Hello, everyone! Now that the fight is over, Mikoto and Touma now begin their Hawaiian vacation!
GG Vegito: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm also looking to write my version of what happens in NT10.
Nightfang123: Don't worry, they'll definitely get more and more physical and intimate in their relationship as time goes on.
Blankow: I'm happy you enjoyed my version of the final fight. I figured it would be a good way to give Mikoto a shared win against a magician.
xellos540: Mikoto meets Accelerator again in NT3, and they have a brief and awkward conversation. Yeah, those expectations may be too high, but Mikoto would probably be happy if they end up even being half true. President Katze does accompany them alone in canon, which is pretty crazy compared to real life. A gun is actually a pretty good weapon against Touma, though she didn't manage to fire it in time. This is indeed where Touma starts being less trusting.
Stryper88: It is indeed just one room, and there will definitely be some opportunities for more steamy moments. I'm glad you enjoyed the action scenes. You're right, I don't want to just copy all the light novel scenes, so I try to pick the ones most important and relevant to Mikoto and Touma. I did have to remove Mikoto's conversation with Accelerator to have her fight alongside Touma, since those scenes happened around the same time, so I'm glad I already made them have their conversation earlier in Chapter 14. Yeah, both of them are manga fans, so that could be an interesting plot point for the future. You'll get to see what happens with the rings and whether Mikoto goes to Baggage City soon. Them getting caught in a compromising position would definitely be a funny scene, and I did get some good ideas from that reddit thread.
Guest: I'm going to stick to the timeline, but I am posting this chapter late on May 2, Mikoto's birthday, so I hope you enjoy it!
Guest10032: No worries, I'm glad you're still enjoying the story, and good luck on your AP exams! Yeah, the characters, especially Touma, don't often get the chance to recover before the next incident. We didn't really see much trauma for Touma after Othinus mentally tortured him, though I guess it did somewhat affect his thinking in subsequent novels. President Katze is sort of funny to read about, but it would be much less funny if it actually happened in real life. You're probably right about Mikoto not following his advice, though she didn't seem to mind it that much in GT1, even if it was unintentional. I live in the US too and actually visited Hawaii a few years ago with my family. My favorite part was visiting Pearl Harbor, but we also went to the beach, took a helicopter ride over the islands, and drove to a mountain in the early morning to see the sunrise. Mikoto and Touma will definitely want to do some fun activities in Hawaii. Having them meet a Hawaiian Sister would definitely be interesting. Yeah, I'm looking forward to GT4. The main plot in LA looks really interesting, and I'm cautiously hopeful of Mikoto giving at least a little development, even if she only appears in Between the Lines.
Soon after Mikoto paid for a hotel room for the two of them, she and Touma entered their room. Once they were inside, Touma noticed that it was a normal-sized room with two beds. As they set down their luggage against the wall, he said, "I hope there aren't any hidden cameras in this room. It's kind of creepy that someone could access every single camera in the entire state." Plus, even if Olay Blueshake had been taken down, someone else might potentially be able to gain access to the FCE network.
Mikoto quickly scanned the room with her ability before concluding, "Don't worry, there isn't anything like that in here." She was glad about this, finding the FCE network just as creepy as he did.
The boy sighed in relief, "That's great!" Now he wouldn't have to worry about anyone spying on his private time with his girlfriend.
Mikoto then turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Hey Touma, do you mind if I shower first?" Both of them were pretty sweaty and dirty from the fights that day, but she had taken the brunt of the damage, due to falling off that cliff, so she was eager to get cleaned up.
Touma smiled at her and replied, "Sure Biri-Biri, go ahead!" He was also looking forward to taking a shower, but he didn't mind waiting a bit longer.
Mikoto opened her luggage and pulled out some pajamas and toiletries, before heading into the bathroom. Touma took the opportunity to sit down on one of the beds. After stretching his arms and legs, he ran his hands over the bed, marveling at how soft it was. He looked forward to sleeping in a real bed without having to be hospitalized.
The boy then heard the water turn on in the bathroom, and he tried thinking of something besides his girlfriend being naked just one wall away from him. He instead thought about how Birdway had deceived him and everyone else. He wasn't sure what exactly he'd have to do to make things right again, but he resolved to do whatever it took.
After a while, Mikoto finished her shower and emerged from the bathroom, with a small towel wrapped around her shoulders. Touma's eyes widened and he blushed as he got a good look at her in her pajamas for the first time. She was wearing a shirt that left a bit of her midriff exposed, as well as some short pajama shorts that showed off her long, creamy legs. Of course, they were both covered with Gekota silhouettes, but Touma wasn't in a state to tease her about that at the moment.
Mikoto's cheeks reddened as well as she watched him looking her up and down, but she grinned as she realized the effect she was having on him. She walked over and climbed onto the bed behind him. The boy tried turning his head to see what she was up to, but she simply wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head on his shoulder, exclaiming, "Hey, Touma!"
The boy became flustered at having his girlfriend so close to him, especially after a bath. Her hair was still a little wet, so it felt cool against his face and shoulder. Touma placed his hands over hers but sighed and complained, "Mikoto, you're getting my shirt wet!"
The girl giggled and nuzzled even more into him, retorting, "But it doesn't really matter, right? You'll be taking a shower soon anyway!"
Touma sighed, "Yeah, but still!" He then gently pried her arms away from him, before turning around and pulling Mikoto into his lap, with her back to him. He grabbed the towel from her shoulders and started drying her hair with it, chiding her, "Make sure to properly dry off before you leave the bathroom!"
Mikoto rolled her eyes and retorted, "Yeah, yeah." However, she still enjoyed the head massage she was getting from him.
