Chapter 38: THE THIRD NIGHT: RECONCILIATION
Kamijou Touma walked along the corridors of the hospital, heading to Misaka Mikoto's room. With every step he took, thoughts continued to flood his mind, only increasing the confusion which built up inside of him.
"I don't get it…' Touma thought as he continued to trudge along. 'What the hell did Friedrich mean by 'Her last wish'? It's not like Mikoto's gonna die…is she?'
"Touma-chan…." Misuzu said lowly with a pleading look on her face. "Please? Please fulfill Mikoto-chan's wish."
"Her last wish you mean." Friedrich said in a barely audible voice, but still, it was enough to make Touma turn his head and look at him. Josephine just shook her head, and held her Master's hand.
"Her….what?"
"It's nothing Master." Josephine said with a strained smile. "Nothing."
Touma quickly shook his head at the thought, taking out a Gekota shaped necklace, the one that he had given to Mikoto 3 years ago, from his pocket. He held it dearly in his hand as a tender smile made its way to his face.
"It doesn't matter…" He said wistfully. "Thinking negative thoughts like that won't help. If something was wrong, Mikoto would've told me about it. It's as simple as that."
He halted in front of the door of Mikoto. Holding out his hand to slide it open,
"Touma?"
Came Mikoto's voice form inside. Another smile made its way to his lips as he opened it and walked in. after taking a few steps, he was met with the image of her, lying down on her bed, her hair scattered neatly across her pillow.
"Hey." He greeted. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, moving closer to her until he stood right at her bedside. Mikoto smiled weakly at him, something which made his eyebrow rise.
"Being an angel comes in handy too you know?" she said.
"Ah…now I can't even pull off a surprise on you, such misfortune…" he grumbled fakely before winking at her. "So, you feeling better today BiriBiri?"
"I just woke up today you idiot. You can't expect me to feel better right when I just woke up. That's just stupid." She said propping her arms up, trying to sit. Touma came over and helped her out.
"Eh? The great Misaka Mikoto is having a hard time recovering? Now that's a shocker~!" He remarked sarcastically. "Don't die on me now~"
Mikoto's eyes widened as she stared up at him in fear. Silence overcame them as Touma noticed how her mood had changed. Thinking back on his words, he tried to find out what he had said or done wrong. Slowly, an apathetic smile came over Mikoto's face as she looked up to him. His heart cringed with every second of staring at her, but he could not pull away.
"Sorry, sorry…" she said. "Stop staring at me or I'll melt even before I die."
"That's not a very nice thing to say." He said, deciding to play whatever just happened off. "Anyway, everyone's waiting for you outside. You're the one who asked for this and you're the one who's late? Really now."
"Hey! It's not my fault I fell asleep!"
"You fell asleep for 3 hours." Touma noted making Mikoto twitch. "It's already 8:30 Mikoto."
"Yeah, yeah." Mikoto said waving her hand at his face. "I already said I'm sorry. Besides, I have two hours before the fireworks. Mind getting me a wheelchair? I'm not really feeling especially good right now."
"A…wheelchair?" He repeated. Mikoto was never one to actually need a wheelchair. Whenever she got hospitalized, she resented the fact that she needed a wheelchair. But now…now, she's actually asking for it.
"Hey," Mikoto said noticing his awkward response. "No need to worry Touma. I'm fine. I'm just not really up to walking about right now. I still hate wheelchairs, but maybe getting pushed around in a primitive hovercraft isn't so bad."
"You just called a wheelchair a primitive hovercraft?"
"Add some jetpacks to it and make it more comfortable then it'll be a blast into the future." She remarked proudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I honestly can't believe that Academy City hasn't thought of that yet."
"Aren't you the creative one?" He said ruffling her hair before going to the door. "Just wait for a bit okay? I'll get you your primitive hovercraft as soon as I can, m'lady." He added with a curtsy.
"Till then, dear butler!" Mikoto said playing along. "Don't make your lady wait for days and nights in the hollow coldness of this lonesome prison."
