After the whole ordeal with the AIM Burst situation I slowly made my way back to Touma's apartment. I have a feeling Kuroko and Misaka are in for a brutal scolding, considering just how cruel their dorm overseer is. So now I think I'll just head back to Touma's apartment building and see how things are going for him. At some point he'll lose his memory so I might have to reintroduce myself to him. When I arrived at his apartment I knocked on the door and waited… and nothing happened. I waited a little bit more before trying to conjure up my memory of the show. If he's not at the apartment where would he be? He's either at the Hospital or being an idiot trying to fight someone who's probably leagues stronger than him.
I'll check the hospital first then I'll look around the city a bit. At some point I'll have to get my own set of keys for this apartment building. I arrived at the hospital, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling my nose. And there, in the waiting room, was Index. She was curled up in a chair, her small form looking even smaller, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. "Index?" I asked, approaching slowly. She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and swimming with tears. In between sniffles, her voice was a broken whisper. "He... he doesn't remember me. Touma lost his memory. And he's really hurt."
I slowly recall my memories up to this point. So he already lost his memories. I'll have to just introduce myself to him again. I look back at Index to see her still sniffling and crying in her knees.
I focused for a moment, and a golden portal rippled to life beside me. I reached inside the Gate of Babylon, bypassing weapons and treasures of untold value, until my fingers found what I sought: a simple, yet impossibly perfect, loaf of bread, its crust golden and its warmth promising comfort. I passed it to Index. "Eat something," I said, my voice softer than I intended. "He wouldn't want you to go hungry now, would he?"
She sniffled, looking from my face to the offered bread. With a hesitant hand, she took it, inspecting the flawless loaf with a trace of unusual culinary suspicion. Then, she brought it to her lips and took a small bite. Her eyes widened instantly, all traces of suspicion vanishing. It was more than just bread; it was a taste of pure, divine comfort, a warmth that seemed to soothe her from the inside out. She took another, larger bite, the simple act of eating finally cutting through her despair. She smiled a little bit before muttering a soft "Thankyou Oogimiya." I just smiled back at her and waited until we could see him again. I'm honestly not surprised she came to like it so much, anything inside of Gilgamesh's treasury is obviously incredible.
After a few long hours in the early morning, the doctor came to me and Index and said, "He's awake now. It's best if you go see him." Index and I got out of our seats, and I gestured for the doctor to lead the way. We made our way to Touma's room, and upon our arrival, the doctor guided us to the door.
Index hesitated for a moment. She began pacing in circles, lost in thought for several minutes. It was probably because of the guilt she felt, Touma had lost his memories because of her so it's not unsurprising. But with a few encouraging words from the doctor, she finally gathered her courage and stepped through the door.
"You have a visitor. Are they friends of yours?" the doctor called out to Touma. Touma glanced at the girl and said, "I think you've got the wrong room. Have we met before?" "I… I'm… my name is Index," the girl said. "Huh? That's a—" Touma paused. "That sounds like a fake name. That's what you said before, right?" Index's eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry.
But before the tears could fall, Touma burst out laughing. "Bwa-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Just look at your face!" he said between fits of laughter. Index blinked, flustered. "T-Touma?" she said, blushing. "I can't believe you'd fall for the oldest trick in the book!" Touma said, still chuckling. Index pouted, her face turning redder. "I heard the damage from the light feathers blew away all your memories…" she said quietly. "Wasn't that damage just another magical power?" Touma asked, tilting his head. "I just punched myself in the head with my right hand, and boom, back to normal!" he said proudly.
Index blinked at him in disbelief. "Touma… then you…" she began slowly. Touma scratched his head. "I don't know exactly why, though," he said. "This was an abnormal power I was dealing with… so no problem!" he added with a bright smile. But then Index's expression darkened, a gloomy aura forming around her. "That was supposed to be… a big joke?" she said in a low voice. Touma froze. "Oh. Was it… um, not funny?" he said nervously. "TOU-MA!" Index shouted, her face red with anger and tears welling in her eyes.
