Editing Traduciendo: Toaru Majutsu no Index:Volume4 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 5===
After a while, the taxi arrived. Kamijou and company boarded it and headed to the perimeter. The driver (because of the appearance switch, the person holding the steering wheel was a female high school student) said that the police had already sealed the road off, and the taxi could only go halfway. Kamijou and company indicated that it was alright.

Kanzaki's nodachi was about two meters long, and extended from the back end to the front seats in the cramped car. Though the driver looked really bothered, since it was a nodachi, she didn't care to complain about it.

The four of them disembarked some place far away from where the onlookers were gathered.

While disembarking, the driver saw Tsuchimikado's face.

"You're an idol--right? My daughter really likes you!"

The taxi driver then happily opened his notebook, and Tsuchimikado smiled as he gave a huge autograph.

The taxi left. If the reports on the TV were true, the perimeter net around the scene should be six hundred meters in radius.

"Speaking of which, wouldn't that be too exaggerating? Why must they set up such a large net when the police don't even have enough manpower? Can't they just shrink it?"

Kamijou's reply to this question was easy, but it gave him an uncomfortable feeling.

"Maybe the higher ups have allowed them to fire? This is to prevent the civilians from being hit by stray bullets."

However, even if it was a bank robbery, the police wouldn't have set up such a large road blockage. Maybe to the police, today's incident wouldn't be settled by one or two shots. It may end up as a large scale mechanical and explosive battle. Such high level alert was only seen in Europe and America, when explosives were involved, and this was a rarity in Japan. Besides, there was only one convict. Maybe Hino Jinsaku was a rather unique criminal to the police.

As Kamijou wondered about that, Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado started to discuss the actions they should take next.

"Hm, the media's helicopter is gone. Maybe they got warned by the police."

"The reporters on the ground are also sealed off by the barricade. Those wolf-like guys can actually listen. That's weird, maybe someone's pressuring them from above."

Tsuchimikado said that as he readjusted the tilted pair of blue shades. It seemed like he was really after those gossiping reporters.

"Are you saying someone in the Japanese police has realized that Hino Jinsaku used Angel Fall? But I thought that report from earlier this year determined a 0th Investigation Department that specializes in spiritual matters was a groundless rumor."

"I'm not talking about that dimension. Those people are just afraid of someone capturing the image of the 0.22 caliber rounds the police use when they blow Hino's brains out. Political figures require a much better image than idols. It's complicated."

Kanzaki revealed an irritated look as she looked at the no entry area. Misha continued to chew on her chewing gum. 

After looking at those three experts, Kamijou said, "Now what? There's still the crowd and the police out there. How are we going to go back to my house? Do we have to go by the sewers?"

"The police must have considered that Hino may escape by the sewers. Anyway, let's get to your house first."

Tsuchimikado said that as a matter of fact, and Kamijou was inadvertently stunned.

"How?"

"You're asking how? Of course we're going by the front."

Tsuchimikado said that as he pointed to the concrete wall of a nearby residence.

The police had already sealed off all the roads nearby.

But on the other hand, there wouldn't be any police on 'those places that aren't roads'. The nearby residents had evacuated, and the gardens of the residences were blocked by the shrubs and the walls, forming a space that couldn't be seen from the road.

Tsuchimikado and company casually passed by the residences, and Kamijou followed. They jumped past the hedges and climbed over the walls to get from one residence to another.

Of course, this alone wasn't enough to escape the police's eyes.

Though the police were watching the roads, it didn't mean that they would ignore the gardens of the civilians, car shades and the like. If Kamijou and company were to be seen by them, they would definitely be arrested.

That's right, if they were spotted.

But Tsuchimikado and company were able to use various opportunities, like when a policeman just so happened to be talking to another one nearby, or one who was focused on the wireless broadcast, or those who just saw a stray cat leap out of a dark corner, or one who was staring at the sky for no reason...they continued to use these chances to quickly slip by the police. And they never got stopped. The moment they slipped through just so happened to be the time the police revealed an opening, as if everything was timed.

Basically, the outcome was that Tsuchimikado and company were running all the way without stopping as they slipped through the perimeter.

And they even brought the amateur Kamijou along.

At that moment, Kamijou was reminded of some video games—the spy games where one had to slip through and hide in those buildings that were occupied by terrorists, or a ninja who had to get through those Japanese style buildings that had guards roaming around, or something similar. Kamijou seemed to be under the illusion that he was seeing a record being smashed or something.

