So the idea for this story had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now after reading NT9 a while back. That novel just made me feel all sorts of sorry for Touma and it almost made me cry. But anyway, one of the main points that I saw in that volume was about how little Touma valued himself over others. It went as far to the point that in order to preserve their happiness, he would kill himself to do so. But one of the arguments that the Will used to comfort Touma was that if everyone knew that they had to sacrifice Touma to achieve that happiness, they would have rejected it and start running towards him to save him. I was sad that that was never brought up again after NT9 because Touma jumped straight into fighting everyone in NT10. So I thought I'd make this fic to try display the thoughts of Kamijou Touma's friends and allies and what they think about him. I'd also like to say that reading RakuKonpaku's story "The Hall of Valhalla" gave me a little push to get this story out.

So anyways, here's my fic and I hope you guys enjoy it. I guess I should note that it starts right after NT10.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index

Touma laid back and sighed in content after all of the events that had just occurred.

He was currently resting in his usual hospital bed that seemed like a second home to him. His body was all banged up and covered in bandages in order to nurse all the wounds he had sustained. But how did he gain these wounds you ask? He had gained those wounds from taking on the whole world in order to protect the smile of a single girl. That girl being Magic God Othinus.

Othinus was the leader of the terrorist organization GREMLIN. After achieving her objective of obtaining the Lance of Gungnir, she was the one that had destroyed the world. She was the one that had put him through many hells in an effort to break him to get rid of Imagine Breaker. While suffering through and enduring everything Othinus had thrown at him, she had almost broken the boy after she introduced the perfect Omega World to the boy who held a desire to protect everyone's happiness. Touma rejected that world and stood before Othinus to challenge her. He had fought her and died thousands of times. But it was through that experience and time he spent fighting with Othinus that he came to an understanding with her. It was through that understanding that had moved him to fight the world. He had vowed to save her.

After fighting through the world in Denmark, it had seemed that Othinus disappeared right in his arms. Fortunately(ironically for him), it was revealed that Othinus had survived, albeit in a new 15 centimeter form. Everything seemed to have ended well.

Othinus was supposed to be punished by the world. But a problem popped up as Othinus had appeared and shown herself in her new 15 centimeter form. Due to her new size, there was no way for the world to put her in any normal prison. So she had revealed to Touma that her punishment was changed and it was made so that she had stay by Touma's side and watch the happiness of the world that she had tried to destroyed fly by her. In a way, it was a fitting punishment.

Touma frowned suddenly though. Watch the happiness of the world go by huh?

Those words resounded in Touma. His thoughts flashed back to the Omega World that Othinus had shown him. In that world, he was forced to watch and observe a world of happiness that existed because Touma had no place in it. His very presence would taint that world and ruin their happiness. Even if that world had been a fake that Othinus had made in order to subdue him, the people in there were still real. A guilt was still buried in his heart that had formed after he brought down that world. In the current world, Kamijou Touma had taken away those smiles that they held. He felt no comfort from what he had done.

I took away all of their happiness.

Even at this moment, he still had no idea why Othinus had ceded the world to him. She could have kept that world of happiness. What value was his own life over the happiness of others? But even then, he realized it was his own fault why things were the way they were. After all, he was the one that made the decision to confront her that led up to this point.

His thoughts turned back to the conversation that he had with the Will of the Misaka Network. She was one of the few remnants from the original world that was with him in the Omega world. She was the one that convinced him that it was alright to be selfish in that world. But a thought still gnawed at him. In that world, the Will had told him that the reason Othinus had cheated was because the people in that world did not know they were sacrificing Touma for their happiness. But something about that argument was bothering Touma. A question popped up in his mind.

Do people really care enough for me that they would sacrifice their happiness for me?

Touma pondered that question. In a deep part of his mind, Touma felt in all honesty that people would not do something like that for him if they knew that their happiness was on the line. That's why he made the choice for them when he had resolved to killed himself before the Will had stopped him. He cherished his bonds that he had with everyone, he sincerely did. He had made many precious memories with everyone for the current Kamijou Touma that had filled the void of the lost memories from the previous Kamijou Touma. And as he had said to the Will, he had fun with every single one of them. But Touma could not believe that something like their happiness was something they would willingly give up for the life of one high school boy.