"I did not understand a single thing you just said."
"Sigh. Just go and get the damn wheelchair already!"
"Yes Ma'am~!" Touma said saluting her before marching over and closing the door. He leaned on the now closed door and breathed, not being able to keep up with her lies any longer. As soon as he was out, he heard multiple coughs coming from the only resident in the room behind him. It only made him feel worse.
"I just wish you'd tell me already Mikoto….dammit…" He muttered, before ignoring her painful coughs, which felt like multiple stabs to his heart. He started walking away, clenching his fists as her cough grew louder and louder.
As soon as Touma had closed the door, the playful smile that graced Mikoto's lips dropped to a frown. She placed a hand over her mouth as painful coughs erupted, burning her esophagus and her lungs. She took back her hand and felt the red liquid on her palm. Her heart quivered in fear, but was soon pushed aside by yet another coughing fit.
"Oh god…" she muttered in between her coughs. "When will this hell be finally over?"
She cursed as the coughs died down a bit, before another pain came and strangled her lungs out. She wheezed, doing her best to breathe as a few coughs made it through her mouth.
"I hope you can forgive me…" she said sadly. "All of you…"
It only took a short walk before Touma managed to reach the nurse's desk. He approached the one on duty, which he also recognized as the one of the nurses who tended to Mikoto.
"Ah hey, excuse me Miss?" He said, making the girl with light brown hair pulled up into a bun look up to him. "Uhm…could I uh…I don't know how to say this, but could I borrow a wheelchair?"
"A wheelchair?" The nurse asked. "You're Misaka-san's boyfriend, am I right?"
"Uh…I don't know how to respond to that either…"
"Is the wheelchair for Misaka-san?" she asked, and Touma nodded. "Huh…She was never fond of wheelchairs. It's a rarity for her to ask."
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, do you know where I can get one?"
"Would you like the manual or the electri—"
"Manual." Touma said interrupting her. "Definitely the manual." The nurse smiled before nodding and walking out of her desk. Touma just stayed in his place and sighed. 'If I brought her the electric one, who knows how it'll end up if she got all BiriBiri…. I definitely don't have the funds to pay for something as advanced as that.'
"Uhm, sir?" The nurse asked, waking towards him while wheeling an odd looking chair. "I'm sorry, but it seems like we only have the electric ones. The manual types aren't available at this moment."
"Such misfortune…" He said, taking the handle of the chair nonetheless. "Ah, well. It's okay I guess. As long as Mikoto doesn't use her powers while she's on it. I'd better go, thanks for all your help Miss…uh…can I know your name?"
"It's Sakaguchi Megumi. But please, call me Megumi, Kamijou-san." Touma seemed surprised at the fact that she knew his name. "I know your name because of Heaven Canceller. He's very fond of you and Misaka-san."
"Ah, okay then. Thanks very much, Megumi-san." Touma said waving at her and walking away. " That old geezer…what the hell has he been telling his staff about me and Mikoto huh?" he muttered lowly as he walked back to her room. As he got close, he could still hear the sounds of faint coughing, and it bothered him even more.
"She…she still hasn't stopped?"
He asked himself as he reached her door. He waited for her coughs to stop before taking a deep breath and sliding the door open, wheeling in the chair.
"Sorry to make you wait m'la—Mikoto?" His extravagant intro was stopped when he saw her current state. Mikoto was panting hard, as if she had been running around the entirety of Academy City. Her face seemed paler and there was a smudge of something foreign near her mouth. Once her eyes met with his, she quickly wiped it away, before wiping her hands under her blanket.
"You made me wait, dear butler." Mikoto said with a smile.
Touma couldn't bring himself to do the same. He just stared at her for a few seconds, to which she merely tilted her head to the side. Touma gritted his teeth before walking over to her, taking hurried steps, pushing the wheelchair aside.
"Touma? What're you—"
She was cut off when he had suddenly hugged her, wrapping his arms around her neck, embracing her tightly with such gentleness it made her wonder. Mikoto was left speechless as she slowly raised her hand to pat his arm.