But reality was a little different from the games.

The stages of the games were designed to be broken through.

A perimeter in real life however was designed to prevent people from entering.

It sounded like nothing much, but the difference between them was huge.

Seeing such amazing prowess, Kamijou realized that Tsuchimikado, who he felt was close to him, was actually an expert, and that made him extremely bitter. Tsuchimikado, who was humming as he easily passed the perimeter, seemed a bit further away from Kamijou now.


After passing through the six hundred meter radius police perimeter, they hadn't met a single soul for a while. But after running inside, they found some people who were armed with armored clothes and transparent shields. They were the assault forces members, but there were some people who were switched into grandpas and grandmas, so they didn't really look reliable.

At that moment, Tsuchimikado stopped and hid behind a car on the road. The rest followed suit.

"Alright, it's now difficult to sneak it. The forces surrounding Kami-yan's house are all watching with binoculars, so it's impossible to go in without being discovered."

"Impossible...? Then how?"

Kamijou was shocked that they came all the way there, only to be out of ideas.

"Yah, though magic spells that can interfere with consciousness will cause the assault forces to sleep or be unconscious, this will end up with no one responding to the wireless communication. The police outside may suspect that something's wrong."

Kanzaki paused.

She was considering what was just said.

"How about we use spells that don't change their judgment?"

Kamijou didn't understand it at all, and Misha silently stared at Kanzaki.

"Basically, we just need to let the assault forces think that another house is Kamijou Touma's house. With this, no matter what happens inside Kamijou Touma's house, the assault forces will report that everything's clear."

Shua! A gust of wind could be heard.

Numerous steel wires appeared beside Kanzaki. If it wasn't for the reflected sunlight, the naked eye would definitely have been unable to see them.

"Boundary of Forbidden Wires—a summoning circle that originates from South East Asia. It's meant to summon a god that protects houses."

"How can you reveal my methods in front of them so thoroughly, Tsuchimikado?" Kanzaki sighed, and said, "If we have to use it on all the assault forces, it seems like we need a one-hundred-meter radius web. The work will take about twenty minutes, so find a place to hide first."

"Roger that~"

Tsuchimikado stroked the blue shades with his fingertips as he casually replied.

"Also, Kamijou Touma, don't touch these wires. The Boundary of Forbidden Wires uses a three-dimensional magic array formed by the wires to replace a two-dimensional one. The wires are the core of the boundary, so the magic may be dissipated if your right hand touches it."

"I got it, I won't be so stupid to touch the wires when my fingers can be cut off. My right hand just got sliced off a while back, and I don't want to have another limb separated. No matter how unfortunate I am, I don't have to be that pitiful, do I?"

Suddenly, the expression on Kanzaki's face disappeared.

"Eh? But Kami-yan, wasn't it 'the good thing among all the bad things' when your hand got cut during the Misawa Cram School battle?"

Tsuchimikado and Kamijou didn't notice the slight change on Kanzaki's face.

"Who will be happy with getting a hand sliced off!? Meeting someone like that damned pedophile of an alchemist is already my misfortune."

Crack! Kanzaki turned away from Kamijou.

Kamijou felt a chill down his back as he inadvertently turned to look at Kanzaki. This was a subconscious act, similar to what humans would do when endangered.

Kanzaki's back was emotionless now.

"Wha...what? Are you unhappy?"

"Nothing."

Kanzaki answered.

Kanzaki left Kamijou as she went to set up the Boundary of Forbidden Wires. While leaving, she didn't even look back.


She dashed into an empty area and started to set up the wires one by one.

What was different in an ordinary city as compared to Academy City was that there were telephone poles on the road, which made it easy to hide the wires and support them. Kanzaki used the poles and cables to form a one-hundred-meter radius three-dimensional magic array that created a unique wavelength of magic to cause the assault forces to be wrong in their judgment. The Boundary of Forbidden Wires looked like a Chinese wok, but Kamijou may have thought that it looked like a saucer-shaped antenna.

Kamijou.

Hearing him say the word 'misfortune', Kanzaki frowned.

(It's not his fault. I shouldn't have taken it out on him.)

Logically she knew that, but a certain illogical emotion made Kanzaki not want to remain there.

Kanzaki had a bad memory about the word 'misfortune'.

If possible, she would not like to hear that again.

