Hello, everyone. I'm stepping into another new fandom, a pretty big one. The Toaruverse is pretty big with a massive cast of varied and interesting characters, including the stars of this One Shot, series protagonist Touma and Amakusa Church member, Itsuwa. They're a cute couple that I ship and decided to put up some fan work of them together. More will probably come in the future, but I'll be starting things off with this story here. For the set-up, this story takes place in the aftermath of the battle against Acqua. Now that you know that, please read on.

I do not own anything.

Miraculous

Chapter 1

Ordinarily, most people would be in something of a panic if they woke up in a hospital bed, or found themselves waking up in one repeatedly. When it came to the latter, you simply had to get used to it, like he did. He'd honestly lost track of how many times he'd woken up in a hospital bed; what he did know was that the number was definitely higher than ten. He'd gotten to know the hospital staff pretty well to the point he would occasionally bring some of them gifts, and they would bring gifts for him when he "dropped by". This persisted even when the hospital saw a "flood" of patients. Given Academy City's nature, such floods seemed to happen practically every other week. Lately, he realized they'd been happening almost every other day.

As he sat upright, he felt a wave of pain ripple across his body. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little more banged up than I thought I was." In retrospect, it was…entirely plausible he was going to be spending the night at the hospital. After all, one didn't fight a Saint, after getting pummeled into the ground by him once already, and walk away unscathed. Granted, Touma had achieved such feats before; again, on an almost weekly basis ironically. His body still hurt from them though. Oddly enough, he felt a stirring in his heart. "Huh, now that I think about it, I woke up before and Itsuwa and Index were here." He stated crossing his arms and leaning his head back as the memories came back to him. His eyes immediately widen to the size of saucers.

"Every inch of me is covered in bruises, but something like that won't stop you from biting me." He shouldn't have been surprised. When Index wanted to take a bite out of him…well, it was like trying to command the rain to stop once it started pouring. At the very least he had Itsuwa by his side, literally, pressing a hot towel to his head to take away the pain. Touma's hand reached up and felt the left side of his head where her towel had pressed down; it still felt warm.

"It's your own fault, Touma!" The silver-haired girl had responded, her back turned to him and not a hint of sympathy in her voice. In other words, completely normal.

Then he remembered the door opening…and in stepping Kanzaki…dressed in the sexist maid outfit he'd ever seen.

"…Tsuchimikado." Whispered the spiky-haired teenager with a near exhausted sigh. He had to have been the one to push her into wearing that. There was no one else! What the hell was he thinking?! How the hell could Kanzaki have even thought of wearing such a thing?! Where the hell did she get dressed to put it on anyway?! "No! No, don't think about that!" For a second, he'd been frozen stiff…then he screamed as loud as he possibly could…along with Itsuwa and Index. Albeit, his cream had been more out of fear than scandalized shock, there was some of that, but after his encounters with Misha Kreutzev and Kazakiri…Touma could say he was perfectly happy with never seeing another angel again. Then again, knowing his luck, he'd be seeing one in about a week or two…and it'd likely be trying to kill him for whatever reason. "One thing I can count on, my rotten luck to bring me face-to-face with the divine…and for the divine to be trying to kill me." Just the sight of an angelic maid wasn't enough to fully stim the fear within him-that's how he ended up here, half an hour later alone in his hospital room. Fainting after seeing a beautiful woman dressed in a sexy angelic maid outfit, that had never happened to Touma before…and he was mixed on if he wanted it to happen to him again. He would appreciate talking to Kanzaki…just without the angelic maid outfit.

His mind shifted from the long-haired Saint to another member of the Amakusa Church, one he'd gotten to know over the last two, three days.

"Itsuwa." He muttered looking over to his left where he'd awoken to find her. Touma was admittedly disappointed she wasn't there at his side this time. His heart beat a little faster as he realized that he wanted her there beside him. It wasn't hard to understand why, she was probably one of the few female associates, friends, he had that wasn't violent or snappy with him. She was simply an incredibly nice and capable girl. And he liked that about her. "Wonder where she is right about now." Looking around him, he was quietly relieved as it seemed that the chaos had died down and no one was after his head at the moment. Touma's eyes swerved to the door, which he expected to swing open and someone, or something, to drag him back into the fray. A minute passed, then two, and finally three. "Alrighty."

Thankfully, his entire body didn't flare up with pain, but that didn't mean that there was no pain at all. There was, like a dull aching through his body; Touma could deal with it. A shiver ran through him as his bare feet touched the cold floor. He was actually a little thankful for it as the cold feel let him know he was truly alive. It was little things like that which he indulged in following his latest "flirting with death", it helped confirm that he'd made it through. Plus, it sometimes just felt good to know he still had all of his limbs. Given the mayhem he went through on a daily basis, one would have been surprised at that, especially his right arm. His whimsical thoughts getting the best of him, he gripped the limb with his left hand, his normal hand.

"Apparently…it's thanks to you that healing magic doesn't work on me. That figures, rather it's harmful or helpfully, anything supernatural is rejected." When in the presence of magic users, healing magic was a common-sense thing. Not so with him, thanks to his Imagine Breaker, during those rare instances where magic was supposed to be beneficial, it was canceled out. That left mundane medical treatment…which worked just as well. "I'm still standing, and so's everyone else, that's all that matters." Touma quietly affirmed with a light smile on his face. "Besides, if it weren't for you, none of us would be alive." He was perfectly aware of how strange this looked-talking to his right arm like it was some sort of separate entity. Which sometimes Touma felt it was.

Touma's ears twitched as he heard footsteps outside the door, coming closer to him. On sheer impulse, he searched for any hostile intent and sighed in relief when he felt none. That left him curious as to who it was, a second later and the door to his room opened and he got his answer.

"Y-Y-You're up?" Itsuwa stammered, surprise written on her face. Touma's face lit up with joy upon seeing her.

"I think I've gotten enough rest for one day…or maybe I just want to get up and move before the next life-or-death crisis finds me." The black-haired teen whimsically answered.

The shift was immediate. "We're guarding the hospital to make sure that no one can sneak in to make another attempt on your life. I won't let such a thing happen again; I promise!"

He might have been a little surprise by her sudden mood change, but Touma had secretly been expecting it, and he was glad to see it. "I trust you, and I'm hoping that we're done with excitement for the week. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if after Acqua and Terra they sent the last remaining member of the Right Seat of God after me." As much as he would have liked to forget about his troubles, he couldn't. Touma knew his luck well, he'd fought three of the Four members of the Right Seat of God, all of whom had been after him in one way or another. There was only one member left, and Touma had a feeling he'd be running into them sooner or later; he just hoped "later" wasn't for another few days. "If it does come to that, hopefully I'll have you with me."

Itsuwa stared at him slack-jawed. "M-M-M-Me?"

Touma shrugged. "You were there with me when I faced Terra of the Left, and you and the rest of the Amakusa Church turned out to beat Acqua. Even before those two, I fought a member earlier, but when going up against those two I had you with me…and frankly, it put me at ease."

Wide-eyed, the spear-wielder stared at the enigmatic teenager. Had she just heard him, right? He wanted her by his side? Her and not the Priestess? Or someone else from the church?

Having seemingly read her thoughts, the spiky-haired youth scratched the back of his head and looked away with a nervous smile. "I mean…we…make for a good team when we do team up. Heh, now that I think about it, I end up teaming up with a lot of different people. Most of whom have tried to kill me at one point…except for you, Itsuwa. I really like working with you the most, or rather, hanging out with you." Touma clarified. "I'd actually like to do that with you, like we were originally doing.

