Fragile Simplicity

Author's Notes: Another work, you say? Yup, it's another plot bunny that I had to get out of my system. Surprise, it's reached an acceptable length where I can post it. This isn't a serious project, just merely a more… casual one, I guess?

Note, this story takes very broad strokes from canon and is considered to be set after the end of the series. Thus, it's AU. Because the To Aru series is FAR from over, I'll be doing lots of improvising for this fic when I update. Or IF I update. It depends if people want to see this continued. Characters will be somewhat different but they do retain their core personalities just that they'll be different because they are older.

Rating may change, though this fic has an extremely high chance of going 'M' simply because I have explicit scenes planned. Yes, it's Mikoto and Touma. Frankly though, I think I should be reaching the end of the number of fics I have for this pairing. Oh well.


"What the hell?" a thug was flung roughly against the wall as a certain spiky haired male backhanded him without even turning to face him, his leg sweeping across the floor to force another thug off balance as he followed up with a hammer-fist to the chest, stunning the thug as the male grabbed the female that they had been harassing and yanked her out of the alleyway without much preamble.

"You know," the spiky haired male said wryly, "I'd really reconsider committing crimes in broad daylight, especially when you-know-who is in Judgment. Ah, well. It's probably my luck again to chance upon one when I'm almost late for the orientation camp," he nodded briefly as the thugs rolled around in pain while turning to face the damsel he had extricated with a sheepish look. "Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah…" the young girl, probably not more than 15, said shakily, "Th-thank you."

"Yeah, well. Be careful next time," the young man grinned as he gestured out at the open road, "it's less dangerous to take the long route sometimes." Glancing down at his watch, the male grimaced as he saw the time, "Ah, man… Such Misfortune. I'll be going now!" he took off, leaving the female student staring at his back with wide eyes. Just who was that guy who had just saved her without even thinking?

Skidding to the stop in front of the gate that read 'National University of Academy City' (NUAC), the male wiped a bead of sweat off his brow as he presented his identification to the guard. The female guard smiled at him as she took his card for scrutiny and the male smiled back nervously.

"Kamijou Touma?" the security guard asked, putting the card under the scanner to verify its authenticity.

"That's me," Kamijou Touma said, taking his identification card back as she handed it back to him and pointed him to the building where he would be attending his future lessons.

"That's the one," she said helpfully, pointing at a large building with a blue and white colour scheme to it, "Medical School in all its glory."

"Thanks," Touma called back as he began his sprint towards the school, his breath coming in frenzied pants as he rushed straight to the concourse that he had spied on the map next to the wall. "Woah!" a blur zipped past him and Touma's reflexes kicked in as he sidestepped, his hand reaching forward to grab the person by the arm before he or she could trip over his leg and hit the floor face-first.

"Ah!" a distinctly female voice greeted his ear and Touma stiffened at the familiar pitch and tone.

"Mikoto-chan?" he whispered, shocked to see his former girlfriend in the flesh as her hazel coloured eyes flickered upwards to stare at him in astonishment and horror. For a split second, Touma forgot everything else as they lost themselves in each other's eyes and it was two years ago all over again where they had been madly in love. And then, her eyes became chilly and cool as she wrenched herself out of his hands, even though a faint, pink hue could be seen on her cheeks.

"Tou – Kamijou-san," she corrected herself, as if determined to put some distance between them by using his name in a more formal manner. "What are you doing here?" it was phrased like an accusation.

"I'm going to enroll here, why else?" Touma responded, his eyes taking in her appearance appreciatively. She had bloomed over the course of three years, her body becoming more lithe and curvy and she had definitely become even more beautiful. Dressed in a brown frilly blouse jacket and a white shirt underneath with a blue skirt to match, Mikoto actually seemed so much more… womanly. And that was saying something.

Mikoto blinked. "You got into NUAC?" her disbelief was painfully obvious.

"Yes, I did," Touma replied almost smugly. Sure, he wasn't exactly very smart academically but damn if he hadn't studied his ass off to get into Med School. "And you?"