Afraid of the dusty memory being opened up again, Kanzaki chose to run. Faster, stronger, concentrate. The act of concentrating caused her to not think of those things she was afraid of.


After Kanzaki ran away, Kamijou, who was hiding in the shade of the car, sighed.

He was shocked that the magicians were so lazy they didn't have a plan, even though they were so powerful. Basically, if Kanzaki just so happened to be unable to use that 'so-so boundary', what did they intend to do? Were they going to stand around and laze? Even if they were those special forces 'who specialize in eliminating' in the movies, there would be some scenes where they were seen planning with the layouts before charging into a building occupied by terrorists.

Speaking of which, the last time he fought the alchemist with the rune magician during the Misawa Cram School incident, there hadn't seemed to be any plan.

Kamijou complained about this to Tsuchimikado, but Tsuchimikado's response was "Of course".

"Kami-yan, we magicians are experts, but we aren't like those trained special forces. We aren't like soldiers who are trained to be organized in killing, and we aren't trained to have teamwork. We're amateurs in battle."

"What?"

Kamijou frowned.

To Kamijou, the words 'battling amateurs' certainly didn't match these magicians.

"Are you kidding me? Those people like Stiyl and Aureolus can just laugh and beat up a type-90 tank from the front! Those battle maniacs, those destructive monsters, how can they be amateurs?"

Misha silently reached her hand out to Kamijou, and Kamijou again passed a chewing gum to her. Like a cashier handing money to the customer, Misha received the chewing gum without touching Kamijou's hand.

Through the blue shades, Tsuchimikado saw that action between Kamijou and Misha.

"That's like being a middle schooler with a nuke launch button in the hand. Though we have amazing magic abilities, that isn't the result of military training."

Tsuchimikado chuckled.

"Or else you would have felt weird right, Kami-yan? If magicians were trained professionally, why would they harbour so many personal feelings in battle? Knowing the shocking truth and being stunned in front of the enemy, treating the enemy's words as true, pitying the enemy, wanting to fight the enemy one on one—the battles between magicians have too many unnecessary elements."

If they really were a group of cold-blooded killing machines who were trained, they wouldn't listen to the enemy, wouldn't pity them, wouldn't want to face the enemy head on, or even enter the enemy's line of sight. Even if they knew the shocking truth, they would choose to beat the enemy down. Once they got an order to kill, even if the enemy grabbed a child to use as a human shield, they would still pierce the enemy's heart together with the child. That was a real professional fighter.

"Basically, magicians are kids. Kids with knives, kids who are crying and trembling, for they were once betrayed by the world."

Tsuchimikado sighed.

"Magicians are like this. They have wishes, and once prayed to God, but never got a response. Having lost it, they could only toss their bodies into this underground world called magic."

Kamijou couldn't say anything. Tsuchimikado was a magician; even though he was looking rather casual, the person in front of him was a magician. That teenager who had a smile on his face almost every time must probably have a blank spot within him.

Misha, who was silently chewing the chewing gum, must be the same as well.

"The term 'magician'—especially the modern magicians that were established in the tenth century, will carve their wishes onto their souls. This is the magic name. Carving the reason why they want to learn magic or give up their entire lives for the one goal by writing it out it Latin. Like for me, I'm Fallere825, Kanzaki nee-chin's Salvare000. The numbers behind are used to prevent others from repeating the word, so this is like an email authentication."

"...Thi—"

—How much must one be prepared to give up? Kamijou wondered. Even if he himself didn't have much of a real goal, Kamijou knew that it was a tough thing to talk about one's own dreams in front of others. Besides, everyone would be afraid of getting their dreams rejected. Many wanted to be idols or sportspeople, and gave up their dreams after their parents and teachers rubbished them. That was because the impact of having a dream denied was huge.

Weren't those aspiring magicians afraid?

Why could they make such a realization of not giving up even when many people would doubt them?

"To people like us, the term 'group' isn't too significant. We just so happen to gather because we have similar goals. Whether it's Kanzaki nee-chin or Stiyl, once the group becomes an obstacle to their goal in life, they can betray the organization easily. However, because of the hostage that's Index, they won't leave so easily."

Though the term 'hostage' shocked Kamijou, he just sighed.

The magician's definition of an expert was completely different from that of a special forces soldier, and right now, Kamijou could somewhat understand it. The magicians were different from those people who could go against their own will for money and kill. Magicians didn't listen to orders, and didn't want money, but they wouldn't go against their own beliefs—those who pushed this naive thought to the extreme were called experts among magicians.