"Why won't you just tell me?" He suddenly said, making Mikoto's eyes widen. But even so, they did not break away from one another.
"Tell..you what?"
"Everything." He answered shortly, sitting beside her, still not letting go. "I know I'm pretty stupid and in some ways useless, but there must be some way I can help right? I know something is wrong…I know there is but I don't know what. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. Everyone knows it but I don't. it makes me feel so out of place Mikoto. And I don't like it one bit."
"Touma…" Mikoto mumbled before she returned his hug. "I'm sorry. It's not something you need to know right now. But…I'll tell you about it, okay? When the right time comes…I'll tell you."
She said pushing him away and looking at him. She held Touma's face in her hands as she smiled a smile that Touma had only seen once before. When Mikoto had passed out after the angel incident nearly four years ago. When…she had willingly given up all her memories.
He had so many questions he still wanted to ask, but she had been selfish. She let go of his face and swiftly moved her legs, allowing them to dangle over the edge of the bed.
"Enough of the drama." She said. "Mind carrying me over to my primitive hovercraft?"
"It's not really primitive…since it has all these buttons and whatnot." Touma said, trying to recover. "Megumi-san said that they only had electric wheelchairs and that the manual types weren't available…so yeah…"
"Megumi-san?" Mikoto asked looking at him suspiciously as a vicious aura grew behind her. "Who is this "Megumi-san" eh Touma? Not one of the women you've added into your harem I presume?!"
"E-EH?! Of course not! What made you think that huh?!" he asked taking a few cautious steps back. "She's one of your nurses! So I just—"
"YOU'RE HITTING ON ONE OF MY NURSES?!"
"NO! GOD NO!" He defended, appeasing her a little. "I just happened to talk to her this once. I've never even talked to her before, I swear! I was too worried about you when you were gone! How on earth could I have gone girl-hunting?!"
'Honestly naïve as usual I see…' Mikoto thought as a smile slowly graced her face.
"Alright then. Fine, I believe you." She said, allowing Touma to breathe. "But hurry up already! I can't wait to try on that non-primitive hovercraft you brought me."
"Err…okay. But promise me you won't go all BiriBiri okay? I can't even how many zeroes the price of the futuristic thingamajig might have. I know you already know this, but allow me to repeat it, I DO NOT HAVE THE FUNDS OKAY?"
"Relax Touma. I'll try not to break it."
"Try?"
"Ugh look, even if I do break it, I'll pay for it myself. Problem solved right?!" She grumbled as Touma picked her up from the bed and carried her to the chair, setting her down on it. He didn't miss the chance to see the small blush that adorned her cheeks for a few seconds.
"Seriously, with the way you take money matters right now, you're gonna have to marry some sort of rich sadist Mikoto. Sorry to say this but I'm not that kind of guy. "
"You fit the sadist bill though…"
"The way you said it makes it sound like you actually want me to marry you."
"You don't?"
"I never said that."
"Idiot."
"Such misfortune…" Touma muttered as he face palmed.
"HEEY~! TOUMA LOOK AT ME~!" Mikoto shouted as she zipped through his vision using her futuristic wheelchair. "I TAKE IT BACK! THIS SI SO NOT A PRIMITIVE HOVERCRAFT! IT'S A GIFT FROM THE FUTURE!"
"Oi! Stop being so fascinated by that thing and slow down would you?!" Touma called after her. "You might break it! So stop using your powers to accelerate your speed for goodness' sake!"
"I DON'T CAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!"
"MIKOTO!" He called out again, but it really had no effect. "Ugh…you can be such a kid sometimes! Level 5 prodigy my ass! You're turning 18 but you have the mindset of a 12 year old!" He complained, waiting for the right moment. When she passed through in front of him, he quickly grabbed the handle of the chair, stopping her electricity and her dangerous drifting through the hospital garden.
"You're such a kill joy Touma." Mikoto grumbled with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her long hazel hair bobbed and moved with the wind as she came to a sudden stop. "And to think I was having so much fun!"