"H-H-Hang o-o-out? W-W-With me?" To Itsuwa, it felt like the world was spinning. "K-K-Kamijou-san, I-"

"Touma, you can just call me Touma." He gently cut off. "You don't have to be so formal with me, I'm no one really special."

"T-That's not true. If you weren't then…" She stopped herself having realized what it was she was about to say. No matter how much she tried to phrase it, it still came out as rude in Itsuwa's eyes; if Touma wasn't so special, they wouldn't have been having this conversation…or even met for all she knew. The thought actually caused her heart to ache-never being able to meet Touma Kamijou and getting to know him. "You're very special, n-n-not just to the Roman Catholic Church or some other organization, you're special to a lot of people: Index, the Priestess, the whole Amakusa Church, Tsuchimikado-"

"Doesn't stop him from dragging me into one mess after another." Touma interrupted, then sighed. "Not like I put up much defense when innocent people are at risk of getting hurt."

In spite of her embarrassment, Itsuwa smiled. "And it's such a trait that makes you a special…and…a wonderful person."

Touma stared at her with a lazy smile, yet to Itsuwa, it might as well have been the smile of a story book prince. That was definitely her love-struck mind overwriting her common sense, but she was okay with that. On his end, Touma was happy to see her cheeks still retained their crimson colorization. "You know, you're one of the few people I know willing to outright say something like that without putting up an act."

Itsuwa bowed her head, partially in an attempt to hide her blush. "W-W-Well, s-sometimes people have a little trouble expressing their feelings."

"Yeah, ain't that the truth. Granted 'trouble' seems to include yelling and hitting." Snidely commented the black-haired teenager. "And biting." Touma's eyes swiftly moved from Itsuwa to the door behind her. He could feel his heart racing just a few ticks faster, he knew it was from excitement and fear. Any minute, he was expecting someone, namely Index, to walk in and ruin the moment he was having with Itsuwa. A moment…what we're having is a moment. It wasn't like this was the first one that he and Itsuwa had, far from it; sadly, the last few ones they'd had suffered interruptions. Including the one where he first woke up and was happy to see her, only to hear Index calling his name with a malicious aura around her. Followed next by a bite to the head and getting a double-teamed chewing out from her and Itsuwa. It wasn't quite as bad as having a Saint showing up and demanding his right arm on pain of death, but it was still annoying. "All that said, I guess that's what I like about you, Itsuwa."

After hearing that she definitely had to keep her head down. She didn't know what she'd do if he saw how red her face was turning…or the shame that swirled in her eyes. "No, I'm…I'm not as direct as you think I am."

"You took me out because you liked me, didn't you?" In spite of the calm tone of his voice, his voice struck like lightning. In a heartbeat, she looked at him, finally allowing him to see her cute face. "I mean, I'm not a social expert, but I'm pretty sure you like having me around, right? Because I like having you around, Itsuwa."

This was the part where she'd either explode, pass out, or have the moment ruined by an unwanted third-party…which, much to her shame, included the Priestess herself. Out of sheer reflex, she looked back at the door, fearful that a third-party was going to walk through the door any second. This didn't go unnoticed.

"So, you've noticed it too, huh? Sorry about that." Sounded the still bandaged up boy.

"No, it's not your fault, Touma." Itsuwa spoke up, almost immediately. Her eyes drifted down to his right arm, a limb that possessed more power than she, or likely anyone else including the heads of the Anglican Church, knew. Such power was both wondrous, dangerous, and of course, downright terrifying. A small amount of courage gathered within her, she reached out and touched his right arm. For such a mysterious and powerful force, it felt exactly like a human arm. In a way, it made Touma's life easier; he could have had to have gone through the trouble of disguising it if it looked as abnormal as it really was. A jolt ran through her as her fingers ran up the length of his arm. I…should I really be doing this? W-With him?

"Itsuwa, would you mind if we sat down for a little bit?" Touma spoke. When she nodded, he felt silent relief as he could actually feel his legs growing weak on him. He sighed in relief as he sat down on the edge of the bed with Itsuwa about a foot away from him, still carrying a pink tint on her cheeks. "I guess I'm a little more spent than I originally thought."

"That's to be expected. Not only were we fighting a member of the Right Seat of God, you went out and chose to fight him, in spite of still being injured." Kind and quiet as she was, Itsuwa had a fire in her, one that could burn even Touma. He knew that all too well remembering how she'd joined with Index in berating him for challenging Acqua while he was still recovering from the first battle with him. They were right, and seeing her getting angry at him after the two shared such a tender moment was a bit of a surprise. But again, she, and Index, was right. "Touma…next time…could you just…finish healing first, then come to the rescue?"

He smiled at her in a way that made her heart race, exactly how many ways were there? "I'll try, but I don't think I can make any promises."

Itsuwa sighed. His answer was tough to swallow, but it was expected. She also used it as motivation, after all, as his bodyguard, it was her job to keep situations like the one with Acqua from happening. On paper, that looked…doable, in reality…Itsuwa knew that her task was going to be damn near impossible. Not to mention at some point it would have to end. The thought caused her heart to tremble in sorrow. We haven't even known each other for a year, a-and it's not like we've been super close while we've been together, but… Trying to use rationality to describe her feelings didn't exactly work out. Love wasn't a rational thing. Again, she mustered up her willpower and turned to Touma with a smile. "Next time then…hopefully it won't be against such a powerful opponent."

As he smiled at her, a thought crossed Touma's mind. Once again, he raised his right arm in front of him and examined it with all the curiosity of a scientist examining a space rock. "You know, it's thanks to this thing that pretty much all instances of luck in my life have been negated, but, here I am. Still alive and ready to keep on going."

"Given the number of situations you've been in, I think some people would actually be a little shocked you've made it through them all." Itsuwa admitted. "To be honest, it's…miraculous, to be able to survive so much without the grace of God." Her fingers laced together as her gaze was directed downward to her lap. "N-N-Not that you need to feel God's presence with you to live your life! I-It's just…everything you've been through…Touma…does it ever…frighten you?"

Touma met her eyes as they briefly swerved up meeting his. She was afraid of what kind of response she'd get, yet she had no ide what that response would be. Anger? Despair? Bravado masking the latter? "Yeah, there are times that I do feel a little scared." There was none of that, only a calm admission that all the near-close calls actually did have an affect on him. Itsuwa wouldn't say it or admit it, but a part of her felt relieved to hear that. "I'm not going to sugarcoat that I go up against people, and at times things, that are incredibly powerful and even a little bit scary on a daily basis, and I don't just mean the people who actually want to kill me. At times it does get a bit…much, but it's my life and I have to keep on going, I want to keep on going." Feeling a sense of relief washing over him, Touma leaned back and allowed his back to hit the mattress. He heard Itsuwa jump as the bed shook just a little form his sudden move. For him, it felt good being able to lie down. "Honestly, there are times I could use a little bit of a break from it all, which is one reason why I'm happy you showed up when you did, Itsuwa."

"M-Me? N-No offense, but I…I failed in doing my job of protecting you." The purple-haired girl countered with a sorrowful look on her face.

Touma felt an immediate impulse to wipe it away. "I'm still alive, aren't I? Not to mention you were willing to fight tooth and nail to keep me alive along with the rest of the Amakusa Church." Sitting upright, he fixed her with another smile that caused her cheeks to redden. Such a sight made Touma's heart beat just a little faster, something he was quietly aware of. Instead of thinking about that, he focused on the way her lips curved into a warm smile. When he laid back down, she laid beside him. Even on what he believed to be the third of fourth floor, the sounds of the city streams could be heard; it was soothing. "Seriously though, I'm happy that it was you who chosen to protect me. I happy that we got to hang out and do…normal stuff."

