A Certain Magical Index: The Primal Spirit Descends to My Side

Index walked alone on the somewhat deserted streets in the morning. Sunlight streamed through the gaps between the tall buildings, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in her heart or the hunger in her stomach.

The monastic robe, fastened with safety pins and pieced together, jingled as she walked, with drafts seeping through the seams. Every step was a reminder of her earlier disarray and the chaos of that "perverted" room.

"Idiot...you pervert who's hiding a mistress..." she muttered under her breath, but the anger in her voice had subsided, replaced by a sense of grievance and helplessness. What she said when she left wasn't entirely a lie; she was genuinely worried.

She worries that someone she's only met once will be hunted down by a magician because of her, and that she's ruined someone else's bright future. But where can she go in this unfamiliar city of science?

Just as she was kicking pebbles with her head down, aimlessly turning into a relatively quiet alleyway lined with warehouses and back alleys, a figure silently appeared a few steps in front of her, blocking her way.

Index looked up alertly, her hand unconsciously tightening around her sleeve, but then she froze.

It was the gray-haired girl in that room. She was still wearing that ill-fitting casual clothes, holding the pure white nun's hat that Index had left behind, her calm gray eyes looking at her.

"You..." Index instinctively took a half step back, her emerald eyes filled with wariness and doubt. "How did you find me? Did that person send you?"

The nameless girl didn't answer her question, not because she didn't want to, but simply because she herself didn't know how she had found this place. She simply stepped forward and handed the hat to Index.

Index hesitated for a moment, then took the hat. The familiar touch eased her tense nerves slightly. "Thank you..." she whispered, holding the hat in her hand but not immediately putting it on. "Why...why are you following me? Shouldn't you have stayed in that room?"

"You left." The girl's voice was calm and even. "The hat... I forgot it."

"Just to return the hat?" Index tilted her head, scrutinizing her. There was a strange emptiness about the girl; she didn't seem malicious, but neither did she reveal much emotion. "Aren't you... afraid of the outside world? You seem to know nothing."

The girl didn't answer directly, her gaze sweeping over Index's clothes pinned with a safety pin, then looking at her slightly tired face. "You're angry. Because of Touma Kamijou?"

Mentioning that name made Index angry again: "Of course! That pervert, even though you're already in the family, he still...did that kind of thing to me!"

"Pervert?" The girl repeated the word, seemingly trying to understand its meaning, then shook her head. "No. He saved me. In the dark alley, I knew nothing. He gave me clothes, food, and shelter." She pointed to the clothes she was wearing. "These are what he bought."

Index was stunned. He saved her? In the alley? Her situation was subtly similar to her own, hanging on the balcony. "Then you..." Index's tone softened, carrying a hint of confirmation that she herself didn't realize.

"Weren't you the same? You collapsed from hunger on the balcony, and he made you something to eat and invited you inside." The girl nodded, a faint glimmer of light seemingly appearing in her gray eyes: "He gave you stir-fried vegetables. You ate them."

The simple statement gently punctured the balloon of anger and embarrassment in Index's heart. Yes, the stir-fried vegetables tasted strange, but they were indeed hot, meant for her when she was starving.

The spiky-haired boy, from beginning to end, aside from accidentally ruining her clothes, didn't actually harm or drive her away. Even the clothes were something she made him destroy in order to prove to him that magic was real.

"...I think so," Index admitted softly, her cheeks slightly flushed. She gripped the hat in her hand tighter and whispered, "Thank you for returning my hat...and thank you for...the stir-fried vegetables."

The atmosphere eased. Two girls stood on a quiet street corner, their shadows stretched short by the sunlight.

Index looked at the girl's quiet demeanor and felt a pang of sympathy. She hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Actually... I have no memories from a year ago. My head is filled with knowledge from books, and all I know is being chased and having to keep running... Everything else is empty."

Upon hearing this, the girl's gaze focused intently on Index's face. After a few seconds, she spoke, "I have no memory either. I don't know where I came from or who I am. I woke up in an alley. And then, Touma Kamijou appeared..."