But more often than not, he felt that people really only valued him highly just because he held Imagine Breaker in his right hand. Kamijou Touma had been brought in and used by many organizations and people. It's not like Touma had any objections to being used though. He even had a conflict with Leivinia Birdway over this exact issue. He was willing to be a pawn to be used in order to solve a conflict as long as it let him save people. And that was as far as it went. These people and organizations had gotten used to his typical mannerisms and just assumed that Kamijou Touma would of course come to save the day without asking for thanks or anything in return.

So in the end, Kamijou Touma had assumed that if he was to be used as an instrument in order to bring about good. Then what had he just done? He had said this to the Will back in the Omega World. He couldn't bare to see the people of this world with the thought knowing that he had basically destroyed all of their happiness and they were unaware of it. His heart bled sadly over this.

His thoughts were interrupted as suddenly he could hear the door to his hospital room open. Touma wasn't really expecting anyone to else to come visit him and so he peaked his head forward to see who had just come in.

As he looked over the form at the door, he saw that it was a familiar looking girl with short tea colored hair and a heart pendant around her neck. This person was also adorned in a Tokiwadai uniform.

"Misaka.. Imouto?" Touma said.

The girl had approached him and appeared right by his bedside. She leaned over him in front of his face and smirked. "Not exactly /return. I'm just borrowing this girl for the time being /return. I had to use her body just so I could talk to you /return" She closed her eyes. "Nice to see you again in this world Kamijou-chan /return." The girl said with a smile on her face that was usually uncharacteristic of the clone.

The way this girl was talking and her personality seemed very familiar to Touma. As he pieced together the pieces, realization dawned on him "Huh, wait, it's you...!" Touma said with a shocked look on his face. The person that was currently inhabiting the body of the 10032nd clone of Misaka Mikoto was indeed the Will of the Misaka Network.

The Will beamed at Touma's recognition of her. "Yup /return! Glad to see that you still remember me /return! Some interesting things have happened since then huh /escape? I was honestly surprised with the big reveal that you gave everyone when you returned to this world /return. Vowing to save the person that put you through all of that suffering huh /escape? Even going as far as to take on the whole world for her /return. It seems that I still can't underestimate your ability to turn your greatest enemies into allies /return. But sometimes I wonder how it feels to be the heroine that you save /return." The Will said in an enthusiastic matter that was the same that she had showed him in the Omega world.

Touma was a little bit taken back at the girl in front of him. After staring at her for a bit, Touma got his bearings again and finally responded. "I'm glad to see that you're still around." Touma said from the bottom of his heart with a smile. "It seems that you still remember what happened in the other world so you're still the same person from back then."

"I told you in the other world, didn't I /escape? When we would come back to this world, I promised that I would be by your side when we returned /return. I can't do that if I would have forgotten /return!"

Touma smiled at her familiar sense of enthusiasm and he himself felt a sense of comfort wash over him as the girl that was with him in his darkest hour in the Omega World was there right beside him. "I'm happy that I got to see you again, I never got to thank you for being there for me."

"It was no problem Kamijou-chan /return." The Will said. "I'm glad that you were able to come back to this world /return. If you hadn't I would have been very sad /return."

"So this time you took Misaka Imouto's body this time huh?"

"Being a thought entity of a network, it feels great being able to be in a body and move around /return." She said as she flexed her body.

Suddenly, the Will's expression looked serious as she took a look over Touma. "But /backspace, most of all, I wanted to check up on you after everything that happened /return."

"Check up on me?" Touma questioned. It was not as if it was uncommon for him to have visitors when he was in the hospital. "Well as you can see, I think I'm fine... kind of. After all that fighting I did, I guess I can say that my body is as fine as it can get after everything I went through and all the damage I took. It's not uncommon for me to be in the hospital."

"That's not what I meant /return." She said as the Will looked at him with a concerned look. "A bit before that /return. Are you alright now after everything that happened in that world /escape?."

