The door to the hospital room opened, and in entered the top doctor who presided over this hospital—Heaven Canceller.
What Haru did not know, however, was that this unassuming medical genius had many rumors surrounding around him: his ultimate goal in saving patients, his life saving streak, his connection to the perhaps most influential individual in the world due to his supposed invention of a machine that could extend a being's lifespan to almost two millennia. But enough of that for now.
"Eh, what's up doc'?" Haru was currently eating baby carrot sticks with his forks. "Kinda makes me nervous, seeing you coming here personally to deliver the news."
"It is nothing serious." Heaven Canceller replied. "Just some minor info to give about your health."
Haru placed his food dish on the side of his bed. "Alright then... Give it to me straight, Doctor Gekota."
Heaven Canceller frowned. "Doctor Gekota?"
"It's a nickname. Everyone needs a nickname." Haru scratched his head. "Unless you don't like that one."
"I would prefer it if you called me Heaven Canceller."
"Heaven Canceller...?" Haru furrowed his eyebrows, then smiled. "Oh, I get it, you cancel people from going to Heaven... That's a cool nickname you got there. Hahahaha..."
"Yes, well..." The doctor pulled out Haru's medical files from his coat pockets. "You had several burns at points in your body I assume you got it from an electrical shock, along with some abdominal problems. Thankfully, I am almost certain that you broke no bones from that attack. On the other hand however, your jaw was fractured to the point that it there would have been some irreparable damage to it had you not checked yourself into the hospital. Thankfully there is no lasting damage on your cheek or jaw, but as there is still some stitching within them, please try not to move them too much, and be very careful when yawning, as they can ruin the stitching. Really, what have you been doing for past 24 hours?"
"Doctor," Haru changed the topic. "Have you noticed anything irregular about my body while treating me?"
"Now that you have mentioned it, yes." he placed the notes back within his coat pocket. "I assume you are aware of it."
"I am." Haru sat up on his bed. "So there are no lasting damage to my body?"
"This time, no. Do take care not to be involved in dangerous situations." Although Haru said nothing about his life, Heaven Canceller seemed to know all about the dangers within them. "You only have one body, after all."
"I don't get involved with dangerous situations, doctor, more often than not." Haru smiled.
"They get involved with me."
Heaven Canceller insisted that Haru stayed in the hospital for one more day. In the next morning, bright rays of sunshine shone through the windows as Haru began to collect his possessions. He was rather surprised to find that he was not hunted down by the police at this point, him being illegal immigrant and all. The doctor may have bent some rules for his patient and decided not to report his status within this city, but Haru saw absolutely no reason to do that.
First order of operation: he needed to find a place to sleep within. This was trickier than one would imagine it to be as he had no form of valid ID of this city whatsoever.
Second order of operation: Find his mining pod and beat the everloving life out of the person who took his machine.
Sitting down on the nearby bench, he began to scratch his hair in deep thought.
After some thinking, he took out his phone once more. He dialed a number he placed within his contacts yesterday.
"Hey, Touma, this is Haru. I want to ask something..."
Kamijou's apartment was rather humble. It was an 8 story building with dorm rooms designed to accommodate a single student each for the Academy City boys. Keyword on single; right now Touma had one extra freeloader, and now he was about to gain another tenant.
Haru seriously hoped that Touma wouldn't mind his brief stay. He had money, so maybe it wouldn't be as hard to convince him as it appeared to be. Stepping out from the elevator and approaching the door, he pressed the doorbell once.
After a brief moment footsteps approached. The door swung open, and a noise of something smashing occurred all the way back in the apartment. "Such misfortune... Anyway, come in." Kamijou waved his arms in welcome. "I hope you don't mind small spaces."
"I just need somewhere to sleep in the night. I am rather suspicious of hotels as I am not even supposed to be here."
"Ah, well see, about that... There is only one bed. And Index sleeps on it."
"... Ah." Haru nodded in understanding. "So you sleep on the floor?"
"Um, no. I sleep in the bathroom."
Bathroom? How would anyone stand sleeping in a bathroom? "Why not on the floor?" Haru was bewildered.
"Eheheh..." Touma chuckled nervously. To tell the truth, he didn't trust himself to sleep in the same area with another girl, so he locked himself in the bathroom to prevent himself from doing something that shouldn't be done. Sympathy should be granted to this poor high school student that accommodated other people as well.