"Yeah," Itsuwa admitted, her pulsating heart finally beginning to slow as she gradually accepted what was happening. Even the worry that this moment would be disrupted faded from her mind. "It was…nice, until Acqua ruined it."

"And boy did he pay for that." Touma chuckled with Itsuwa joining in. "Now then, I like to think I'll have maybe a day or two of peace before I'm hurdled into the next insane situation. Hopefully longer because I'm pretty sure a lot of this set back my school work by a couple of weeks. Again."

"Will you have to repeat the grade?" Asked the spear-wielder somewhat fearful for his academic future.

Face bent in concentration, Touma pondered the thought. It certainly wasn't impossible, not at all given how his daily life usually went. "If I seriously, seriously fall behind, then yeah." Another admission devoid of ego. "But, I have no intention of letting that happen. Granted, I'm not expecting to pass with sky-high grades."

"You know, that's not too surprising." Touma's eyes snapped to the giggling girl. His annoyance quickly melted into astonishment. Though cute and innocent, Itsuwa definitely had a sharpness to her, figuratively and literally. "Touma, if you're that concerned about your school work…then maybe I could…go pick some of it up from your apartment and bring it here?"

Now it was his tur to stare at her, slack-jawed and unable to believe what he'd just heard. "Y-You'd do that for me? Wait, you know how to get into my dormitory? Do you have a spare key or something?" Her confidence shifted into blushing embarrassment. "Let me guess, the Amakusa had a copy of the key to my dormitory made?"

"W-We're sorry." Itsuwa admitted. "It's just…we had to take precautions, especially given that you've got such a massive target on your back."

"I can't argue with that." Touma admitted. While he deeply wanted a normal life, he knew that his actions had made that nigh impossible. Not to mention he lived in Academy City, where "normal" constituted being chased by an electrokinetic, gangs picking on him for being a Level-0, being in the crossfire of a faction war (apparently one of happened earlier this month), or and the machinations of the city's board of directors. He'd been through all of that, and some of it within a week's timespan. My rotten luck at work, Mentally sighed the spiky-haired Level-0. "Hey, Itsuwa, as far as having a duplicate key, it's just you, right?"

She was well aware of what thoughts were running through his mind, and she fully understood his concern. "Yes. Just me." Which is why she bent the truth just a little in saying only she had a duplicate key. It made sense as she was his bodyguard for the moment. "I promise I'll make it quick!"

I should probably tell her what to actually pick up. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be here for the next two or even three days. The thought was appealing, but Touma knew it was better recovering in a hospital bed than lying in the morgue. Or on an operating table somewhere. The cynic in him added knowing that very much was a possibility. Even without a wealth of sci-fi movies, he knew his Imagine Breaker was the type of thing that those on the Science and Magic Side would lose themselves in researching; his life was already held in low regard and could slip even lower if they got their hands on him. What happened to Aureolus could end up being a slap on the wrist compared to something more aggressive than simply cutting his arm off. "I'll write some stuff down, and um, if Index is there…just explain it to her."

"The Priestess said she'd look after her." Itsuwa informed. She hoped she kept hidden how joyful she felt in hearing that. It wasn't that she hated either of them…but Itsuwa wasn't stupid. Index clearly had some affection for Touma, and so too did the Priestess. Both of them had known Touma far longer and cared about his safety just as much as she did, maybe more so than her. They're my love rivals! Her inner voice thundered, nearly shaking the inside of her skull. "I…think she's happy to spend some time with her, and she her."

"That figures, they are old friends, old friends who've been separated by too many things." Mused the Level-0 Esper. Secretly, he hoped that meant that both would be…occupied. Touma could only hope he wouldn't suffer anymore bites to the head. Granted, given his rotten luck, he wasn't going to hold his breath. He wasn't going to let that potential rotten luck stop him either. "Um, Itsuwa?"

"Y-Yes?" She responded.

"Since you're my bodyguard…that means you'll be staying here at the hospital, won't you? I mean at least until visiting hours are over with."

"That won't be a problem." She responded with a smile, a rather bold smile.

For certain reasons, Touma was smiling back at her, genuinely happy to hear that. So much so he didn't even question exactly what it was the Amakusa Church had in mind. "Then I guess it'll be an incredible weird continuation of the date we had before Acqua showed up."

Itsuwa bolted up like she'd just been yanked by a chain. "D-D-D-D-Date?!"

He'd been expecting her face to turn beat red, but Touma was sure that she'd reached a new level of redness perhaps not even the artists of Academy City knew of. He felt a little proud of himself. "Yeah, a date. I mean…once we left the bathhouse…well…that's what it sort of felt like Plus, it's not like it's the first one we've had, right?"

She stared at him, still blushing but recalling their time together back in France.

It wasn't like they just up and left after stopping an international incident that threatened to plunge the whole world into world. They did stay in France for a couple of days, three to be exact. Part of that was to make sure that no other members of the Roman Catholic Church stirred up trouble. Thankfully, no such trouble materialized and they were able to use those days to enjoy themselves in Avignon. Well, as much as they could privately, Touma couldn't help himself and assisted in the reconstruction effort with Itsuwa right alongside him. She had no qualms about doing so, the city's citizens had gotten caught up in a conflict between magicians, they didn't deserve the fallout that they'd been saddled with so she felt obliged to help out. In the end, she could say she had no regrets, and neither did Touma. Sadness had rung through her when she learned they'd be taking separate flights. Then fortune smiled upon her.

"A…date…y-yeah." Slowly, she laid back down. Itsuwa stared up at the ceiling like it was the night sky. What they'd seen on their last "date" was an artificial sky that was almost as beautiful as the real one. Would it be tempting fate to do a repeat? "A date…w-w-with you."

"Again, it's not like it'd be…okay, fine. This would be the first time we actually call it a date. Here's hoping this one doesn't go sideways like the last one." Touma declared.

"You and me both." Itsuwa agreed. While she would fight anything and anyone to protect Touma, she could do with just having a peaceful evening with him. "Um, should I…bring anything else from your dormitory? A pillow?"

"Tempting, but I'll stick with the ones here." His eyes briefly swerved to Itsuwa. Touma could practically hear Tsuchimikado, and more troubling, Tatemiya's, voices whispering in his ear that the he already had the pillow he needed. And hey, maybe this time you won't be-Ah, screw it! That's pushing it too far! That's setting things up way too damn much! Ultimately, Touma decided he was not going to ask her to serve as a body pillow for him. That was moving things way too damn fast! And tempting chance too much! "Um, Itsuwa…could you maybe…bring me some food back?"

"Ah, I see our cooking stuff here isn't enough for you."

Wide-eyed, both teenagers bolted upright. It hurt in Touma's case as the sudden move caused his still broken body. Itsuwa turned to him in a panic, worry consuming her face. For Heaven Canceler, well…it was hard to tell, as usual.

"I think I've let you two have enough time together." The frog-faced doctor spoke not paying the slightest hint of attention to the way that the Amakusa girl was holding the wielder of the Imagine Breaker. After a minute of gathering their wits, they untangled themselves from each other, slowly mind you. Touma looked to the doctor and nodded, as did Itsuwa. "Ms. Itsuwa, you can come back within an hour, we should be finished up by then. Of course, when you come back, I do have to tell you two don't do anything too strenuous. Touma took quite a beating this time, his injuries being worst than any of his previous visits."