(...If so...)

Kamijou looked at where Kanzaki left.

No one was there. It was just a wide, empty street.

Kanzaki hadn't looked happy when she left. 

(Did I say something that hurt her beliefs as an expert?)

Seeing Kamijou being so insecure, Tsuchimikado smiled.

"Ah, Kanzaki nee-chin must be unhappy because she heard the word 'misfortune' nya."

"Misfortune...? Did I just say that?"

Kamijou tilted his head and recalled. He turned to Misha, who didn't say anything as she continued to chew on the chewing gum silently.

"To Kami-yan, 'fukou da' became a catchphrase already, right? In fact, Kanzaki nee-chin is bothered by her own misfortune."

"...'fukou'?"

Kamijou looked like he didn't understand, and Tsuchimikado nodded.

"In Japan, there's a secret Christian sect called the Amakusa. Nee-chin was designated to be the Priestess of this group before she was born. Also, she's one of the Saints who's blessed with the Stigma from God, and it's said that there's only about twenty of them."

Tsuchimikado smiled.

But it was now different from the casual ones before.

"She has the talent of succeeding no matter whether she works hard or not, she doesn't even need to do anything in order to earn the hearts of the people. Every day, she will have an unexpected surprise. Even if she's to be assassinated, she can survive because of luck. The bullet will deviate for no reason. Even if a bomb explodes beside her, she can survive without so much of a scratch."

Tsuchimikado's words sounded like a lullaby,

"--So Kanzaki nee-chin couldn't forgive her own fortune. No, she's probably cursing her curse."

"...What? Is there really any need to be troubled?"

As for Kamijou who was always filled with misfortune, this was truly a position worth envying.

"Who knows, maybe you should experience it to understand it."

Tsuchimikado smiled.

But he didn't look happy at all.

"But Kami-yan, how's the feeling when someone is lucky? When there's only one winning lottery ticket and someone will always draw it, doesn't that mean that other people won't be able to ever win it?"

"...Ah..."

"She's had the Priestess position ever since she was born, but others who wanted the position couldn't fulfill their dreams. She had the ability to succeed when others despaired after trying so hard. She managed to be the center of attention without doing anything, but other people at the center are forced out. Her wishes will always come true, she will always have a surprise everyday, but there are people behind her who can't fulfill it, and can only choose to give up all hope. She can survive so many assassinations without any reason at all, but the weak will protect her and die in front of her. Many who admired her have died blocking bullets for her, taking the explosions, and so on."

"..."

"If nee-chin was a bad person, she wouldn't even need to worry. However, she couldn't forgive herself for taking up all the fortune. It's because she loves the people around her that she can't forgive herself for being the lucky person who brings misfortune to others."

Tsuchimikado sighed.

He looked up at the sky and said, "In the end, nee-chin couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand seeing the people she cared for dying because she brought misfortune to them, who ended up telling her even before dying that being able to see her was their greatest fortune."

Kamijou didn't know what to say.

Kanzaki was now affiliated with the Anglican Church, which meant that she had left the Amakusa. Even though she had been born with the highest position and was admired by everyone, she had chosen to leave everything to prevent the people who believed in her from suffering the misfortune. In order to protect the people around her, she could only suppress her feelings of wanting to be with them and choose to be alone.

In the end, the people who could be with her—

Were those as strong as Necessarius, a unique organization that wouldn't be affected by luck or no luck.

What kind of feeling was that? Kamijou wondered.

Kamijou really regretted causing Kanzaki to recall all of that; he really regretted talking about his misfortune in front of her so casually.

At that moment, Tsuchimikado noticed it, and said, "But Kami-yan, you don't really have to mind about this. Nee-chin wanted this. She got hurt by her own heart, what does it have to do with you?"

Tsuchimikado waved his hand.

"She's just throwing a kid's tantrum, you don't have to worry."

Though Tsuchimikado was chuckling as he said that, Kamijou's melancholy wasn't eased.

A short silence.

There wasn't a single sound on the streets, only the occasional sound of dogs barking, similar to that of a dog's bark at midnight. At that moment, the sound of a train moving far away could be heard.

After a while, Kamijou looked around on that empty street.