Index's face flushed with fury, and before Touma could react, she lunged forward and bit down on his head. "OW! OW! OW! That hurts! Stop, Index! I'm sorry!" Touma yelped, flailing his arms helplessly. "I didn't mean it like that! Seriously, it was just a joke!" Index released him with a sharp hmph, glaring daggers at him. "Idiot!" she shouted, her voice trembling with anger. Touma rubbed his head, wincing. "Geez… you didn't have to bite me…" he muttered. Index didn't respond. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
"You actually don't remember anything, do you?" I asked quickly. He looked at me, but before he could respond, I cut him off. "I forgot to reintroduce myself to you, My name is Kousei Oogimiya. I help out around your house, and in exchange, you let me stay." He paused for a moment, his eyes softening. "I think it was all right," Touma said quietly. "I just don't want to see that girl cry." A moment of silence hung in the room before he continued, his voice thoughtful. "But... who knows? I might remember something after all." The doctor, looking intrigued, leaned in slightly. "Do you still have memories? Where?" Touma offered a faint, wry smile. "Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" he said, tapping a finger gently against his chest. "Here."
A few days later, the familiar, chaotic atmosphere of Touma's apartment was a stark contrast to the sterile hospital room. The relief of his return, however, was immediately tested. Index stood in the middle of the living area, clutching a small, scruffy kitten to her chest with a look of fierce determination. "Lost kittens deserve the unconditional hand of salvation!" she declared, her voice echoing with righteous conviction.
"Ya Touma, just look how cute it is. Can we keep it?" I added, backing her up with a grin. Touma, who was already looking paler at the implication for his grocery budget, ran a hand down his face. "Why? Just tell me why we can't adopt this cat?" "Because you two are not cutting into our food budget even more than you already do, you freeloaders!" he shot back, his voice rising in exasperation.
I simply opened a golden portal and reached inside the Gate of Babylon. After a moment of rummaging past legendary weapons, I pulled out a thick stack of crisp 10,000 yen bills and placed it on the table with a soft thud. "I believe this should cover the 'freeloader' tax," I said calmly. "Including cat food."
Touma just looked at me in wide-eyed disbelief. He looked back at the stack of yen, then looked back at me, then looked back at the stack. "YOU HAD MONEY THIS WHOLE TIME?" he finally exploded, his voice cracking with a mixture of relief and sheer, unadulterated fury. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!" My answer was simple. I met his frantic gaze with a calm, level one of my own and gave a small shrug. "You never asked."
In the end, Touma's resistance crumbled, worn down by the twin forces of Index's pleading and my financial backing. The small, scruffy kitten was officially granted residence, and Index promptly christened it Sphinx. "Fine," Touma sighed, the sound of a man already defeated by his own life. "But I'm heading out. I'll be back this evening. Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone."
"I think I'll accompany you, Touma," I said, getting to my feet. "Staying here seems like a surefire way to die of boredom." As we moved toward the door, Index's voice piped up, laced with sudden concern. "Wait! What about lunch?" I glanced back, offering a simple solution. "Just grab something from the fridge and microwave it." The blank, slightly terrified look she gave the alien kitchen appliance suggested this was far from a simple task.
As we walked, Touma got quiet and looked lost in thought. I didn't bother him, I just followed along quietly and let him think. Then he started running to a bus stop trying his best to urgently get on before it could take off. Just when we got there we started running after it. Touma got hit by a motorcycle while chasing said bus.
After arriving at the stop and getting off the bus Touma decided to stop at a vending machine. He decided to put a 2000 yen bill inside of it in hopes of getting a beverage. But to his pure irritation the vending machine didn't work and it just ended up stealing his money. "Don't worry Touma, I'll get you a drink from somewhere else later." I said, trying to reassure him. Before he could respond another voice cut through the tension.
"What the hell are you doing?" It was Misaka. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Are you hung up on something stupid again?" Touma just looked at her with boredom. "Whadaya want, y-" Before he could finish that sentence a burst of electricity flew right towards him and he quickly threw up his right arm. "You know, I have a name… It's Misaka Mikoto. REMEMBER IT ALREADY, MORON"
Touma flinched, expecting a jolt of electricity, but his right arm shot up on pure instinct instead. He stared at his own hand, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. Misaka cut into his thoughts, her tone flat. "If you're not buying anything, then move along." Touma quickly tried to warn her, "It's gonna rob you in broad dayl—"
Before he could finish, Misaka drew her leg back and delivered a sharp, powerful kick to the vending machine. The entire machine rattled violently, and with a series of loud clunks a can appeared at the bottom.