Gee, Acqua, I almost feel like I should be giving you a trophy or something. Thought the teenage Esper. Truth be told, he didn't exactly need the doctor to tell him that; Touma had felt it when he woke up earlier in the day. "Got it, doc, also, you don't need to worry about that, I can already feel my body getting too sore to move again."

"I imagine so. It'd be best you got back into proper position." Somehow, his black eyes seemed to zero-in on Itsuwa. In that one look, he politely asked her to get him tucked in.

She blushed as she did so.

"A-Alright, I-I'll see you in a couple of hours! I promise I'll be back with all of your school work!" Yelled the magic-user before rushing out the door.

"…She seems like quite a nice young lady." The doctor said a minute after the purple-haired girl had departed leaving the two males alone. To him, her sandals pounded against the titled floor like drumbeats until she reached the elevator.

"Yeah, she is, probably the nicest girl that I've met." Touma mused. "She's-wait. I didn't tell her what to look for! Crap!" If his body wasn't aching, he'd have face-palmed. At least the frog-faced doctor didn't laugh at his expense or make a joke about it like some others would have. "Guess I'll just have to put my faith in her."

"Do you have faith in her?" The doctor pressed, a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, I do." Answered the teenager without a second's hesitation.

It wasn't like he had much of a stake in whatever answer the teenager gave, but Heaven Canceler couldn't help but feel a little happy in his response. That happiness showed on his face.

Much to Touma's silent relief, he didn't press the topic further. He could already feel butterflies in his stomach and he didn't need something to stir them up even more. Touma had a feeling that something like that was going to come along later on, and with it, a bite to the head, shouting in his ear, or both. In thinking about Index's bites, his mind drifted to something, or rather, someone else. He remembered the warm feel of Itsuwa's hand on his head, and if not her hand, a warm towel. Touma realized that he missed that warm touch…and that he wanted to feel it again.

"Okay, I think that's enough school work for the night." Declared the spiky-haired teenager lying back against the pillows of his hospital bed.

"Alright, let me get everything sorted out." Without a moment's hesitation she began to collect his school work which she'd worked on with him for the last hour and a half. It'd been a mercifully quiet and peaceful study session.

Touma had been quietly surprised to discover Itsuwa was not only willing to go fetch his schoolwork, but was even willing to stay with him and help him with it. Exactly how much help she was able to provide proved to be another surprise for him. It was twenty minutes in when she told him that her mother was a school teacher, a language arts and foreign language teacher to be precise.

"Seriously? That's what your mom does for a living?" He'd exclaimed with genuine shock on his face. It sounded so…mundane, especially given the complex workings of Magical Side, but Touma had gradually learned that within the Magic Side lied people were people like him-people doing their best to live their lives as best they could.

Itsuwa nodded, an affection smile on her face indicating she had fond memories of her mother. "She teaches elementary and junior high, and occasionally high school. It was while she was pursuing her teaching degree that she met my father, who himself is a foreign language expert. He taught her for a little bit and one thing led to another and…" Touma laughed in earnest amusement at the slight blush that crept up on her cheeks in recounting her parents' romance and eventual marriage. "They were both members of the Amakusa Church…well, my mom was, my dad was a bit of a free lancer until he converted. He sort of had to in order to marry my mom. He never regretted his decision."

Hearing that roused Touma's curiosity. He'd only learned of the existence of magic and the Magic Side of the world less than a year ago, it was only natural that there was much he still didn't know about. Practically every adventure he had involving magic involved him learning more. Laughable as it was, every adventure was a learning experience. "So…magic is something you were born into like a lot of other people."

"It's…a little easier than being indoctrinated into it from the outside." The hazel-eyed girl admitted. "I mean, the world of magic can be a pretty brutal place, especially if you've never had any contact with the supernatural."

"Which, lucky for me, I have here in Academy City where the strange happens a whole lot, and that was before I met Index." Touma hadn't been expecting it, but he saw it none the less. Itsuwa's eyes snapped to his right arm which lay wrapped in various bandages. There was a deep sorrow in her eyes. Itsuwa, Touma thought. She was kind and selfless, but she wasn't stupid, especially after learning first hand that his Imagine Breaker rejected even beneficial supernatural phenomena. Odds were, even if Raphael, the archangel of healing himself were to descend from the heavens and attempt to heal him, his divine powers would be rejected by his Imagine Breaker. The Grace of God was unable to touch him meaning that anything resembling good fortune was nonexistent in his life.

Or so one would have claimed.

"I wouldn't say that I'm completely luckless." His words seemingly surprised her. "I know my own catch phrase, trust me. In spite of that, I wouldn't say my luck is totally rotten. After all, I've had my bouts of good luck, like meeting Index, Kanzaki, Orsola, and the whole Amakusa Church, especially you, Itsuwa."

The words set off a series of fireworks within her, hundreds of them bursting at once inside of her. It showed on her face, which Touma thankfully didn't comment on. Granted, he did smile and laugh at her in good faith like he always did. Itsuwa smiled and laughed back, happy that he counted meeting her amongst his good fortunes. She was actually elated to know that Touma even believed that he could experience good fortune. What she wanted to say was that she considered it good fortune, a blessing to meet him. Itsuwa wanted to say that, but she couldn't find the courage…not until the end when his school work was finished.

"Feels like it's been a while since I've been able to get through a nice quiet study session like that. Even better, have a good study partner." Touma commented feeling a great sense of relaxation that he hadn't felt in a while. "Guess you're a good partner in more than just one sense."

"Heh, now it's almost starting to feel a little bit like you're flattering me." Shyly responded the spear-wielder. "Still, I'm happy to hear that I was able to help. Amidst all of this, it's easy to lose track of mundane things like schoolwork."

"It's what I was thinking about before Acqua, and it's what I'm thinking about now that he's gone."

"How?" Itsuwa asked.

"How, what?" Touma responded.

"How can you be so casual about all of this! Acqua of the Back, one of the strongest people on Earth, a Saint, a member of the Right Seat of God! We all came together to beat him, all of us…including the Priestess…and it was thanks to you that we managed to win."

"It was a group effort, a whole bunch of people who cared about each other working together." His expressions softened as his eyes turned distant. Itsuwa had seen such an expression before and knew that Touma wasn't looking at anything in the room, not even the TV, he was looking at something else. If she had to guess, his mind was drifting backwards in time. "I pushed myself out of bed because I knew I had to come help you guys." He suddenly said, his eyes still vacant. "On the way…I ran into someone, a friend you could say. She offered to go fight Acqua for me…and I could get a taste of what she'd felt…and what you'd probably felt too, Itsuwa."

"W-What do you mean?"

Finally, he looked at her. His eyes weren't distant, but filled with a melancholy that made Itsuwa want to reach out and hug him. Take away Imagine Breaker, and Touma Kamijou was practically a normal person. His body and soul were strong…but they could be dented, the former especially. She remembered the immediate aftermath of the first battle against Acqua. Itsuwa's face fell.