"Yes, I think I'm fine." Touma said. "Me and Othinus fought and I realized that putting me through those worlds was a way for her to show what she went through" Touma explained. "She just wanted someone else to know what she went through and it helped for us to establish a mutual understanding with each other."

"That's also not what I meant /return." The Will said. Touma was now getting confused.

The Will paused for a moment.

"I meant, are you fine now being back in the original world after seeing a glimpse in the Omega World /escape?"

Touma suddenly frowned after she said that. He stayed silent for a bit before responding. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean /return." The Will said. "You even poured out all of your feelings to me back then in that world detailing your feelings /return."

Touma flinched and froze. He said nothing in response to her. Touma knew what she was trying to infer. Touma had literally just been thinking over exactly what she was implying but he couldn't bring himself to say to her what he thought of. A cold sweat washed over him.

"If I have to explain it out loud, I will /return." The Will sighed.

"You're still torn up on the inside over taking away the happiness of the others in the Omega World aren't you /escape?"

Silence still loomed in the air but the Will took his silence as a confirmation of her statement.

"I know you very well Kamijou-chan /return. That's why I came here expecting something like this." The Will said as she crossed her arms.

"I know that I was partly responsible for influencing your decision /return. That's why I said back there that I'll be there to comfort you and always stick by your side when we returned /return." The Will said. "But /backspace, didn't I tell you that you should tell everyone about what you saw in the Omega World if you wanted to ease your worries /escape?"

Touma stayed in silence for a little while until he finally responded while still frowning. "That's precisely why I haven't told them yet. I'm afraid of how they'll take it."

"Didn't I tell you /escape? I'm pretty sure that they'll forgive you /return. Because you are a precious person to them and they will accept your apology /return."

"I don't know about that..."

"Hmm /escape? What do you mean /escape?"

Touma let out a long sigh. "I don't know if I'd actually be considered as a precious person to any of them. I doubt that I hold any big importance in their lives out of all of the bonds that each one of them possess with many other people that they would consider close to them. I'm pretty sure that most don't think of me to be anything more than the boy who holds Imagine Breaker. If all of them knew exactly how perfect that world was, I don't know if they'll accept that I took away everyone's happiness of the low cost of my life."

A slap resounded in the air that echoed in the room.

Looking closely at the situation, Touma's head was knocked a little to the side with a red mark present on his face. The girl in the room had her arm extended with her hand formed in a tight palm.

Touma recovered from the slap and turned back to her with a confused look on his face.

"Sorry, I just felt like I needed to do that /return." The Will said as she was shaking her hand out. The slap had stung her as much as it stung Touma with how hard she hit.

The Will sighed. "It seems like you don't learn, don't you /escape? Just when I thought I had gotten through to you back then /return."

The body of Misaka #10032 started walking out of the room and Touma watched as she left. Just before she went out the door, the Will stopped and turned back. "You value yourself too little Kamijou-chan /return. I wasn't lying back then when I said that people would flock over to you to protect your smile /return. Even if you don't believe me, I'll show you exactly just how wrong you are /return."

She left Touma alone in the room for him to ponder in his thoughts about what she just said.

A wave of sadness had overtaken her when she had listened to Touma talk in a self-deprecating about himself and her emotions had flared up. The energy from her emotions had manifested into her hand and before she knew it, she released onto his face.

It seemed like her intentions back in that world had failed. The whole reason she went through trying to convince Kamijou Touma to be selfish, she was hoping that he would start placing more value on himself over others. She held the key the whole time that would move Kamijou Touma to face Othinus. She could have told him that Othinus was affecting her every time she remade the world and tinkering with the lives of the Sisters. She could have showed him the voice files of all of his friends and told him that they were being treated as false. Either of those would have convinced him to make his move against Othinus, but it would have still been for the sake of others.

But the thing that irked her the most was that Touma genuinely believed that he was not important to other people.

I need to get him realize just truly how much he affects the people around him. The Will thought to herself. She needed to show him right to his face just how other people really valued him.

The Will smiled. She didn't have to look far to find people that had been affected by the boy named Kamijou Touma. In fact, she knew a certain #1 Esper that was close to the clones that she could easily find.

Next Chapter: Accelerator