"Sorry if I didn't want you to break any of your bones from your still recovering body." He said pushing her through the walkways. "Really now. The second you're out of a hospital bed, you go all crazy, what's up with that?"
"Hey. I haven't had fun for more than a week now. All because of that stupid Miliahelm's crappy sick game."
"Don't even mention his name. my blood boils whenever I hear it." Touma said grimly as his grip around the handle tightened. He still couldn't let go of the fact that the b-st-rd had the nerve to use Hiromi's body to kiss Mikoto right in front of him. That was his most lethal mistake.
"Did…did Mama invite everyone?" Mikoto suddenly asked.
"Huh?...Well….I think she did." He answered looking up at the night sky. "She even invited Josephine and Friedrich, hell, even Tsuchimikado."
"Due to certain reasons, I don't actually feel safe with Tsuchimikado-senpai being in the same areas as Kuroko and my friends. The guys a damned pervert for crying out loud!" Mikoto said furrowing her eyebrows as she looked up to Touma making him laugh.
"Ha-ha. Yeah, he is a pervert, but you don't have to worry about him. He's mostly into his little sister, Maika remember?"
"Yeah, I guess. But keep on eye on him, nonetheless okay?" she said pointing her index finger at him. Touma only smiled and nodded as they continued going up the ramp that lead to the platform where all her friend were waiting for her. As they reached the peak, Touma couldn't help but notice the look of awe and joy in Mikoto's face. Tears also formed on the edges of her eyes as she saw what was before her.
Sakura trees surrounded a huge picnic mat that was laid out on the ground. Several baskets were also placed around as everyone sat with a smile on their faces.
Kuroko, Uiharu, Saten and Misuzu, along with Josephine sat on the center, holding cups in their hands as they laughed and drank juice. Friedrich and Tsuchimikado were probably drunk as they danced a freaky pervert dance to which Tabigake only raised his glass of alcohol and laughed. The booze was probably brought by him.
"Ah! Misaka-san! Kamijou-senpai!" Uiharu sad aloud as she noticed them walking/wheeling towards them. "It's good that you were able to join us this evening!"
"Yeah, well somebody had to fall asleep at the wrong time and got us late." Touma said, obviously referring to Mikoto who just grunted. "Sorry about that Uiharu-san."
"Ah! No! That's not what I meant at all Kamijou-senpai! Misaka-san needed her sleep so—"
"Relax Uiharu-san. Don't pay attention to anything that this idiot behind me says." Mikoto said elbowing him in the gut. "Hey idiot."
"You tell me that after you elbow me in the gut?"
"Just get me off the wheelchair." She demanded. "It's the least you can do you know. I've been showing you mercy ever since the beginning!"
"This is your idea of mercy?" Touma asked, but carried her anyway. "Some gentle heart you have huh?" He said, placing her down right next to Misuzu, who handed her a glass of juice.
"Thank you for that, Touma-chan." She said with a smile. Mikoto gaped at her mother, shocked that she had called him Touma-chan. Mikoto looked at Touma, who only gave her a smile and a shrug. "Now now, Mikoto-chan. Don't get so worked up over pointless things okay? Touma-chan? Why don't you go over to the boys and drink with the—"
"OH NO HE WON'T." Mikoto interrupted grimly. "There is no way in hell I'll let him get drunk and—"
"Misaka-chan?" Another voice called. All heads turned towards the owner of the voice and they were shocked to see Hiromi, helping Sumine Mika up the stairs. Mikoto tried to stand up, but she only fell forward, while Misuzu caught her. No one spoke another word as the pair came closer to them.
"It's so nice of you to join us, Hiro-kun." Misuzu greeted.
"Uhm…It's been awhile…Misuza-kaa san." Hiromi answered politely. He looked over to Mikoto who just stared at him with wide eyes. "H-hey there…Miko-chan."