Misaka looked back at Touma with a smug expression. "Your money got eaten, didn't it? How much was it?" Touma stared at the ground, mumbling something inaudible. "Say what? I didn't get that," Misaka taunted. "Two thousand yen," he muttered. Misaka's eyes widened in mock surprise. "R-Really? A two-thousand-yen bill? I thought those were extinct!" Then she burst out laughing at Touma's despair. "OF COURSE THE VENDING MACHINE WOULD MALFUNCTION." she said, trying to hold back her chuckling. After laughing at Touma's expense for a bit she turned back to the vending machine
"I see. Well then, you better start praying that the two thousand yen bill comes out," she declared, patting the machine's metal side. "I won't accept it if you give me two one thousand yen bills, got it, you piece of junk?" She slowly thrust the palm of her right hand toward the coin slot. "Wait, how are you gonna get the money out of there?" Touma asked, a bad feeling creeping up his spine.
She gave him a look of blank amazement. "How?" A bluish-white arc of electricity launched from her palm and struck the vending machine with a roaring whump! The heavy machine wobbled violently. Black smoke poured from its seams, and a cascade of juice cans clattered to the pavement. "Huh? That's weird. I didn't plan on blasting it that hard," Misaka mused, scratching her cheek. "Hey, your two thousand yen note didn't come out, but there's definitely at least two thousand yen's worth of juice here. Is that okay?...Hey, why are you running away so desperately?! Heeeey!"
But Touma was already a speck on the horizon, sprinting for his life. I didn't blame him. The distinct, blaring wail of the vending machine's anti-tamper alarms filled the air a second later, confirming his worst fears. I'm most definitely not paying the damages for the vending machine if it breaks. I mean, I'm rich but I'm still stingy with money. I promised to get you a drink not fix the damn machine for you.
After the long chase we all stopped to relax near a bench. Misaka looked at Kamijou, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious, like a belligerent drunk zeroing in on a philosophical point. "There are lots of weaklings who go through life trembling in fear, and strong people live haughtily. I think that's only natural. But you're different, right?"
She leaned in slightly, her gaze intense. "You have the kind of power that can easily force one of the seven Level Fives in Academy City to back down. So why on earth do you flee all over the town whenever you're chased by so much as a hoodlum or a Chihuahua that got off its leash?"
Mikoto's words were full of confidence, but they meant nothing to an amnesiac. Touma just stared, utterly lost. Seeing his blank expression, Mikoto sighed in exasperation.
"You know, you should brag more that you defeated me, the Railgun," she stated, taking a swig of her drink. "Not doing so is an offense to the defeated party. I mean, don't you see? From now on, everyone will think, 'Mikoto Misaka lost to a man who gets chased around by hoodlums and stray Chihuahuas?'"
She fixed him with a serious look. "You won against me. So at the very least, you should take responsibility as the victor. I am one of only seven Level Fives. At least try hard enough so that I can stick out my chest and say that I lost to you fairly." "W-what are you talking about? I've got no interest in that bushido stuff..." Touma trailed off, his brain latching onto one phrase.
He's probably ashamed of himself for fighting a middle schooler. I was staring at him and by the look on his face he looked like he wanted to be anywhere BUT here.
"Huh. I really can't stand you when you look confident," Mikoto grumbled, shoving a few juice cans at him. "Just drink your juice." Before their bizarre conversation could continue, a new, bell-like voice cut through the air. "Big Sister?"
Mikoto froze as if plunged into ice water. Touma jerked his head to see a brown-haired girl in the same uniform, her hands clasped and eyes sparkling.
"Oh my, Big Sister! I thought those silly remedial classes didn't suit you, but I never would have guessed you'd be using them as an excuse for this!" the girl chirped. Mikoto looked ready to panic. "Umm... What might you be referring to when you say 'this'?" "Well, obviously, it was to rendezvous with these 2 gentlemen, was it not?"
"Greetings, Oogimiya," Shirai Kuroko said to me with a polite, measured nod as she passed by, her focus clearly already locked onto her true targets. I simply nodded back, knowing better than to get in her way.
Sparks crackled in Mikoto's bangs. The girl, entirely unbothered, turned her full, terrifying smile onto Touma and approached at an alarming speed. Before he could flee, she grabbed his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Kuroko Shirai, and I am Big Sister's outrider."
