Heyooow~ How many months has it been? I am so sorry for the incredible delay! Are people still even reading this? Hahaha. Again, I'd really like to apologize for the extreme delay! I don't have a good enough reason to excuse myself from writing aside from the fact that I've been too busy with life. Trust me, I don't even know what I've been doing these past few months! But really, I am so sorry. Thank you to those who pm'd me about updating. It warms my heart knowing that people still care about this, even though the author is one huge bipolar pain in the ass. I actually had to reread the entire FYF series, yes, all 81 chapters of it, so that I could understand what the hell was happening with this story. When i looked it up on my laptop I was about halfway done with this but I didn't know where to go from there.

So, after months and months of being on hold, HERE WE GO~!

Chapter 14 Family

I don't know how I knew it was just a dream. I don't know why I knew that it would all fade away. I don't know why I knew it wouldn't last. I don't...I just...really...don't

It all started with the image of Mikoto in a flower field. She wore a white dress and her hair was tied down into a sideways ponytail by a hair tie with a blue ribbon. She was running around, seemingly chasing something that I couldn't quite see because of the tall grass. I was a few meters away, under the shade of a huge tree, holding a can of orange juice, sitting on a red and white picnic blanket. There was a picnic basket beside me with a lot of food inside, there was Mikoto's bag slumped against the tree trunk, and there was another bag, a small red back pack resting on it.

"Papa! Papa!" A little girl's voice shouted happily. I saw a little hand popping out of the grass, which made me laugh. So Mikoto was chasing a little girl then...

"She's calling for you, you know?" Mikoto said with a smile, as she walked closer to the little girl. 'Hurry up and get over here, why don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah~!" The voice chimed once more. "Papa~ Hurry up and get over here~!"

"Ah geez..." I muttered, scratching my head. "You guys just don't know how to cut me some slack huh?" I complained, feigning annoyance as I walked over to them, passing through the tall grasses that stood in my way. "Ah, but who am I to complain? Having the two cutest girls in the world for myself, I'm the luckiest man in the world!" I felt someone bump into my knees, and I saw the head of a little girl, probably aged four or five, hugging my legs tightly. I patted her head, making her look up to me, her bright sapphire eyes brimming with delight as she smiled cheekily. Her hair was really soft to the touch, with it flowing just a little bit past her shoulders in a dark shade of hazel, bordering a seemingly brownish colour. Why does she...seem so familiar?

"Papa~ Let's play!" The girl beamed happily tugging at my hand, dragging me to where Mikoto was. I just smiled, letting her drag me along, just until I feel myself falling. I blinked. There's darkness all around me. I'm falling through a tunnel of infinite darkness. I struggle to try and grasp anything that might save me, but it was naught. There was nothing there. I just kept on falling and falling and falling and falling. I feared how painful my landing would be. It would definitely hurt a lot. I close my eyes and brace myself. I braced myself for the pain to come, but as it turns out, I didn't brace myself enough.

I woke up without pain. I search for the pain. I search for any feeling in my body, but there was none. I hear a shrill scream, echoing in my ears. I pry my opens, only to be met with the scene of blood and ruin. I was in a house which seemed all too familiar. There was blood. My blood. It was spilling over the hardwood floors, dying the carpet red. I hear a scream again and despite the bleariness in my eyes, I tried to look around the periphery in search of the owner of the voice. I just really wish I hadn't. My mind went blank with what I saw. I saw Mikoto, beat up and bruised, being held by neck, struggling to breath. There's a man in a black ragged cape. All i could see was that he wore white gloves, pants and shoes. There was a thin sword attached to his hip and he was suffocating Mikoto. He was choking her. Move it! Move your goddamn body Kamijou Touma! I screamed in my head, but it was no use. I must be dying then. Mikoto and the b-st-rd were talking, Mikoto was even crying, but the asshole simply smiled eerily, taking out his sword from its sheath. No, no no, no, no. Please don't! He pointed it at Mikoto's chest, slowly piercing it through her clothes, just until small drops of blood could be seen. I couldn't bear to see Mikoto's face like that. She was in so much pain. Her eyes were welling with tears as she spoke, begging him for something. But he just smiled creepily, saying something, before sending the final blow.

I made a realization.