"Speaking of which, why is Kanzaki so slow? Nee-chin has the ability to break through tanks from the front even if she got caught. However, though nee-chin's one of the ten strongest magicians in London, her magic isn't cautious. She's not the best in setting up boundaries, so maybe she ended up spending more time."

"...Oh ya, I'm still not used to the fact that you're a magician. Does that mean that you're a priest, and will wear priest robes?"

"Undercover policemen don't wear uniforms. I'm not too familiar with clerical work, and my Bible is all dusty. My basis of magic isn't Kabbalah, but a mix of Taoism and a Japanese Onmyodo."

"...Onmyodo...that feels Japanese."

"Yeah, but Kabbalah and Onmyodo are rather similar." Tsuchimikado nodded twice, and continued, "Like for example, the symbols that represent the 5 elements; both East and West use the Pentacle. Also, everything is designated by a color and a position, and when setting a magic array, there will be four guardian deities set at the four positions, but in the Western world, they're called the four archangels, and in the East, they're the four gods nya."

"Oh..."

To Kamijou, those were things of the unknown, so he just said, "Unbelievable."

"There's nothing unbelievable, these aren't coincidences. The one who established Onmyodo was Abe no Seimei during the Heian period, and during that time, there were a lot of foreign stuff brought in through the Silk Road, and I suppose Onmyodo was affected to an extent. Even that Onmyodo classic Kinugyokutoshū was passed here from China. If you're interested, you can ask Index for this book if you want."

Tsuchimikado then said in a self-mocking tone.

"But I specialize in feng shui. There's a difference in reading the landscape through Eastern and Western means."

"Fengshui? Like Kobayashi-sensei?"

Kamijou had seen a job called 'feng shui master' in RPGs. So that was his job, right?

"Ah, Kami-yan let me make this clear, the world originally doesn't have a profession called a fengshui master. In China, the one who's supposed to do this is the Taoise priest, and of course, here in Japan, it's the Onmyoji's job."

Tsuchimikado lifted his fingers and started to count.

"The feng shui's job is just one of it. Feng shui master, divination master, alchemist, curse specialist, prayer master, waterclock master; these are jobs that are derived from Taoism and Onmyodo."

"Oh...it's like how a part of Shaolin martial arts got passed to Okinawa and ended up being karate?"

"It's a similar feeling. The way in Taoism is to exert air into other objects, and by the same principle, using it on the ground and earth will form feng shui. In a scientific point of view, it's the Gaia theory. Basically, it's a theory of treating the earth as a life form."

Tsuchimikado then pondered for a while, and added on.

"And among which, I specialize in the black arts. Basically, it's 'creating a water road' nya."

"Creating a water road?"

"Exactly what it says, creating a water road. By using the water to create a large magic array to protect a castle or a city. It's not rare to see water roads formed as magic arrays. Though it's unrelated to feng shui, the water capital of Italy is one. It's said that at the end of World War II, the Japanese intended to link all the air-raid shelters to create a large water road array, too bad it failed nya."

Tsuchimikado seemed to recall the past.

"I used to specialize in setting traps by using water roads. Actually, that's what an Onmyoji does, to secretly summon a god far away where people can't see it, or to conceal myself by using the surrounding magic arrays the enemy set up. The Heian period people feared Onmyodo, not because how strong it was, but because it's a despicable, heinous, cunning, shameless taboo that's used to corner people from the darkness."

As they continued to talk, they saw Kanzaki moving among the shadows quickly and returning back to Kamijou and the rest.

She looked calm, almost without any emotion.

"The Boundary of Forbidden Wires is activated. The assault forces surrounding Kamijou's house should be treating an empty house three hundred meters away as Kamijou's house and shifted their perimeter."

"Okay, then we can mess up Kami-yan's house without anyone looking nya."

Tsuchimikado casually said that as he stepped out. Misha and Kanzaki followed him, with only Kamijou left stunned. 

Kanzaki turned around and asked, "Let's go. Or do you intend to stay here and let us handle Hino?"

"Ah...oh..."

Kamijou replied and frantically followed Kanzaki, who was waiting for him. He chased up to Tsuchimikado's back. While running, he wondered, should I apologize to her for making her remember something this unpleasant?

(...No, she'll end up remembering that again.)

Since it was not a good memory, it was best not to make her remember. Kamijou shook his head. Kanzaki stared at Kamijou in a puzzled manner, and in order to avoid Kanzaki's gaze, Kamijou hastened his steps.