"I don't see myself as some noble hero, I never was one and I don't think I ever will be." He started. "I see someone in trouble and I just…act, that's really all there is to it. Really, it wouldn't be a stretch to say it's me butting into other's people's business. It's either that or me getting dragged into their business." There was a rather humorous chuckle as he recalled the numerous times he'd been minding his own business when something came out of the blue and he was facing down the unfathomable. And then punching it into submission. Touma looked down at his bandage-covered body, a body that he'd pushed to its limits. "I'm always butting into other people's business, offering them my help…but I've never really been one for letting others help me. I've never thought about how it feels when I get hurt…I've never really thought about it…until Mikoto berated me about it. Being on the sidelines…not being able to do anything while the people you care about are lying in a coma…"

"It was my fault." Itsuwa mumbled, the cold fist of fear and regret clapping down on her heart. "I-I was supposed to protect you, but I wasn't. I couldn't! I-"

"I'm still alive, Itsuwa!" His sudden shout echoed like thunder. Touma knew this was going to happen; he didn't' like shouting at Itsuwa, but he was unable to stop himself. While Index and Mikoto and the entire Amakusa Church were in a depression over his knocking on death's door, Itsuwa had seemingly handled it the hardest. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and placed it over his heart. "I'm still alive…and it's thanks to the people around me, my friends. You guys do more than just stand up for me…you get worried whenever it looks like I'm close to finally kicking the bucket. I've been an ass in not considering that…it took Mikoto chewing me out for me to realized that. If anyone, she was probably the most qualified to do so."

A thick silence descended over the pair of teens. An invisible door had been opened and now they were both wondering around in the unknown landscape that lay beyond it. Both teenagers looked at each other, each trying to contemplate what to say next.

Finally, one of them spoke. "I'm sorry for making you worry, Itsuwa."

The Amakusa operative shook her head. "It's part of who you are, racing off to help people in danger…I think…that's what makes you, you, Touma. Being you has helped so many people, including the Priestess." Smiling with courage pumping through her, she reached out and gently took hold of the Level-0's left hand. Touma immediately returned her grip. "But it would be nice for you to be a little more…considerate of the people around you. You worry about us and try do your best for us…but that feeling goes both ways. Lean on us, the people in your life, be there for you."

Touma could practically hear Mikoto nodding in agreement with what Itsuwa had just said. Followed next by getting angry that another girl was getting this close to him, physically and emotionally. Index, might have gotten angry too, angry enough to bite him like she usually did. Touma would have taken Itsuwa's gentle pat on the head, even if her words were harsh; he knew he was deserving of them.

"When you say that, can I assume you'll be sticking around?" Questioned the spiky-haired teenager. "I really like having you around, Itsuwa."

"That's…good to hear because I like being around you, Touma." Admitted the purple-haired girl. "I like it when we're together, even when we're fighting against impossible odds."

"And when we're not doing that?" He humorously asked.

"When we're fighting, and when we're not fighting." Itsuwa laughed. "It's just…now that we've beaten Acqua…odds are I'm going to be…reassigned."

"But you'll still be able to drop by Academy City from time to time, won't you?" He was doing his best to sound hopeful; he was hoping they'd see each other again.

"Of course I will, we do have a base here, not to mention the Priestess likes it here as does everyone else, including me." Her heart, ad his, sung in joy at the possibility that they'd be able to keep on seeing each other. Seconds after saying the words, Itsuwa felt her hear slam against the confines of her chest while staring into Touma's eyes. Her characteristic blush was burning bright on her face. "T-Touma-"

"Once I'm discharged, which should hopefully be in about a day or two, how do you feel about going on a date? Just the two of us? And without any killer Saints out for my arm?" Touma questioned not waiting for her to finish. There was a sense of anxiety in him, a feeling that any second something was going to go wrong.

Incredibly, Itsuwa caught onto it and shouted, "I'd love to!" A hushed breath escaped her as she realized what she'd just said. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, continuing to stare at Touma in shock didn't help things. Or maybe they did as her body felt an incredible sense of warmth and relief wash over it. Touma stared back at her seemingly feeling the same.

Slowly, a mutual smile began to spread across the pair's faces.

"Yo! Kami, how are you doing! Finally able to sit upright without groaning in pain! Hope so cause we brought you some dinner!"

Touma and Itsuwa's faces froze as they looked to the door in unison. Standing there was the shade-wearing Tsuchimikado, his trademark grin plastered on his face. Touma glared daggers at his blond friend, completely ignoring the presence of Kanzaki and Index. As for Itsuwa, she did take notice of them, them and Tatemiya, whose expression was a mirror to Tsuchimikado. Her hazel brown eyes shifted meeting Touma's; they both had the same thought, they both wanted to scream the same accusation-had they planned this?!

"Hey, we weren't interrupting anything important, were we?" The Amakusa Church's acting Supreme Pontiff. It was overwhelmingly clear he knew exactly what had been going on between the two teens. Itsuwa knew that he was all for it, to the point that for all she knew, he'd probably kept the others at bay until "something" happened.

Touma was torn between giving his usual catchphrase and just lying back and feinting falling asleep. He knew trying that would just backfire on him, there was no choice but to face the music. To start with, he forced himself to sit up, at least he wasn't groaning in pain like he would have been earlier. "Nope, just making my life needlessly complicated as usual."

"Hey now, I believe the words you're looking for are, the people who make my slightly interesting life more exciting." The shades-wearing spy proclaimed marching on into the room ahead of everyone else. Through said shades, Touma felt Tsuchimikado leering at him. "Not to mention it's thanks to us that you've attained such fine company, eh, Itsuwa? Kanzaki?"

Understandably, the two Amakusa girls looked like a pair of deer caught in the headlights. Index looked incredibly peeved that she hadn't been counted in the grouping…which showed she knew exactly what Tsuchimikado was implying.

"Tooouma, you see Kanzaki and Itsuwa in that light…but not me? Who you've known longer!" Shouted the white-garbed magical index. Touma flinched at her voice, knowing full well what was about to come next.

Kanzaki looked down at her old friend, a sigh building in her throat. While she did want to be by Touma's side, she recognized that the boy needed some space, especially after seeing her in her Fallen Angel Maid getup. She had no idea why he'd had such a reaction, but it was far from what she'd intended. To give him that space, she'd taken Index out for a stroll through Academy City. It'd actually been a person endeavor as she wanted to spend some time with her too; she'd discovered the feeling was thankfully mutual. All had seemed well until they got back…and happened upon what was without a doubt a very tender moment between one of her followers and Touma.

It was a recipe for disaster, and it was about to come out of the oven.

But not if Itsuwa had anything to say about it.

"Let's eat!" She shouted, standing up and facing the entourage that had came through the door. Her eyes moved to the bags that some of them were carrying, her well-trained nose caught the scent of food, cooked food. If Itsuwa had to guess, there was perhaps some seasoned chicken. She briefly looked down to Touma; the dark-haired teen was staring at her like she'd just descended from the stars. "S-Since we're all here, let's celebrate together! We had a big victory, and it's partially thanks to Touma here, and Lady Kanzaki!"

As if spurned on by the wind, the two individuals locked eyes with one another. For her part, Kanzaki was incredibly relieved to see Touma looking at her like he usually did-as a friend. Such an expression caused her cheeks to redden, albeit only for a few seconds. Itsuwa had given them an opening and she knew she couldn't afford to waste it. "Exactly! This is going to be a little victory feast for us."

"Which the hospital is going to allow?"

"Hey, it's not like we're going to be getting too loud, right, Kami?" Tsuchimikado chuckled, his gaze again flickering to Touma and Itsuwa, then swerving to Kanzaki. All three individuals blushed, especially the former two.

"Let's just eat, and don't leave any crumbs on my hospital bed." Touma declared.

"A little pushy for someone lying in a hospital bed, huh?" Tatemiya chuckled.

"You know, know, since I'm recovering, that means as little stress as possible." Fired back the dark-haired teenager.

"Yeah, but nothing helps a recovery like some good food and being surrounded by close friends and allies." The swordsman quipped with an air of faux wisdom around him. While Itsuwa nodded in agreement, Touma looked on with skepticism. Though he'd come to value the fuzzy-haired man as an ally, he was still someone who still valued his own amusement; thankfully, he wasn't as bad as Tsuchimikado.