"H-hey…"
Mikoto said. That was all she could say. After all that happened, Mikoto really didn't know what to do. From what she had heard, Sumine Mika should've had memory loss, while Hiromi…he should've reverted back to his old timid, paranoid self. But here they were standing before her, and she didn't know whether to scream at them or apologize to them or hug them or something. Touma took the initiative and walked over to Hiromi, slinging an arm over his shoulder.
"Hey now, why are you all so serious?" He said happily. "You should be happier to see your best friend, right BiriBiri?"
":A-ah…well..Y-yeah. Of course I am."Mikoto stuttered.
"Well then good! What's with the long faces huh? Don't tell e you and Sumine-san haven't made up yet?" He asked. Mikoto fell silent, as did everyone else. Touma removed his arm from Hiromi before moving over to Mikoto and picking her up.
"H-HEY!" She whined. "What're you doing you idiot?!" She shouted as Touma placed her back onto her wheelchair.
"You and Sumine-san are going to talk it over. The whole problem has been dealt with right? What's the point of keeping your hatred?"
"I WILL NOT LET ONEE-SAMA GO WITH HER!" Kuroko shouted, teleporting some of her spikes to her hands. "I was there when she fought with her! I saw how she deliberately wanted to hurt Onee-sama! How can the ape such as yourself allow her to—"
"She's lost all her memories, Shirai-san." Touma said lowly, stopping her rampage. "She's lost everything, but she does remember everything she said and did to Mikoto….including the one that happened less than a year ago. When we had a party and I got…well…wasted…"
"You remember those?" Mikoto asked, looking up to Mika who stood before her.
"Yes… C-could…we please talk? I promise not to do anything. I swear on my life. Really!" She pleaded. "Please, Misaka-chan?"
Everyone looked at Mikoto waiting for her response. She just sat in her chair, holding her hands together, seemingly thinking about what to do. Touma placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up. He gave her a reassuring smile, to which she sighed.
"Sorry…" she said, bringing gloom across Mika's face. "Sorry…but you're gonna have to push my wheelchair. I can't really maneuver this damn thing by myself. The rest of her sentence made Mika smile. Sumine Mika nodded, before grabbing the handles of the wheelchair. But before they could leave, Mikoto grabbed Touma's collar and whispered
"If she is still that demented wretch then so help me god Touma, you know what I can do."
"Uhh…yeah, sure."
He replied as she let go of him. Mika smiled at him before wheeling her away, entering the forest of trees.
"I think I'll go after them…" Touma said nervously, as he ran forward, going after Mikoto and Mika.
"I think I'll go with him." Hiromi said doing the same thing.
Everyone else who was left behind stared at the space where the four people had gone to, sweat dropping.
"Hiro-kun really is a lot like Touma-chan huh?" Misuzu asked and everyone else readily agreed. " Ah~ Mikoto-chan really does make hard decisions… but it's a good thing she's already decided on one thing."
"One thing?" Kuroko asked.
"So…what did you want to talk about?" Mikoto asked as Mika stopped walking. She sat on the bench in front of her while Mikoto stayed glued to her chair.
"About everything, Misaka-chan." She said with a solemn expression. "About every wrong thing that I've done to you and Kamijou-san."
"Oh? So you're not calling him Touma-kun?" Mikoto snorted. Mika looked at her before shaking her head vigorously fighting back her tears. Mikoto actually felt bad.
"No! Please! I swear! I didn't mean anything that I did…No…actually that made things worse, but please! Could you…I know this is a selfish request…but please, could you please listen to me? I don't know much, and I honestly don't know why I can only remember the bad things I did to you. But…you need to understand,..that…that I'm truly sorry for everything that's happened."
"Wait, so you honestly can't remember anything, aside from the things you've done against me?"
"That's right." Mika answered stifling her tears. "And…out of all that I've done to you, I think that worst one was when…when I broke you and Kamijou-san apart. That night…when he got drunk, I swear nothing happened between us! Nothing!"