"Well, I guess I am sleeping on the floor than." Haru fished something out from his jacket. "Here." He tossed a card to Touma. "Consider this as both deposit and entire rent for the stay."
After catching the object Touma inspected it. His mouth fell open.
"... Haru," Touma replied. "Isn't this..."
"Black Centurion Card, yes. Mind you, I don't own that, that's government issued. Don't spend too much."
"But, wait, you don't understand..."
"Ah, you think that will attract too much attention? Good point, just use it on the ATMs to pull out cash. I'll write you the PIN later, as someone might be listening."
"No, it's not that, but the fact is that this Kamijou-san is officially proven as misfortunate. My Imagine Breaker is supposedly siphoning out luck, or divine blessing according to Index. I might lose both this card and the written code!"
"Well then," Haru genially replied. "PIN you can just memorize and you can destroy the paper, and I can always freeze the account. If you lose the card, well, I suppose my sponsors won't be happy about that, but it's not irreplaceable." He shrugged. "It's adequate payment. Now, I need to get going. Tell Index I said hello." Haru glanced at the nun who was concentrated on Magical Powered Kanamin. "I'll probably be back at night."
Haru left, while Touma stood there, gaping at the black card.
The Green Mart within the Academy City housed impressive amounts of manga. While Haru would have appreciated translated versions more, he still used his limited knowledge in Japanese written language to its fullest extent. Speaking he had little trouble with, but reading and writing he needed practice.
One thing he did notice was that some of those comics had dog-eared pages all over them. Someone read them, marked the pages, and didn't bother to buy them... Feeling the stare of the store manager on his back, Haru decided to buy the used manga for the time being. Taking one for the team and all that.
It was still pretty early in the morning, and a blissful stroll around the city seemed desirable. Munching on the hot dog bought from a food booth, he sat on a bench, surveying the atmosphere. Teenagers moved about in their desire to spend their last few weeks of vacation in the best way possible.
Was that Misaka? Wondered Haru as he spotted the familiar short haired brunette... Wearing a swanky gear on her head. Standing up, he decided to say his greetings as he walked toward her.
"Yo, Misaka." Haru waved his arms. The girl turned around and observed him walking toward her. "I assume you have many questions as to what exactly happened that morning, eh?"
He was of course referring to his battle with Sanlaf. The apartment itself was not in a good condition at the end of it, to say the least.
"Are you referring to Onee-sama? Asks Misaka."
Onee-sama? And why was she suddenly referring to herself in third person?
"Nah, I'm talking to you, Misaka. Dunno who this onee-sama is." Haru internally frowned. Was she acting silly on purpose?
"I do not know what you mean by 'what happened that morning', replies Misaka. Perhaps you have met my onee-sama, and confusing Misaka for her, Misaka hypothesizes."
Something was wrong. While she looked exactly like Misaka, and Haru could have sworn it was her, but they way she spoke and the tone of her voice suggested something different...
"Oh come on Misaka," Haru smiled. "Don't pretend not to know me. Heck, we were involved in hectic situation together. That at least counts as an acquaintanceship!"
"I am almost certain that you are confusing Misaka for onee-sama, Misaka replies. Misaka is not onee-sama, but her younger sister, Misaka explains."
Okay, her constant reference of herself as Misaka was confusing him to no end, but he still got the gist of her words.
"So... you are like her twin, or something?"
"Not exactly, Misaka replies. Misaka is Onee-sama's younger sister, Misaka explains again."
"Alright, sounds interesting." Haru grinned. "So you are her younger twin, huh..."
"Affirmative, Misaka replies."
"So what's with the fancy goggles? Looks nice." Haru gestured toward the gadget on her head.
"This is an Electron Goggle, Misaka explains. This enables Misaka to see electron beams and magnetic field lines, Misaka elaborates."
Because apparently you need to see those field lines for everyday life. But it did look cool, to tell the truth. "So, I guess you wear this goggle to differentiate yourself from your sister?" Haru replied.
"Negative, Misaka says. This is for battle usage, used to enhance weapon accuracy and electric powers, Misaka explains."
… Whoa. Battle situations. Haru at this point had no way to tell when she was joking or was being serious. "Alright, that's cool. How many sisters are there in your family?"
Only her and Misaka maybe? Perhaps three at the most, Haru estimated.
"In total, the number of sisters is about 20,000, Misaka explains."