Mikoto's cheeks coloured slightly, "I study here too," she finally replied grudgingly.

"YOU?" It was Touma's turn to sound derisive, "You'd sooner kill your patients than save them," he said without thinking.

A thunderbolt was his reply, the lightning flaring with such intensity that it scorched the walls and tore through the cement like paper. Touma's right arm came up and the current fizzled harmlessly as it was drawn to his right arm, his gaze apologetic. "Fine, I went overboard," he admitted heavily, "Look," he reached out, almost flinching as she backed away from him with hurt in her eyes. "Mikoto, we need to talk." he finally got out, wanting desperately to talk to her.

"Why should we?" she said bitterly, "You did enough talking with that woman in your bed."

"I told you it wasn't what you thought it was," Touma growled, "Why can't you believe me?"

"You were buck naked, with your arms around that woman and you say it wasn't what it seemed? Pray tell, Kamijou Touma, what does it mean?" Mikoto snapped violently, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and Touma's heart ached as he itched to take her into his arms and soothe the pain.

"I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing," Touma whispered, "heck, I thought she was you! We didn't do anything, I swear!" Not to mention the fact he hadn't known that his soft-drink had been laced with alcohol and that he could barely remember anything save the fact that he knew he hadn't done anything to betray Mikoto. Still, the scene had been incriminating. He didn't fault Mikoto for being angry but –

"You can say whatever you want now," Mikoto muttered, her eyes showing that she did not believe a word he had just said, "I thought I had seen the last of you when I left Academy City and to run into you when I come back…" Touma could feel his heart start to break as her voice broke.

"Mikoto, wait I –"

"Don't touch me!"

Touma froze, his eyes wide as she backed away from him with what seemed like fear and disgust and he recoiled, a cold feeling clamping over his heart as her damning words rang in his head like a mantra. Numbly, sullenly, he lowered his hand and head, barely hearing the sound of her pattering feet as she fled. He didn't have the strength left to chase her now. Her look of disgust and fear was burned into his mind forever.

*** XXX ***

'Damn him' Mikoto thought resentfully, her heart aching as she rounded the corner and stopped, slumping against the wall as she tried desperately to contain her roiling emotions. She thought she had gotten over him but she had been wrong. Just simply seeing him again had opened the stopper she had placed on her emotions, causing them to flood out uncontrollably. Her hands were burning. She could still feel the warmth of his hands on hers, the feel of his eyes on hers. Just being close to him… she felt as though she could forgive him for anything because she… still loved him, didn't she?

She let out a raucous laughter, running a hand through her chestnut coloured hair as she trembled violently. What a fool she was. Thinking that she had gotten over him when in fact, she had run away and let time suppress the pain instead. Biting her lip, she slowly reached up with her right hand to touch the small, silver and green pendant he had given to her a week before that incident happened. She should have known, after all. A rueful smile graced her face. She couldn't even bear to throw it away despite her best efforts to.

He had grown into a fine man. He was slightly taller, his muscles well toned and firm, his shoulders broad and brimming with confidence. His spiky hair was now long enough to cover his eyes in an unbearably seductive way and the scars on his person only added to his appeal to her.

Just look at her. She was a complete wreck thanks to him. Shoving the pendant back into the shirt, she wiped her face fervidly, noting that she had inadvertently shed a tear. She had been fearful and disgusted. She feared the fact the being close to him had made her cold heart beat again with blazing heat and intensity. And she was disgusted at herself for being so weak again.

The hurt in his eyes made her heart pound painfully. She so desperately wanted to take that pain away just like she had joined in the fray to fight against the magicians and the General Superintendent in order to protect him, to make sure he would never leave her side again. She shook her head.

She couldn't allow herself to be soft again.

She had painstakingly put her broken heart back together while she was away. She didn't know if she could bear having it shattered again.