The Level-0 Esper looked to Index one last time. Her cheeks stayed inflated for a splint second, then finally deflated. "We'll talk about this later, for now, let's eat!"

Touma felt a temptation to warn Index not to eat all of the food, but he held his tongue. This was a special moment and he sure as hell wasn't going to ruin it, especially since he'd seeming dodged another bullet of misfortune. And more miraculously…he'd seemed to be hit square in the chest by a bullet of fortune. A jubilant laugh turned his attention to his left.

Looking at Itsuwa's smiling face, her cheeks sporting a light pink hue as she looked back at him and smiled. His heat fluttered in his chest and his lips curved into a brighter smile. Touma felt like he could lose himself looking at it, completely forgetting about the need to eat.

Yep, just like you said, Itsuwa. He pondered. Miraculous.

The entire trip back to her assigned apartment, Itsuwa felt like she was walking on air. Upon reaching her apartment and closing the door behind her, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath; when she opened them, she was expecting to be staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom or something. Opening them she saw the short hallway of her apartment, the memories of the last hour and a half still with her.

None of it had been a dream. It had really happened. "We had dinner together." She whispered; was there really a need for more confirmation? The memory was fresh in her mind and would remain so for weeks, months to come. "Well, technical, we had dinner with everyone else, but still." The purple-haired girl whispered to herself as she began to walk the short distance to her living room. Her bag was deposited onto the living room table with her body taking up almost all the space on the couch.

In a way, it would have been nice if the entire Amakusa Church was there to eat with them; of course, some of them were lying in a hospital bed just like Touma. A big victory feast like the kind in the movies was off the table, at least for a little while. It would have been nice…but Itsuwa was ultimately happy that the victory party had been small, contained to her, him, the Priestess, and a handful of others. Even Touma seemed more thana little happy for the small gathering. At heart, she knew he was happy because by all accounts, nothing had gone wrong, he'd even managed to avoid being bitten on the head by Index! That was worthy of praise!

It's thanks to you, ya' know. A cheeky voice spoke to her. Itsuwa's eyes widened as her inner subconscious spoke what she believed deep down in her heart. In her heart the notion would stay buried as it was more than a little rude and even arrogant to think about. Still, if she hadn't spoken up, there was a chance that her crush would have gotten bitten on the head, again. Itsuwa felt like Index, and she herself, had grilled Touma enough when he woke up earlier in the day, there was no need to go overboard.

It was either that or she really didn't want to see Index hurting Touma, even if the pain was comical. Either a left over from their battle with Acqua or something else, she hated the thought of Touma getting hurt. There seemed to be something a little…extra when there was another woman involved. Itsuwa's hands went to her chest as she sat upright.

There was no point in denying the truth, she was falling in love with Touma Kamijou, she might have already have been in love with him.

"Falling in love with a man untouched by God's grace, yet capable of performing miracles the likes of which defy explanation." Such a person would of course be nothing short of incredible, even if he didn't seem himself as such. Falling in love with a person like that…Itsuwa was fearful of how it would end, yet she couldn't help but feel optimistic. What were the odds of him feeling the same way about her? Itsuwa was smitten, but she knew she wasn't the only one to be so. First and foremost, there was Index…albeit she wanted to believe Touma's feelings for her were familial at best instead of romantic, then there was the Priestess herself…it had to mean something that she walked into his room dressed in such a…revealing outfit. Itsuwa couldn't place it, but something about the outfit was troubling to her, and not just the fact that the woman she respected and admired decided to dress in something so lewd.

After those two, her mind jumped to the members of the Anglican Church, most prominently Orsola. Was it just her imagination or was she just as smitten with Touma as Itsuwa was?! Itsuwa remembered how she seemed a little happier than usual around the spiky-haired Esper, not to mention she was always eager to help him just like she was. That meant something, right?!

And last but not least, perhaps most pressing of all…there was the city's much talked about third-ranked Level 5 Esper, Misaka Mikoto! Based on that speech that she gave Touma, she had the hots for him as well!

"Oh, who am I kidding? What chance do I stand against competition like that?" Bemoaned the spear-wielding girl with her hands atop her face, dread having thoroughly infected every corner of her body. "Odds are, they're all going to be sending him congratulations and even stopping by to visit tomorrow. Oh, how am I going to-"

Ring! Ring! Ring!

In retrospect, the ring of her cell phone was probably exactly what she needed. Odds were she was about to work herself into a tizzy over her romantic rivals, all of whom had her outstripped in one department or several. Taking a deep breath, she flipped over her cell and spoke, "Hello?"

"I take it you made it back home safely?" The sound of her crush's voice caused Itsuwa's heart to skip a beat.

"Y-Y-Yeah, y-you were worried about me I take it?" Thank God that self-control came back almost as quickly as the shock had came over her.

There was a brief chuckle on the other end. "Sorry if I'm coming off as a little paranoid. I just…wanted to make doubly sure that you were alright."

"You know, I got off pretty light compared to some of the other members of the Amakusa Church. I suppose I was lucky."

"Glad that my bad luck didn't end up scaring you." Touma quietly replied.

"You know, I don't quite think you're that unlucky." Itsuwa gently pushed back. "In fact…I think…things turn out for the best whenever you're around." Pulling her legs up, she got comfortable in the seat of her couch. It was funny; she should have been nervous as hell about all of this…but she wasn't. Instead, a near ethereal sense of calmness washed over her. "I won't say it's because of any sort of divine plan, it's because no matter what the situation is, you always do your best to ensure there's a positive outcome. It's something about you that I've always liked, Touma."

"…Itsuwa," He began from the other end. "When I'm discharged two days from now, would you like to go on a date with me? A real date, just the two of us?"

Now Itsuwa could really feel her heart skipping a beat, its lack of motion somehow audible in her ears. Did he just…ask me out? Me? Me?! He seriously just asked me out! The phone nearly slipped from Itsuwa's grasp as she stared off into oblivion, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red; almost a minute later and it was her whole face.

There was not a pip from the other end of the line, mostly because Touma knew that his request was going to get this kind of reaction. It wasn't like he was deaf to what sort of person his bodyguard was. She was cute and kind and more than a little shy, especially around him. That meant of course that going the direct route was going to throw her for a bit of a loop. Truthfully, her stunned reaction was something else about her he found incredibly cute and charming.

Touma was the one keeping track of time via the clock on the wall in his hospital room. It took Itsuwa a full three minutes to recollect his senses, and throughout that entire time, he said not one word.

"I-I would love to go on a date with you, Touma." She finally declared, it felt like she was inhaling fresh air after holding her beath for as long as humanly possible. It was all downright miraculous that she was able to speak so smoothly…and that this was even happening at all.

"Great!" He shouted from the other end. "You can come back tomorrow and we can hash out the details!"

"S-Sounds like a plan!" She replied still feeling like she was walking on air. "Y-You should rest up."

"Yeah, I know, the nurse I borrowed this phone from is going to get on me in a couple of minutes if I keep on talking." Itsuwa heard a chuckle from somewhere in the background. It at least answered the question of where he'd gotten a phone from. "Goodnight, Itsuwa."

"Goodnight, Touma." She responded with a smile that he couldn't see, but no doubt could probably hear through her words. The line went dead leaving Itsuwa alone in blissful silence, silence that allowed her to full absorb the magnitude of what had just happened. "I'm going on an official date with Touma..." There was a part of her that wanted to squee at the top of her lungs like a teenage girl…which she was, but she reined in her emotions just enough that all she could do was smile and laugh.