I never really knew what true misery was, not until I saw the scene before me.

Everything was played in slow motion. The way he took back his sword from her pierced chest, swatting away the blood from the blade. The way Mikoto smiled as she looked at something somewhere behind that guy, muttering something. Then the way she looked at me. Oh god. She looked at me apologetically, a smile on her face, tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry..." she said in an almost inaudible voice. "I couldn't...do it...afte..er...all..." And so her body fell to the ground, creating pool of blood. I only stared, my mind completely blank. I thought I was dying, but then I suddenly felt myself moving. I was trying to stand up. I wanted to beat the f-ck-ng hell out of that b-st-rd. He saw me standing up. He smiled –and for various reasons I was scared—But I didn't let him faze me. He began walking in a different direction, as if to pick something up. I couldn't see what he was up to anymore, just until I heard the voice scream again—and my body froze once more. I turned and saw him, smiling eerily as he dragged something from the other side. It was that girl. The little girl who held onto my knees in another dream, though she looked a bit older now. She was being dragged by her hair towards me. She was screaming, crying, kicking, calling out for help. Why is no one helping her? Doesn't this house have any neighbours? I tried to stand, but he arrived sooner than I expected. He kicked me in the stomach, sending me backwards. The girl cried out again, looking at me with fear. He was saying something to her, which only made her cry even more.

"Get...away...from her..." I managed to mutter out, despite my fading consciousness. The man smiled again, before raising the little girl into the air by her hair. She was struggling against him, just until a spark came from her forehead, shocking him. He muttered some obscenity I couldn't understand before slamming her head into the hardwood. Naturally, her head bled. Her blood ran through her face. He slapped her in the face and tore away her shirt. He then turned to me angrily, and I saw his steely grey eyes gleaming. He raised his sword to my chest, ramming it down with utmost force. I didn't feel any pain anymore. I felt as if my blood was being drained from me, but I did my best to take one last glance at her. Her eyes were wide and lifeless. She didn't even bother to cover herself up anymore. The man, whoever the b-st-rd was, knelt in front of her and pinned her down, shouting things at her as he tore away all her remaining clothes.

No! Get away from her, you piece of sh-t! F-ck-ng son of a b-tch! Get the hell away from her!

I kept on shouting in my head as I could do nothing else but cry, wallowing in my own misery. Not long after that, a bright flash of light seemingly took over the girl, blinding the b-st-rd, enveloping the entire room. When the light become too bright for me, I ended up closing my eyes, my soul feeling this warm sensation. It was light and fluffy and comforting. And the next thing I know, as I open my eyes, I'm lying here in my apartment floor, a blanket covering me comfortably.

As I said before, I don't know why I knew it was a dream. Under normal circumstances, I would've panicked by now. I would be sweaty and nauseous and anxious about every single thing. I probably would've run off screaming Mikoto's name as soon as I woke up and realized that she wasn't there by my side. I just...I don't know why I'm so...calm.

"Oh, good morning~!" Mikoto's voice greeted me cheerily. I turned my head and saw her peering from the kitchen, still clad in my shirt and boxers, with her hair tied up into a bun. "Great timing. All I managed to do was brew some coffee and make toast. I was about to cook eggs and whatnot, but I figured that you'd want to cook it yourself." I simply stared at her, trying to assess the situation we were in. Everything that I dreamed about...it was just a dream, right? "Hmmm?" Mikoto hummed, a piece of untoasted bread hanging from her mouth. She walked over closer to me and squatted down near where my head was. "You okay? You look like you had one hell of a dream, though you seem pretty calm about it..."

"Ah...yeah..." I muttered blankly, staring at her face. "Is it really that weird that I'm so calm about it?"

"Well, based from experience, whenever you have a bad dream, you'd definitely call me in a panic disregarding what time it was or come searching for me. I mean, just yesterday, you suddenly screamed my name like a banshee didn't you? Well, the worst case would still be that time back when I was in middle school. Do you remember it?" She sat down, tore the bread in half and placed the other half in my mouth. "It was a few months after the Angel Incident. It was on the 23rd of December, or maybe 24th. I'm not really sure since you suddenly appeared in front of the dorm at the middle of the night. It was snowing like crazy back then, it piled up so much that if kids sat down they'd be buried in it. I was fast asleep but then my phone was insistent in ringing. I answered it, thinking that I'd give the caller hell, but then the very second I picked up, you said "Thank god!" while panting. You asked me to look out my window , so I did. It was a pain getting out of bed since everything was just so damn cold, but you were really there. I could tell that you were wearing the jogging pants that you use to sleep in and your coat was all bundled up in the wrong ways."