"Nothing?" Mikoto repeated. "I'm sorry to say this, but I honestly find that hard to believe. Does nothing refer to the both of you nearly naked so early on the morning of our anniversary? Seiri-senpai told me how utterly wasted Touma was that night. How can he, a drunk guy, not do anything with you, a girl?"
"Well…I tried to do something…" Mika confessed as her fingers played with one another. "I tried, but all the while, Kamijou-san thought that I was you. He kept on saying how much he loved you, and how happy he was that you were his. He passed out that night and I couldn't bear to do…whatever it was I planned. I'm not that kind of woman."
"Then…that morning…when I came over…"
"He was trying to push me away, but I had clung to him, knowing that you'd enter any second. I admit. I deliberately did all those things to the both of you, but now…but now…" Tears had slowly made it out of her eyes, streaming through her cheeks, "But now I feel nothing but regret and guilt! I tore away two people who had loved each other so much! I caused a great rift in your relationship! I..I ruined everything for you…."
She continued sobbing and crying as Mikoto could only look at her with pity. She felt two things right now. Hatred for herself because she didn't believe in Touma. Pity for this girl, who was crying her heart out all because of her misunderstanding.
"I know…I know that my apology means nothing to you now…but…but I still want to say it." she tried wiping off the tears on her face before looking at Mikoto straight in the eyes, causing tears to stream down even more. "I'm very truly sorry Misaka-chan!" she shouted bursting into a wait of tears.
Amidst all the sounds of crying and the waterworks that Mika had created, Mikoto found the courage to hold out her hand and pat Mika's head, temporarily silencing the girl.
"It's alright, Sumine-san. " she said with a smile. "That doesn't matter right now. None of it matters right now. It's all over, and for me, there's nothing to forgive. There are just the bad memories we need to forget. You can create new memories Sumine-san, more happy memories. And I'd be honored to share them with you."
"M-M….MISAKA-CHAN~!"
Mika shouted, glomping onto the Railgun, crying on her chest, shouting words of apology to her. Mikoto only laughed as she continued to stroke her head in the hopes of calming her down. Really now. Mika was two years older than her, but here she was, crying in her arms.
Touma continued to watch from the sidelines as Mika cried onto the chest of his beloved Mikoto. Seeing her do this made him a bit jealous, but the relief of seeing them together easily outranked it.
"It's nice to see them making up huh?" Hiromi's voice said from behind. Touma looked back and smiled at the black haired guy, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah. I never knew Sumine-san was such a cry baby though. It's sorta weird seeing her like this." He remarked with a small laugh. "But hey, who am I to talk? As long as Mikoto's out of trouble, I'm totally fine with it." Touma added, but Hiromi didn't respond to that. He looked over his shoulder and saw how he had his head down. "Aizawa?"
"Kamijou-kun…" Hiromi started. "About Miko-chan…do you mind if we have a talk of our own?"
Touma knew where this was going. Unlike Mika, Hiromi has a complete recollection of all the events that had transpired. He remembers everything. All the fights, all his words, all the chaos, all the trouble, and the kiss…oh the kiss. Just the mere thought of it made him fume, but for now, he pushed it aside.
"Yeah? What about it?"
"I think….I remember, when Mil had possessed my body, there was a time when I was able to wake up and talk to you. You said something about Miko-chan making her decision, and respecting that."
'Oh crap. Did he really have to bring that up now?' Touma thought, but despite his troubles, he still answered, "What about it?"
"I think…." Hiromi seemed hesitant at first, but after taking a deep breath, he finally said it. "I think Miko-chan already has her decision."
His words had made Touma. He wasn't ready for this. Had Mikoto told him that herself? That she had finally chosen between them? That she had chosen to discard Touma to be together with her best friend who loved her dearly and whom she loved back? He wasn't ready for this. In fact, he'll probably never be ready for this.
"She loves you."
Okay, now THAT made him really stop. Touma turned his head and scanned his face for any sign of jocularity. Maybe he would say 'Just kidding you sucker! Of course Miko-chan would pick me! You're the b-st-rd who hurt her before right?' and maybe then he'd laugh at Touma's sorry face. But it never came.