A little over twenty-four hours ago she'd been fighting for her life and those of her comrades against a saint, an opponent she by all rights she should have been dead against. She, and by extension everyone else, had lost the first round, but round two ultimately went to them…and none of them had died. Itsuwa had a feeling that was likely due to Acqua not actually wanting to kill anyone save for Touma, but it was still an achievement in her opinion.

She rose and walked over to the sliding screen door, pushing it open and stepping out onto the balcony. Autumn was in full swing, every day they ticked closer to winter it would get colder and colder. Itsuwa genuinely wondered what Academy City would look like covered in snow. She wanted to find out…and depending on how things went, she wanted to find out. Her hand didn't shake as she placed it on the railing; Itsuwa was calm, incredibly calm even as her mind looked to the distant and unsure future.

It was absurd to think about such a future that seemed so uncertain, but Itsuwa supposed that was part of hope, and perhaps even miracles.

One Day later, evening…

"So, looks like you're going to be up and kicking pretty soon, huh? Considering how badly banged up you were, that's a little surprising."

Touma shot the electronkinetic a light smile. "Hey, this is Academy City, the most advanced city on the planet. Magic may not work on me, but advanced medicine seems to."

Misaka's eyebrow twitched. "Magic…yeah, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. Are you sure it wasn't just some high-powered esper with a screw loose?" In response to her question, Touma merely raised his right hand, dotted with bandages, none larger than his thumb. She got the point, it was even a little stupid of her to believe otherwise. There was something insanely abnormal about the Level-0's right hand, something that none of the scientist in Academy City could explain. "Does it ever bother you, how much trouble that thing brings you? Do you even remember a little of your life before?"

"To answer the first question, sometimes it does bother me, but that's really it. Second…no, I don't…and…I'm at peace with that." Okay, that statement was perhaps ninety-eight percent true. The memories he had before he got amnesia were a part of him, a part of his whole existence, but they were a fraction at best. Touma had decided he wouldn't twist himself into a knot over them. As for the others in his life such as the brunette standing in the doorway, the jury was still out. "Is there something in my past that you want me to remember?"

He was surprisingly blasé about the whole affair, yet Misaka could see that he was trying to be somewhat gentle with her. Such a sentiment would have normally had her going full steam ahead in chastising him, but Misaka didn't come here for that, at least not totally so. Still, the urge to immediately began chewing him out for treating his lost memories so carelessly was strong in her.

In the end, all she could do was sigh. "Idiot, it's not like we have a long and personal history." She hated how he smirked upon hearing her response. "Look, if you can live without your memories…then that's…fine. Maybe it's a testament to how thick-headed and strong you are. I mean, given the kind of life you live, I suppose you'd have to be."

"Woah, a straight compliment, the sky must be on the verge of falling down or something." Chirped the teenager.

"Hey, don't go pressing it! I'm holding myself back because apparently you've already been put through the ringer enough times already! And that was because you crawled out of bed and pushed yourself more than you had to!" He'd seen her outburst coming, hell, he might have engineered it in his head. The possibility made Mikoto's cheeks redden even more. "Alright, forget it! I came to check on you to make sure you didn't do something stupid again, besides the usual, you're fine!"

The short-tempered girl spun on her head and prepared to walk out the door, mostly to save herself from further embarrassment when Touma's voice called out to her.

"The day after tomorrow when I'm released, I'm going on a date with someone."

Her blood froze in her veins and her eyes widened. With such shock on full display, she spun on her heels and looked straight at him. "Y-Y-Y-Y-You g-g-going on a date?! Seriously? An idiot like you going out on a date with someone!"

"Gee, thanks for telling me what you think of my abilities in the realm of romance." Touma drily fired back.

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him. "You mean your ability to be a perverted idiot?" He gave her a fry stare and shrug showing he had no intention of retorting her words. Truth be told, when it came to romance, that was perhaps a rabbit hole they were better off ignoring. Not entirely as Mikoto knew they were standing on the precipice. Internally steeling herself, she crossed her arms and fixed him with her sternest stare. "That girl I saw you with earlier? The one with the purple hair and big chest you were burying yourself in?"

Touma winced as he knew that of course that was the description of Itsuwa she was going to go by. "For the record, I was forced into that." He knew it probably wouldn't make a difference, but damn his obligation to continue on in the face of futility. It was practically the story of his life. Mikoto merely huffed and continuing glaring at him. "I'm telling you this because if we end up bumping into each other…I don't want a repeat of the last time."

An eyebrow was raised. "Which was?"

"You threatening to shoot me with a bolt of lightning." He wanted to add that's how their usual encounters went, but Touma held his tongue.

A tense silence fell over the two of them as they stared each other down. They were dancing around the massive sinkhole that had opened between them. Would one of them fall in or only one, and who would it be?

Here was a more pressing question, why the hell were they even doing this?

"What's her name?"

"Itsuwa."

Now she had a name to put to the face. Looking to Touma, she saw him waiting for her reaction. Dammit, you're a helluva lot smarter than you look and act. Did this latest mess suddenly make you more self-aware of the people around you and their feelings? Did my lecture do that? Odd as it may have sounded, Mikoto felt some odd sense of relief and even pride in that possibility. "Well, that's good to know. Don't know why you're telling me though, it's not like I'm going to change up how I do anything."

"Look, I just don't want to have to suddenly make a run for it with her because someone starts trying to zap me for whatever reason." The spiky-haired youth explained.

"Well, if a certain idiot doesn't constantly give me a reason to zap him, that wouldn't be a problem."

"And said reasons are…?" Touma trailed off giving her a look of genuine curiosity as to what her answer would be.

Unfortunately for Mikoto, the harder she tried to find one, the redder her face became. "Acting like a complete idiot!" She shouted. "Gah! You don't need to be telling me this, I don't need to hear any of it!"

"Actually, you kind of do." Was that a bit of…back talk? From him to her? "Listen, Misaka, I'm telling you this because, again, if we run into each other, I don't want to sudden be running from a bolt of electricity because you're mad at me for whatever reason."

Taken back, the brunette stared at him with complete shock. Seconds turned into minutes during which the pieces all finally clicked together. "You…you're seriously trying to make this date special, aren't you?"

"Geez, do you have to look at me like that? Do you really think that lowly of my ability to be romantic?" Sighed the fist-fighter.

It was now Mikoto's tur to give a deadpan stare. "Your track record isn't very convincing."

My track record? Hah, if only you knew. Touma laughed in the confines of his head where the hot-tempered Esper couldn't hear him. "Look, do you get my point?" He verbally questioned. "Believe me, I know how my rotten luck tends to act up, but I'm trying to get this one thing right."

There were a multitude of feelings that ran through Mikoto hearing those words. One of them was…heartbreak, another one was relief. The two feelings battled it out within her while she stared at the spiky-haired boy who often complicated her life. With every second, the maelstrom of emotions grew stronger and stronger, threatening to overwhelm her resulting in another outburst. Heat was rising in her cheeks and threatening to explode outward.

It took you marching off to get yourself hurt again for me to realize how I might feel about you…and it seems like it was enough of a wakeup call for you, in some way. Her inner voice bittersweetly mused. The two conflicting feelings smashed into each other one last time.