"Oh..." I said chewing on the bread. "Now I remember that. You scolded me on the phone for a bit before running down to the entrance. You dragged me inside, even as the guard told you that it wasn't allowed. You sat me right by the heater, fixed up the buttons on my coat and gave me some kind of hot drink while scolding me and ignoring the guard."

"She didn't tell on us anyway." She smiled, straightening out the apparent creases on my forehead. "She listened in on the whole explanation and decided to forgive us. As long as the dorm mistress didn't check the tapes, then no one else would know of your secret visit. It took us an hour to get you warmed up and all, I mean, I couldn't just send you home while you were still freezing. "

"Yeah, and that was when you gave me your Christmas present." I said reaching my hand out to touch her hair as I smiled, making Mikoto blush. "When I was about to leave, you suddenly wrapped a scarf around me and stuffed my hands in gloves. You punched me in the gut for making you give it in advance, but it was better than leaving me as I was. I remember everything you said back then you know? You were really cute, as you stood out on the stairs with me. You wore your Gekota sleepwear with a green fluffy blanket with a knitted inner layer draped over your shoulders and your face was totally red!"

"I was?" Mikoto suddenly asked. Huh? Why would she—Ah. That's right, her memories. I forgot about that. Mikoto flinched as she realized her mistake, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Ah, I mean—"

"It's fine, Mikoto." I said, pulling her down, embracing her.

"Wha—what the hell do you think you're-!" She struggled for a bit, but I simply hugged her, patting her head.

"It's fine." I murmured, making her relax. "It's really fine, you know? I anticipated this. The ring already showed me that you lost your memories anyway. I was prepared for this. I mean, yeah, it kinda sucks that you lost your memories and that you won't remember some of the things we've been through, but that's just a bump in the road. I didn't fall in love with your memories Mikoto, I fell in love with you. Your memories are a part of you, but that doesn't make me love you any less." We stayed in that position for more than just a few seconds, until her voice broke the silence.

"Can you tell me the things I said to you?" Mikoto asked, a blush still on her face. "Maybe I can still remember it or something..."

"Well, first of all, you told me off like hell for coming at such an hour, especially since it was snowing that heavily. You were wrapping the scarf around me as you scolded me, so you intentionally tightened it quite a few times. But then you suddenly mellowed down when you were placing the mittens on my hands. 'I hate it when you do things like this. Reckless things that could hurt you in every way. I want to slap you in the face right now for endangering yourself like this, but I want to slap myself even harder! I want to slap myself for feeling so happy...because you did this. Because you care so much. I really hate myself too you know! So don't do this ever again! Don't make me hate you or myself! If you have another bad dream, just call me! Even if it's 2 in the morning or even if it's during class! Even if I'm taking a shower or doing whatever, I'd definitely answer it! I'll say what you want me to say, I'll do what I can to make you feel assured! So...cherish yourself more...stupid!'" I smiled at the memory of it, as I remembered the expression on Mikoto's face as she said those words. I felt the Mikoto who lay on my chest calm down as she clutched my shirt, releasing a breath.

"I forgot how horridly honest I was after I first lost my memories." Mikoto commented as she looked at me with a smile. "I'm glad that you only did that once though—"

"Oh, I did it again actually." I blurted out, making Mikoto sit up. "Ah, I mean—"

"You know, your random stupidity is actually a great help sometimes." She said in a menacing tone. "What do you mean you did it again?"

"A-ah... Wh-what would you be talking about, Misaka-san~?" I muttered, trying to get out of this situation. "I don't know what you're—"

"Oh don't play dumb! I may have amnesia, but it's retrograde amnesia, not anterograde! Why would you do something like that when I explicitly told you not to?!" She suddenly stood up suddenly—

"Uhhh...excuse my intrusion~" Someone suddenly said at the door, making Mikoto and look at its direction. Since she wasn't looking, Mikoto made a wrong step, making her slip and fall on top of me, both of us landing with a grunt. We were both too out of our wits to even think about what was happening, just until we heard the same voice speak again. "Hey Touma you—oh my god." The shock evidently showed through in her voice and that was enough to make me realize who it was. "Uhm...w-would it be better if I...I don't know...come back later or something?"