"She loves you Kamijou-san. Miko –chan loves you, more than anyone in this world."
"A-Aizawa…are you serious about this?" He gawked.
"Of course I am." Hiromi answered with a smile. "I knew all along that I had no chance with Miko-chan. That was with you in the picture. She loves you way too much. Even in her earlier years, despite her denial of it, Miko-chan was such a romantic. She wanted a knight in shining armor; she wanted to feel like a princess in the hands of her prince. She wanted all that sappy stuff." He said looking towards Mikoto with a gentle expression. "She wants it…and you're the one who can give that to her, Kamijou-san."
"Seriously?" Touma asked again, still not believing it. "Are you…are you really fine with this?"
"Yep. Miko-chan's happiness is the only thing I'm after. If I can't make her happy, then I guess I don't deserve to be her prince charming, that's a role only you can fulfill Kamijou-san." Hiromi stood up and held out his hand to Touma. "I'm letting her go, Kamijou-san. So please…please take good care of her. You have proved yourself more than just worthy to be by her side. there is no one more reliable to leave such a troublesome girl with."
"Hah~" Touma laughed, standing up and taking his hand. "You couldn't be more right about that. So…thanks…Aizawa."
"It is my pleasure to bring Miko-chan her happiness."
As they had all returned, it was nearly 10:30. They hadn't realizing that talking their feelings over would take so much time. So, as they waited for the fireworks to take place, everyone sat in a line, waiting for the colorful flares to light up the night sky. They were all engrossed in their respective conversations, yet Mikoto was quiet. She just sat in the middle of all the commotion, staring at all her loved ones.
"Mistress?"Josephine asked, dragging her legs across the picnic mat to sit behind Mikoto.
"Ah, hey there Josephine." Mikoto greeted with a smile. "Why'd you leave that pervert of a master of yours? You'd better watch out. Getting them drunk is a very, very bad idea. Trust me."
"Why?" She giggled. "Does it come from personal experience with Master Kamijou?"
"Oh hell yeah." Mikoto laughed. "So, what is it? You would never leave your master behind like that. You have something you want to say?" Josephine's laugh evaporated into nothingness after Mikoto spoke.
"I…I don't think I have the right to say this to you…but I really wanted to thank you…"
"And why wouldn't you have the right to thank me? Don't tell me you're still on about that servant-master thing you—"
"Mistress…" Josephine said interrupting her. "I know that you understand exactly what I mean. I know that…so please, please dot put up an act in front of me like that."
"I'm not putting up an act Josephine. I am seriously happy." Mikoto said as she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of her surroundings, leaning back on her arms. "Almost everyone I care about is right here beside me. I couldn't ask for more."
"You have not told Master Kamijou about it, have you?"
"He doesn't need to know Josephine." Mikoto said opening one of her eyes and looking at Josephine, eyeing her carefully. "He doesn't need to know what I did."
"But it concerns him as well! You gave up your happy ending with him, to save us. To save the remaining angels and our Guardians. How…" she drifted off from her sentence as she forced herself not to such much emotion. "How could you stay strong…even when time is so limited?"
Mikoto smiled at her, before raising one of her hands to pat Josephine's blonde head of hair. She stroked her hair, in an effort to calm the girl down. She was surprised to have done it twice just this evening, but nonetheless, she appreciated the warmth.
"It's only until tomorrow Josephine. Just until tomorrow."
"What's until tomorrow?" Touma suddenly asked, popping up beside them. Josephine hurriedly wiped off her eyes with her arms as Mikoto sat up and smiled at him. The fireworks boomed just in time, and Touma couldn't believe that he had not seen her look so beautiful with a smile, as the lights of the flares, illuminated her pale face.
"It's nothing Touma."
-chapter end-
Hey!~ Coppelion is over~! TT^TT Haruto is dead! NOOOO! This is kinda pointless. Well, since I don't know what to say anymore, Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to y'all! Please review! Thanks! Ja!