"Uh-huh." Kamijou struggled to find a reaction. His gaze was steadily lowering to the hand she had clasped. "By the way," Kuroko continued, her smile sweet but her words a dagger, "if this is all it takes to get you flustered, she might have to worry about you being prone to…adultery, you know?" Kamijou sputtered, his face turning a spectacular shade of red. Beside him, Mikoto wobbled up out of her seat, sparks literally flying from her hair.
"Listen here, you…!" she yelled, jabbing a finger at Kuroko. "Does this weirdo look like my boyfriend?!" "Yes he does," I instantly cut in from my spot a few feet away. Mikoto's head snapped toward me, her eyes shooting a look so vicious it could strip paint. The air crackled with tangible menace. I immediately raised my hands in surrender. "N-no he doesn't! I'm just joking!" I backpedaled, the instinct for self-preservation kicking in hard.
Mikoto turned back to Kuroko and let loose a spear of lightning from her bangs.
But just before the pale blue electricity hit her, Kuroko Shirai let go of Kamijou's hand. The next time he blinked, she disappeared into thin air without a word. Mikoto clicked her teeth. "She used that stupid teleport of hers." A flicker of pink light atop a nearby bus stop roof caught her eye. "I swear to God if you start spreading strange rumors, I'm coming after you, damn it!"
She fired a few more wild bolts at the empty space where Kuroko had just been, only for the teleporter to vanish again, reappearing briefly by a vending machine further down the street. It was a futile game of cat and mouse. People passing by gathered their attention to the Level Five's very public outburst.
"Big Sister?"
Kamijou turned to find another Misaka standing behind the bench, identical down to the uniform but wearing night-vision goggles. "Wait, what? There's more of you?!" he sputtered, looking between the two. "I am her little sister, Misaka replies," said the new girl in a flat, mechanical tone.
"So your name is Misaka… Misaka?" Kamijou asked, bewildered. "Misaka's name is Misaka, Misaka confirms." He looked to the original Mikoto for help, but she was just silently glaring at her sister. "What do you need, Miss Twin?" Kamijou tried. "Misaka detected an equivalent power signature and came to investigate," the sister stated, her eyes shifting to the pile of juice cans. "There was a broken vending machine at the site. I never thought my sister would have a hand in petty theft, says Misaka, clucking her tongue."
"Hey, the principal offender here was her!" Kamijou protested, pointing at Mikoto. "Making false claims constitutes a crime, answers Misaka." Suddenly, the original Mikoto exploded, "You! Why the hell are you just loafing around in a place like this?!" After a moment of stunned silence, the sister replied evenly, "If you must ask, I am in training right now, Misaka responds."
"Tra…" Mikoto sucked in a sharp breath as if struck, her eyes darting away. She muttered something too low for Kamijou to catch.
"In training? Did your sister join Judgment or something?" he asked, the logical assumption for a student. Mikoto clapped her hands together, suddenly avoiding his gaze. "Um. Ah, Judgment? Yeah, that's it. That's what's going on," she said, her voice unnaturally bright and suspiciously vague. "So when things like this happen, I get in a bunch of trouble. A bunch."
"Hey, why does this suddenly sound like a phone scam? The more you talk, the less I understand." "N-no, it isn't! I'm speaking distinctly and clearly!" she insisted, before turning to her sister. "Hey, Sis, would you come over here for a sec?" "Huh? No, Misaka has her own schedule to keep, says—"
"Forget that." Mikoto's voice dropped, becoming oddly level. "Come over here." The shift in her tone sent an inexplicable chill down Kamijou's spine. There was a whirlpool of unspoken emotion in those simple words. A moment later, she was back to her usual self. "Well, we're heading this way. You should be mindful of your curfew, too!" she declared, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders and steering the identical girl away. Kamijou slumped back and gazed right at me. "Seems like it's a complicated," he paused, "family situation, I guess?"
...
End of chapter, I know it was boring yeah yeah. I just wanted to end this. It honestly shouldn't of taken that long to release this chapter but as you know I'm lazy and like procrastinating. Also I know I'm kind buchering the timeline a bit, but bear with me a little man. I'm trying my best to combine both parts from index and railgun into this fic. So not too much on me ok.