"Ah~ Don't be like that, Kamisaka-yan!" That b-st-rd! "Why not stay for the show? We're already here anyway!"

"DON'T TEACH HER STUPID STUFF YOU SH-TTY B-ST-RD/TSCHUMIKADO SENPAI!" Mikoto and I shouted at the same time as we hurriedly stood up. Narushi's face was covered by her hands, except for her right eye that was peeking through the gaps in her fingers, her face totally red. Tsuchimikado Motoharu, my sort-of friend, stood beside her, clad in his usual Hawaiian t-shirt and shorts, a wide grin on his face."I was wondering who would be tactless enough to just enter someone else's house unannounced like that! You let Narushi in didn't you?! Do you seriously have to be a b-st-rd every single day?! And who the f-ck is Kamisaka-yan?!"

"Aw~ Come on Kami-yan~!" He cooed in his overly friendly voice. "But isn't it cute though? The nickname I gave her? Kamisaka! It came from Kami-yan and Misaka-chan, it suits her perfectly! By the way, do something about Misaka-chan's clothes. Won't she catch a cold like that?"

"Don't mess with me you asshole!" I stood up throwing the blankets at Mikoto as she just sat there flustered and dying of embarrassment. "Don't just give her mixed up names like that! And we weren't even doing anything! We were just talking, right up until the second you just barged in here like that! Mikoto just slipped and I happened to be in her way! Don't make Narushi think of other stuff!"

"Ah~ Well if you put it that way, it's not like I can do anything to make you deny the truth any less, but hey! It's your life, you can do whatever you want with it~ Just try not to scar Kamisaka-yan for life, okay?" Tsuchimikado said with a dismissing wave as he walked over to Mikoto, who still sat on the floor, all wrapped up in blankets. He took a close look at her, a creepy grin all over his face. "Hmm..." He mummed appreciatively. "I must say, Misaka-chan has gotten a lot prettier! Good luck keeping her for yourself, Kami-yan!"

"Don't be an idiot!" I said , knocking him on the head with my fist.

"Ahahaha, don't be so mean, Kami-yan~ Kamisaka-yan was just standing outside, wondering whether she should knock or not! I just showed her in to save her from being stranded outside all day." He laughed it off before looking at Mikoto again.

"Wha—what is it?" Mikoto stuttered, pulling the blankets closer to her. "Do you have something to say to me or what? Don't think that just because you—"

"Welcome back, Misaka-chan." Tsuchimikado suddenly said, placing a hand on Mikoto's head with—I don't know if my eyes got filtered or something—a gentle smile. "I'm glad you're back. Take more care of Kami-yan for me, alright?" He asked and I was ultimately dumbfounded. Mikoto honestly looked surprised as she tried to utter out a response.

"Ah...well...yes, of course." She finally said with a smile. "I don't know how to say this properly but...I'm back, senpai. Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone."

"Pleasure's all mine, Misaka-chan~" He replied, standing up. "Just learn to take it easy for now, okay? The pedo and his maid already told me most of what's happened. I'll try looking into it using my own means. But I guess I should get going for now. I wouldn't want to impose on this family reunion or anything~" Tsuchimikado then sauntered out to the door, yelling his goodbye as he closed it shut, leaving the three of us with an awkward setting.

"Tsk...that damn b-st-rd still does things like this just for the hell of it, doesn't he?" I muttered, scratching my head. "Ah, but well...I guess he's not too bad..."

"Despite his pretences, Tsuchimikado-senpai is a good person, Touma." Mikoto said with a smile as she stood up, the blankets falling off from her shoulders. "Anyway, we can deal with Tsuchimikado senpai later—god knows how long we've been dealing with him—but we probably need to focus all our attention on another, more important, matter right now." She said, turning her head to where Narushi awkwardly stood. "You don't have to be so tense you know? You do remember who I am, right?"