*** XXX ***

The orientation camp had passed by in a blur. Touma could barely remember the specifics. All he knew was that he had introduced himself and gave some basic details before sitting out for most of the ice-breaker games. Quietly, he reflected briefly on how things had changed over the years. After the death of the General Superintendent or the greatest Magician, Aleister Crowley, life had changed in Academy City in more ways than one.

The leadership had been completely replaced and the leak of the 'Parameter List' to the teaching faculty of Academy City had been a huge blow to the city. There had been talks about shutting down the city and letting the Espers go back to their homes but they eventually vetoed that idea. To the outside world, Espers were not just precious research materials, they were lab specimens that were fair game to the thus far unsuccessful foreign countries that were researching ways to produce Espers. In short, Espers would be treated no better than lab animals and the new administration had been violently against that idea.

Perhaps it was telling in the way the talks had taken but the fact that they had prioritized the safety and needs of the Espers showed the change in mindset. To them, the Espers were no longer just research to be used to achieve SYSTEM. To them, Espers were students who required care and nurturing to blossom in their own way. For that, he was thankful that Heaven Canceller had finally decided to take on an advisor role to the current General Superintendent and had reformed many of the practices that had ostracized the lower level Espers, the powerless and the High Level Espers.

It was based on this that he was able to get in the NUAC based purely on result and merit rather than a thorough scrutinizing of his results and level. The bridge between the weak and the strong had been narrowed and more ways were being used to break it down entirely. Still, the general populace of Academy City remained blissfully unaware that a single file had been used to decide their fate for so long.

Perhaps it was for the best. Who knows what anarchy would have been achieved if such a sensitive piece of information had been divulged? The only thing that had not been resolved was the Dark Side of Academy City. Still, Touma didn't think there would be too many problems when Judgment was breathing down on their necks with enough ferocity to make any reckless researcher think twice.

After all, Accelerator himself was now a part of Judgment.

Touma had an inkling why he had joined, it was probably related to the young Last Order who had joined Judgment herself in order to become a hero like her… 'Tou-san'. It was kinda funny thinking of Accelerator as a father but well, there you have it. Still, the albino seemed to complain as much as the criminals he had thrown in jail, which were practically in the thousands and his very name had reduced the crime rate in Academy City astronomically.

Yomikawa Aiho was probably grinning herself to death in her office.

There had been other things, of course. He had gone his separate ways from the magic side after the devastating confrontation that had ended everything and settled back into his regular life without preamble. It was strange but he was probably more famous in the magic side than he could ever be in the Science side. To the Magic side, Touma had earned himself a fearsome reputation and few would actually dare to cross his path now that he had 'awakened'. Touma glanced down at both his arms in reflex, grimacing slightly as he remembered the jarring pain that had –

Never mind.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Touma rubbed his face with both hands wearily. Index had gone back to England, where he was sure she was doing fine now. They still wrote to one another but their correspondence was brief at best. Well, there you have it. He was a former 'hero' and right now, he was just an ordinary guy who needed to get his degree, hopefully a PhD and then a stable job as a doctor like Heaven Canceller.

And then, there was the issue of Misaka Mikoto.

Touma's lips thinned and he groaned. Why did he have to fall in love with such a troublesome woman? And why did that kind of thing have to happen? Sure, he had been lucky when she had stumbled upon them, since he had more or less sobered the moment he discovered that the warm body in his arms wasn't Mikoto but she hadn't even bothered to listen to him before she fled. The next thing he knew, she was gone from Academy City.

Until now.

Damn it, when a Kamijou falls in love, he falls hard.

As the murmurs of the excited students finally pierced his thoughts, Touma looked up, his face resigned to his fate.

He was going to get her back.

Misfortune be damned.


A/N: I think I made them a little emotional but what the heck. If this work ever takes off, I'll put a lot more effort into it than just about 500 words a day. For now, it'll be a little pet peeve of mine. Older characters will be older characters. Hormones galore!

Now, back to serious typing. *Whistles*

If you want to see this continued, just leave it in the review. Love or hate it, it's up to you.

Regards,

Stormwolfex