Touma internally braced himself as the short-haired brunette sucked in a breath. "Well, you try to do that. If I run into you, I do, I don't, I don't. Contrary to what you think in that thick and junk-filled head of yours, I do have other things going on in my life." Her arms crossed and her eyes borrowed into him with a familiar intensity. "You've still got your life, so keep on living it and I'll keep on living mine." Spinning on her heel, she took two steps toward the door, only stopping as she was about to cross the threshold into the hallway. "Good luck on your date, you big idiot."

As he had the day before and most of today, he listened for her footsteps, each one carrying her further and further away from his room. "Well…I guess that went as well as it could have." He finally sighed. Contrary to what many thought, Touma Kamijou wasn't completely clueless; after all, he was able to recognized the growing feelings of his Amakusa-issued bodyguard and knew he had it in him to recuperate them. Likewise, he was also smart enough to see that behind the bluster and outbursts, there was something in Mikoto Misaka's heart for him. Touma was flattered…but he wasn't interested in her that way. If he was going to take a step into the wild and crazy world of love and romance, then he was going to have to get that out there. He knew that for a fact…and Touma had a feeling that the Level-5 Esper knew so as well.

In the game of love, Mikoto Misaka had just been handed a defeat…and she accepted it with grace.

Or at least that's the dramatic version.

"Dammit, why the hell did I have to go and get so worked up over an idiot like him!" Shouted the Railgun throwing her hands into the air. "Of all the guys in the city, in the whole world, it had to be him!" Exclaimed the teenage girl once she was stand at the front doors, completely out of earshot of the Level-0 whom was the source of her frustration. "Gah! He's just one guy, there'll be more in the future, if you decide to even go after guys!" Her hands went to her head, furiously scratching at her cinnamon brown strands while sparks began to gather around her. She was totally blind to the somewhat alarmed looks some of the incoming patients and nurses shot her. At the rate she was going, an electrical burst was looking more and more likely every second.

At least until Mikoto took whiff of the cool night air. It seemed to be enough to calm her down for the moment. More intakes as she began to walk seemed to further brighten her mood.

So long as you're letting someone else in and not trying to hack it all alone…I can be happy. Besides, it's not like you falling for someone else is going to bar us from meeting each other…and coming to each other's rescue. She tried not to be the kind of girl who worked herself into a tizzy over a guy. Or other girls for that matter. Mikoto shivered at the thought of her overzealous stalker and roommate, whom she'd had to work to shake in order to visit Touma. If she knew-

"Sissy!"

Mikoto felt her heart slam against her chest at the call of her best friend and roommate. She knew it was inevitable, but it still caught her off-guard.

"Where'd you go! I looked over all the district for you!" Kuroko shouted seconds before hurling herself at the middle schooler.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Mikoto side-stepped her overly touchy-feely roommate. "Well, I'm alive and ready to head back home, so let's get going!" She meant it as a rather cold chill had fell across the city, another indicator that the warm days of summer were long gone and weren't coming back for a couple of months. At least if the city underwent the Earth's natural changing of seasons.

Quickly recovering her wits, Kuroko quickly regained her place alongside her roommate. She stifled the impulse to speak in favor of examining Mikoto's face. "So…is he…um, okay?"

An eyebrow raised, she looked to the teleporter. "Wow, even you're worried about him?"

"No, I'm not! I'm just…I heard there was a lot of damage done to District 22! And I'm worried about you!" A streak of shock raced across Mikoto's face as she stared at the tawny-haired girl. "Sissy, you're not too good at hiding your feelings, especially when that Level-0's involved."

Mikoto looked ready to say something snappy, no doubt a denial, but it never came. Only an exhausted huff. "You're not exactly wrong…but from now on…I'm going to try to be a little less…obvious about it. He's got his road to walk and I have mine." The next thing Mikoto knew, Kuroko had seized her by the arm. Rather than shock her, all the Level-5 did was sigh in acceptance, even smile a little. "Hey, what do you say we get something on the way back? Pretty sure we can scavenge some time before curfew."

"Oooh, I thought you'd never ask, Sissy! Just follow me, after tonight, I promise you'll never spend another second thinking about that spiky-haired doofus!" Normally, now would have been the time when she delivered a nonlethal but very noticeable shock to her clingy friend, but Mikoto was willing to let it slide. Plus, she was in the mood for something to eat. She'd subconsciously been putting off eating until she went to see Touma and could confirm he was alright…and he'd at least taken some of her words to heart.

She had hope that he had, for his sake…and this big-chested girl whom managed to capture his heart.

The next day…

"Finally! Here I was thinking that you were going to spend all week cooped up in here!" Exclaimed the silver-haired girl with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know why you're complaining. Apparently, you've been hanging out at Kanzaki's place. Pretty sure that her place is nicer than my little apartment." Touma snidely shot back and earned a glare in return. "Was the food there nicer?" Index stuck her tongue out at him causing the boy to laugh and walk on by while she fumed before finally moving to keep pace with him.

It was common knowledge amongst the hospital staff that he lived alone, not at all uncommon amongst the teenaged residents of Academy City, thus he didn't need anyone but himself to sign him out. That was actually the norm for quite a few of the hospitals in the city, which made life infinitely easier for a lot of people like him.

That said, it was always nice to have someone waiting for you when you were discharged from the hospital.

"Um, good morning." Shyly offered the purple-haired girl waving at the two.

Index looked positively surprised at the sight of Itsuwa of the Amakusa Church waiting for them by the curb, a motorbike with a sidecar behind her. Touma was surprised to, but his was miniscule. "Same bike I see, you've taken it out for the whole week or something?" He casually asked walking toward her.

"Yep. I took it out for the entire week, which thankfully isn't over yet for another two days." She saw the twinkle in his eyes, it was mirrored in her own eyes as they realized what the next two days might have held for them if they're lucky.

Most of which didn't go over Index's head. "Hey! You're here to take us back home, right, Itsuwa?"

"She's going to take you back home; she's dropping me off at school." Touma corrected. She'd already been to his apartment to pick up his things. It was a great time saver. "Just so you know, she's dropping me off first."

"What, why?" Index shouted.

Again, the Level-0 fixed her with a dry stare. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because I have to go to school, unlike you. Now, come on, I don't want to be a minute late!" He looked directly into Itsuwa's eyes, which cackled with amusement as she sat on the seat and beckoned to him and Index. Touma didn't waste a second assuming his familiar place behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist causing her to blush.

"Hey, you two better not get too frisky, remember, I'm here too!" Declared the silver-haired girl jumping into her assigned seat…the third wheel. It annoyed her, but Index could see the way Touma was beginning to act around Itsuwa; he really liked her company. Even she could see the signs…and Index was jealous of it. But she wasn't going to let that jealously consume her, at least not without a fight. "Hey, you two." She started as Itsuwa revved up the engine. "Itsuwa, you better have Touma back in time to cook me dinner!"

Touma and Itsuwa shared a look between one another. The former gave his trademark sigh while the latter giggled in amusement. It wasn't the worst request they could have been given; hell, just the fact that they were being given a "curfew" by a pint-sized magical library was hilarious in itself. They both had a feeling that if they continued this blooming relationship this could end up becoming a regular occurrence.

Looking to each other, they burst into laughter. Index inflated her cheeks, but even she couldn't hold back her amusement and even joy at the joint laughter.

Even though I don't like this…seeing you smiling and laughing…I guess that's enough, I guess she's enough for you, Touma.

That's one chapter down and another one (or two more) to go. I hadn't intended for this chapter to divert toward what I call fall out territory toward the end, but that's where it ended up. Oblivious to love is an all-too-common trope (especially in harem series), but I decided to subvert that one while writing Touma and Itsuwa opening up about their feelings for each other, which was quite fun for me to write.