"O..Of course I do!" Narushi answered enthusiastically as she clutched the white skirt she was wearing with both hands. "It's just...I'm not...quite sure how I should...approach this situation..."

"It's exactly as I told you in my Essence Scape, Narushi-chan." Mikoto said with a gentle smile as she made her way towards Narushi. She stood right in front of her, placing a hand on her cheek. "No matter if it's in this world, or my alternate reality, who we are to other people will never change. So long as that person sees you as the same person, then it shouldn't matter where you are. So tell me, who do you see me as, Narushi-chan?" Narushi's eyes welled up with tears as she tried to think of the words to say.

"I...I..." She stuttered out, suddenly hugging Mikoto by her waist. "Mama!" She cried out, clinging onto Mikoto with all she had. "Mama! Mama! You're...you're my...my Mama..." Her cries grew louder by the second as Mikoto simply hummed a calming tune as she caressed Narushi's head gently. Watching them like this made my heart swell with emotion. Mikoto looked over to me for a bit, smiling happily, despite the tears that were at the corner of her eyes. I went over to where Mikoto and Narushi stood and wiped away the tears right before they fell.

"You've already cried enough, don't you think, Mikoto?" I said, placing my hand on her head. "Let Narushi have this moment to cry her heart out."

"Don't make it sound like I was stealing her spotlight or anything, Idiot. Why don't you go ahead and cook us breakfast. I'll deal with Narushi-chan over here." Mikoto playfully smacked my arm, urging me toward the kitchen as she sat Narushi down on the bed, calming her down. I could only smile at them as I took out the ingredients for some hotdogs, bacon and eggs, pancakes and some cream soup. I know that kind of sounds like an odd combination, but I think that they'll both appreciate it. It's just a hunch though. I could hear their murmuring voices as I cooked, and it somehow gave this calming feeling to me. That dream I had...it's just a normal dream. I've had nightmares before didn't I? Just because I didn't react as much doesn't make this dream any special. I'm just over thinking things again.

But every time you over think, you're always right.

There it is again. That stupid voice in my head... Have I really begun to lose my mind? It can't be...right? Maybe I'm just too stressed about things. Worrying about Mikoto's condition, then there's Narushi and this damned situation that we're in. We don't even know who the enemy is after all. Yeah, I guess I'm probably just tired. I sighed at my own thoughts, before focusing my attention to the pot where I was cooking the soup. Mikoto likes it creamy, so I guess Narushi would like it like that was well, right? As I set that aside to boil and cook, I broke the eggs and placed them in a heated pan, jumbling it along with the bacon.

"Hey, Touma?" Mikoto called out. I looked behind me and saw that she stood beside the kitchen counter, holding a glass of water. "How much longer before the food is ready? I'm kinda starving." She said with a smile, but then I saw how her hands trembled as the water in the glass kept on wavering. "Just learn to take it easy for now, okay?" Tsuchimikado's words suddenly rung in my ears. Oh, so that's what he meant.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, so as to not rouse Narushi's suspicion as I set the heat on low and walked closer to her. I took the glass from her hand and placed it on the countertop. "Your hands are trembling." I stated plainly as I held both of her hands in both of mine. "You're looking a bit pale..."

"It's fine, really." She said taking back her hands from me. "I just...didn't expect my meeting with Narushi to be like this. I guess I'm having a hard time accepting this kind of situation..."

"Well...we can't help it if it's like that." I said with a sigh before returning to my previous post, placing more toast on the toaster and turning it on. "I guess everything will be set in another fifteen minutes. I don't want to upset your appetite or anything so I can't give something heavy to eat, but I guess a small sandwich will do." I took a piece of bread and sliced it in half. I placed some cheese and lettuce on it before placing one half of the bread on top of it. "That should do for now. You should probably sit down and take it easy, just as Tsuchimikado told you to." Mikoto seemed stunned at first as I handed over a plate with the sandwich on it. "Don't take me for an idiot, Mikoto. I can at least tell when that guy is trying to hint on something."

"That guy seriously knows way too much for his own good." Mikoto sighed, looking away from me as she sat down. "You don't have to worry. It's not the same as four years ago. I won't go down like that. I still have a lot of things to do in this world after all. I have to set a lot of things right, if I'm going to stay here."