Both had blank pasts, and both had been helped by that same boy. Index's emerald eyes lit up instantly, as if she had found her only kindred spirit in a vast sea of ​​people.

Forgetting her previous awkwardness and wariness, she stepped forward, a sincere and warm smile blooming on her face: "Really? Then we're the same! It's okay if you don't have memories! We know each other now! My name is Index! What's your name?"

The girl shook her head.

"No name?"

"I have no idea…"

"well……?"

"Can we be friends?" The gray-haired girl looked at Index's expectant smile, paused for a moment, and then nodded gently: "Yes."

"Great! We're friends now!" Index said happily, reaching out to hold the girl's slightly cool hand.

The two walked side by side on their way back to the dormitory. Index chattered excitedly to her new friend about the possible magical symbolism of the buildings they saw along the way, even though the other person probably couldn't understand a word.

The girl listened quietly, nodding occasionally. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, intertwining them, creating a rare sense of relaxation after leaving the dormitory.

Index even temporarily forgot the fear of being tracked. Perhaps it was because she had friends, perhaps it was because she was infected by the strange calmness emanating from the girl, or perhaps... the journey had been too smooth, and she hadn't noticed any signs of any magicians approaching.

She secretly observed the girl. This new friend seemed to have a special sense of her surroundings, always able to avoid crowded or poorly lit areas and choose the most inconspicuous path.

"Um...you seem to have a good sense of direction?" Index couldn't help but ask.

The girl looked at her and replied, "I don't know... I just chose a less crowded place..."

Index seemed to understand, but felt at ease. She happily took the girl's hand and explored the city.

Finally, they returned to the familiar student dormitory building. The entrance was as quiet as ever, the afterglow of the setting sun casting a warm golden hue on the gray walls. They had arrived safely, without encountering any attacks or pursuit.

Index breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile spreading across her face. She turned to the girl behind her and said, "Look, we're back safe and sound! Maybe those guys didn't chase after us today? Or maybe there's something special about Touma's dorm...?" Her words carried a hint of relief and the ease of being home.

The girl stood beside her, her gray eyes sweeping over the entrance to the stairwell, the window above, and the slanting sunlight. Her expression remained calm, but a certain invisible tension that had been building up seemed to relax slightly.

Along the way, she indeed didn't see the aggressive and menacing approach she'd encountered before. Perhaps, she really was safe for now?

Just as Index stepped onto the stairs, preparing to push open the stairwell door, and the girl's gaze returned from the distance to Index's back, an accident occurred.

Time seemed to be compressed into an infinitely thin instant.

The sound disappeared.

The light is distorted.

A cold, sharp, and fast "thread" that was beyond the limits of retinal perception appeared out of thin air without warning in the blurry area where the shadows of the girl and Index were intertwined and stretched by the setting sun!

That wasn't the luster of metal, but a purer, more lethal cut itself. Silent and still, yet carrying the will to sever everything, it aimed precisely at Indick's completely unsuspecting nape!

Kanzaki Kaori's slash was a saint's silent judgment. After she and Stiyl completed their encirclement, she launched a fatal blow the moment her prey showed signs of relaxation.

"—!?"

Index didn't even have time to feel the chill before the touch of death was already on her skin.

The girl standing half a step behind her, whose senses had just relaxed slightly, seemed to be a mere instant slower in the face of this lightning-fast strike that defied common sense.

Her gray eyes suddenly narrowed.

The gleaming thread was rapidly approaching Index, but should he reach out now? His arm wouldn't be long enough. Should he get close enough to push her down? That would leave her defenseless against the next attack. Should he warn Index? Even if she reacted, the thread would already behead her.

Almost no means could stop her. Touma Kamijou had told her that she needed to abide by the rules and laws, that human life was precious, etc. Since human life is precious, then no one should have the right to take it away, right?

The girl's fingers couldn't reach it, not at all. If she could reach it, it wouldn't be her fingers, right...? Could it be something other than her fingers?

A white ribbon shot out quickly from beside her hand, blocking the supersonic thread.