gonna chew it for HP recovery?"
"'Ecchi-pi'?" Index tilted her head. "I really don't understand Touma's strange language, but sage plants have purifying effects, you know. I'm going to use these to drive away the fleas like magic."
"...I've got a very bad feeling about this. That herb, are you going to feed it to the cat, or is it for the fleas?"
"Uh, nah. Burn up the leaf, then place Sphinx near the smoke to drive away the fleas."
"..."
"As always, lighting a fire inside the room would be suicide."
"..."
Kamijou was looking dead-serious at the straightforward-answering Index.
(Well, I know that fleas hate smoke, I know that, but...)
And, as Himegami was unexpectedly flapping her hands,
"Don't remain silent; this is where you interject. At this rate, the cat would end up thoroughly broiled."
Himegami's words brought Kamijou back from his thoughts.
"...Ah! Yes, that's right, that's right. Didn't you know, Index, that fire is one of the things cats fear the most? If you smoke the cat to get rid of the fleas, the cat would end up dead, too!"
(I'm so glad that Himegami's normal at least,) Kamijou thought, feeling thoroughly relieved.
She suddenly thrust her hands into the sleeves of her miko outfit and started rummaging around.
"...W-wait, Himegami. What did you just pull out from your sleeves?"
"Hm? If you ask me what, I must reply 'magic spray'."
No matter how he looked at it, it could only be pesticide.
"—Errr. What are you going to do with that?"
"I am merely going to point the magic spray at the pests, and spray them."
"...I told you, fleas are living animals, and cats are, too, so don't bring out that Academy City trial product that will kill cockroaches in two seconds! Are you two the sort who would spray pesticide on their own faces the instant a mosquito lands on them—!?"
"...?" Watching the two of them stare in confusion at each other, Kamijou would have been seriously clutching his head if his arms hadn't already been preoccupied. The thing that really bothered him was the course of action these two thought to take just because they had been seriously worried about the cat.
Just then, the previously silent Misaka Imouto suddenly opened her mouth.
"If discussion is in order, how efficient is it to first put down the juices? as a burdened Misaka would suggest."
"Hm? Ah, right, just put them down on the floor. Sorry, and you can take one from the pile as gratitude."
"It is not important, as Misaka would reply. Well, then, it doesn't matter if I put them down here on the floor, but please just make sure that they don't fall seven floors down, as Misaka would warn of impending tasks ahead."
Index and Himegami suddenly stopped in response to Misaka Imouto's well-mannered top-class sommelier acting; they must be shocked at being compared to as troublemakers.
"...Uwaah. Touma, Touma. She looks like she's a Royal Guards' Lady (Queen of Honor) from Windsor Castle."
"...More like from medieval times. Possibly made to follow the maid robot project."
Misaka-imouto didn't even raise her eyebrows at their words.
"Well, then, how to deal with that cat—"
"Uwaah, nice follow-through... Forget it, you know of something?"
"—Even if you know them, using an over-the-counter anti-flea medicine is honestly recommended, as Misaka would suggest. There should be an anti-flea powder that can be sprinkled onto the cat."
"...Well, it's a medicine, alright. Won't it be harmful in the end?"
Academy City students including a timetable (curriculum) for administering medicine... what the hell are they saying? Even with this opinion, whatever you think of it, the kitty is less than a year old. Resistance against such medicines, whether they're "harmful" or "harmless", varies greatly with age.
But Misaka Imouto didn't appear especially worried.
(Well, she's been expressionless from the beginning.)
"There is no such thing as harmless medicine, as Misaka would reply promptly. In comparing damage against fleas to damage from the medicine, the former should be more serious, as Misaka would add a supplementary explanation."
"..."
"Damage from fleas or ticks would not only be merely dermatitis, as Misaka would add. At worst, there's a possibility that it would be a trigger for a severe life-threatening allergic diathesis, as Misaka would worry."
(Uh-huh,) as Kamijou became silent.
Well, surely they say that abuse of antibiotics (cold medicine) leads to lowered immunity, yet when they hit 40°C, they have no choice but to drink them. That, he could understand well... but looking at the purring and rolling calico cat, he couldn't accept anything unreasonable. Well, of course, something had to be done quickly to the purring cat to make the fleas drop off.
"(Is there something that can be done without resorting to drugs?)" Kamijou mutters softly as he folds his arms, deep in thought—and with that, Misaka Imouto suddenly begins to speak.
"In short, taking off the fleas from the cat's body without resorting to drugs is better, as Misaka would confirm—of course, without also resorting to either smoke or pesticides."
"...Well, just because even those two have some evil intention or two doesn't mean that they're serious about it, I think."
"Or is it rather that there is no help without malice? as Misaka would answer in amazement." As always, Misaka Imouto would answer with no expression whatsoever. "Anyway, you should be supervising the two of them, as Misaka would advise. If you do not separate the girls from the cat as soon as possible, I think container destruction should be applied at this very moment, as Misaka would add in advance."
"...You're legally treating an animal's life as a container? Come on."
(As if it's okay to legislate new laws,) Kamijou half-thought.
"And then we're back to square one. Well, then, smoke and pesticides... since those options are rejected as a matter of course, how will Misaka Imouto drive away the fleas?"
*Piku*, both Sister and Miko's shoulders moved at the same time.
"Hooo. Touma only just met a girl much later than me, and yet he relies on her more than me, hohoho."
"This is it. This is a plan to make former characters disappear rapidly. Fufufu. We're not going to be rescued."
"..."
Kamijou was already ignoring them.
Looking at a stiff Kamijou, Misaka Imouto expressionlessly muttered,
"Repeating the question, pesticides and smoke are forbidden, and any method that doesn't rely on drugs and can make the fleas drop off is fine, right? as Misaka would confirm with finality."
"That's right, but how?"
"With this, as Misaka would immediately reply."
Misaka Imouto went up to the curling-up cat and placed her palm on it.
In an instant, a *pachin*-like sound of static electricity being unleashed exploded from Misaka Imouto's palm. The fleas' corpses fell off the cat's fur like dust being shaken off. Sphinx, with its fur hair standing up, struggled noisily; Himegami grabbed it by its scruff before it could dive seven stories down.
"The pests are killed by a specific frequency, as Misaka would inform. This type of insect repellent equipment is commonly sold at major discount houses, so it should have no safety issues."
Misaka looked at the doorway for a moment. "While indoors, using a fog-type pesticide would be easier for pest extermination, as Misaka would advise in advance."
(In any case, work's over,) thought Misaka Imouto as she turned around and departed without even hearing a word of gratitude.
Index, her eyes following the retreating figure, slowly murmured, "Touma, Touma, that one for sure is a perfect cool beauty, I think."
Taking the opportunity, Touma, too, murmured, "I agree; it's an unreasonable order, but it's a request, so please follow that one's example, even for a little bit."
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
OmnipresenceBeing
OmnipresenceBeing Chapter 1: Imagine Breaker.: Notes:
1. ↑ Sweet red bean soup
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