"You will."I stressed, but she still didn't look my way. "I won't let history repeat itself Mikoto. I won't let anyone take you away from me for a third time."

"You said that before too." She said with a sad smile on her face as she looked up at me. "But things still happened. I'll be completely honest with you this time, Touma, because I know how much I hurt you before." She took a deep breath before speaking once more. "I probably won't stay."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean it as it is." She said taking the sandwich from the plate and biting off a small portion. "I don't have all of my memories with me in this dimension, so I can't really explain this situation to you. The best option for us now is for me to return to the Realm and at least try to figure out what really happened. But when I do figure everything out and regain some of my memories, what happens then? We do something about the disturbance? We beat the crap out of the person who's behind all of this? We save the world? Then what happens? Can you honestly say that we can still live together after all that?" She placed the half-eaten sandwich back onto the plate before standing up. "You can't. I can't make you believe in something as naive as that and give you false hope again. I won't put you through anymore of this, Touma. This will be the last time. I swear in the name of this god-forsaken destiny that we have that this really will be the last."

And so she went on to comfort Narushi, leaving me stuck in my position, my mind in a blank daze.

How...how could she say that so easily? I didn't want to believe it, but she really...has she really given up on being here, in Academy City? Did she really give up on staying with all of us? That...that can't be..right?

"Hey...Touma?"

"Ah—huh?" I looked back and saw Narushi and Mikoto peering over at me, hiding behind the counter. "Sorry, sorry. I was spaced out. Is something the matter?"

"More than something being the matter..." Mikoto cautiously pointed behind me, a questioning look on her face. "I don't know if you've developed a new style for cooking or something, but is it just me or is whatever you're cooking in that pan burning?" Huh? Now that you mention it, why does it smell like something is—

"AH! BURNING!" I panicked, seeing the black smoke rise from the frying pan that was set on the stove. I hurriedly turned off the heat, placing the burnt pan and its contents over a basin of water, cooling the base. "Ah~ah. There goes some perfectly good eggs. Guess I'll have to remake them again."

"You don't have to you know? You've cooked a lot of other food anyway." Narushi said walking over and looking at the disastrous outcome of the fried eggs. "Wow, you burnt them really bad."

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious."

"How dare you talk sass to her!" Mikoto suddenly said, coming up from behind Narushi and placing her arms around Narushi's shoulders. "Don't be so mean, Idiot!"

"Mean?! Aren't the two of you bullying me?!"

"That's because you're an idiot, idiot Touma!"

"Oi, oi, oi. I'm still your father you know that!"

"MAMA!" Narushi suddenly cried clinging onto Mikoto. "Idiot Touma is being mean to me~!"

"OH COME ON! HOW COME YOU CALL HER MAMA BUT I'M STILL IDIOT TOUMA?"

"Because you're an idiot." The two of them said in an emotionless, synchronized manner. The two girls giggled at one another, before smiling at high fiving each other.

'Oh come on...' I muttered to myself. But seeing the two of them giggle and smile peacefully brought warmth to my heart, making me smile. 'Ah well...I guess with the way things are now...it's fine.'

-chapter end-

HEYOW! HAHAHA. To be honest, I cant even remember the last time I updated this. I'm sorry if it was short. To be honest, I can't promise you guys that I'll be able to update regularly. I haven't written anything for months and I honestly forgot how to write. I also don't remember what I was supposed to do with this. As I said before, I reread the entire series, and I came up with a different plan for this. So I guess that means that there's still hope! Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who'd drop off something they've poured their heart into all of a sudden. I will finish this series, no matter what happens. Even if it takes me years to do so. I'll never drop this story, you can count on that.

I know that its kind of stupid for me to say all of this. And I'd really like to apologize to those who actually read this. Thank you so much for the support and for the messages asking if I was still alive. Trust me, I got one too many messages with that question. I'm still alive and well. And I'm still pretty obsessed with the idea of Touma and Mikoto together! Please bear with me and really, I don't know how many times I've said this, but thank you. Thank you so much. So, how are you guys? You can review this or PM me or anything! Is anyone still there? I hope I'll hear from you guys soon!

Till next time~!

P.S. Livi from Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii is so frickin cute/handsome/adorable I am dying