Touma then smiled and complimented, "Your hair smells really nice, Mikoto!" He couldn't quite identify the scent, but it had sort of a fruity flavor.
Mikoto blushed a little, and replied, "Thanks." He continued rubbing her head with a towel, but after some time, she suggested, "Hmm, maybe a hair dryer would work better?" Even though she had short hair for a girl, it was still hard to get all the water out with just a towel.
The boy chuckled and said, "All right, princess." After dropping the towel onto the bed, he placed his hands on her back and under her legs, and then lifted her into a princess carry. She was surprised by this, but still grabbed onto his neck to support herself, and he carefully got up from the bed and began heading to the bathroom.
Once they reached the bathroom, Touma set his girlfriend on the counter next to the sink, and she asked in a confused tone, "What are you doing?"
He answered, "You wanted to blow-dry your hair, right?" He then found the hotel-provided hair dryer, plugged it in, and turned it on. With the machine whirring loudly, Touma ran his fingers through the girl's hair, allowing the heated air to evaporate the remaining drops of moisture.
Mikoto was touched by his thoughtfulness and gave him a warm smile, "Yeah, I could've done it myself! But thank you." It was such a simple gesture from her boyfriend, but it still caused her heart to flutter.
Touma smiled back at her, "You're welcome, Biri-Biri!" Now that her hair was completely dry, the boy unplugged the hair dryer. He then picked up the hair brush she had placed on the counter and asked, "Want me to brush your hair?"
Mikoto nodded, so he started brushing her hair. He was a little distracted, since she was smiling up at him and her bare legs were touching his own legs, but Touma managed to straighten out her hair and avoid pulling on any knots. As he finished up and ran his fingers through her now even smoother hair, he remarked, "Man, it must be hard to constantly take care of your hair."
The girl grinned and replied, "You're right about that! It's a big reason I prefer keeping my hair short." She did sometimes consider growing her hair out longer, but then it would be a nightmare to take care of properly.
Touma nodded, "I see." Now that he was done taking care of Mikoto's hair, he picked her up again, and as she wrapped her hands around his neck, he softly kissed her. Mikoto closed her eyes and kissed him back, relishing the feeling of doing so while being princess carried by her boyfriend.
Once they finished kissing, Touma carried her back into the bedroom and set her down on the bed. He kissed the top of her head and announced, "All right, I'm going to shower now." He then grabbed some stuff from his luggage and headed back to the bathroom.
Mikoto ran her fingers through her locks, very impressed with her boyfriend's brushing. As she heard the water turn on, she thought about their current situation. She was pretty nervous about sharing a hotel room and possibly even a bed with her boyfriend, but she was also a little excited. After all, with both of them having roommates, a shared hotel room was the only way they could spend the night together, not including their earlier red-eye flight.
Once Touma finished his shower, he came out of the bathroom, wearing a simple pajama shirt and pajama pants. When he sat back down on the bed, Mikoto grabbed the towel that was still there and exclaimed, "All right, now I'll dry your head." She climbed into his lap and started doing just that, noting, "I don't think you'll need a hair dryer."
The boy closed his eyes and sighed in contentment as his girlfriend returned the favor from before. Once she finished drying his hair, she ruffled it directly with her hand, cooing, "Good boy!"
Once Touma opened his eyes, he couldn't resist her loving smile for long. He placed his hands on the bare skin above her shorts and pulled her into a kiss. As Mikoto kissed him back, she ran her hands all over his broad shoulders and well-defined chest. Things began to heat up even more, with both of them deepening their kiss, and Mikoto suddenly grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him down onto the bed.
Touma was surprised but also excited by her boldness, and didn't mind being trapped under her. He let his hands wander even more, with one hand exploring up her shirt and the other feeling up her bare thighs.
Once they finally stopped kissing, they took a few seconds to catch their breath. Touma then smirked up at his girlfriend and said, "Wow, I'm really liking this new dominant side of yours, Biri-Biri!"
Mikoto's face reddened even more than it already was from their heated makeout session, and she stammered, "W-well, I've been trying to become more confident so you don't always have to be the one s-starting things."
Touma gently stroked her head and replied, "Yeah, you're doing great! It's nice to have you taking the lead more. It's actually kind of hot!"
That last comment caused Mikoto to bury her face in his chest in embarrassment, and she muttered, "Th-thanks." Touma just chuckled and continued running his fingers through her silky hair.
After she calmed down a bit, Mikoto rolled off of him and sat up, announcing, "I'm going to go brush my teeth now."
Touma sat up as well and replied, "Okay, I'll join you!" They both went back to the bathroom. Each of them took out their own toothbrush and toothpaste and started brushing their teeth.
As the two of them did so, they kept sneaking glances at each other. Mikoto nervously thought to herself, "What is this cozy and domestic feeling? It's like we're newlyweds finally living together!" Such a future scared her a little, but she also found herself craving it.
Unbeknownst to her, Touma was thinking along similar lines, "This feels like Mikoto and I are living together after getting married." That thought sounded really nice to him, and he imagined how wonderful it would be to live together with just Mikoto. They would get to see each other, eat together, cook for each other, and just be together every single day. He sincerely hoped that he could one day have a peaceful life like that.
Once they finished brushing their teeth, Mikoto grabbed onto her boyfriend's hand and led him back into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed with her back against the headboard, and gently pulled him down into his lap. Touma smiled up at her and started caressing the sides of her legs.
Mikoto combed her fingers through his hair and asked, "How are you feeling, Touma?" They'd been having fun together since they'd entered their hotel room, but she knew that he must still be reeling from what had happened with Birdway.
Touma frowned as he was reminded again of Birdway's betrayal. He sighed and answered, "I feel better than earlier, but I still can't believe I blindly trusted everything Birdway told me. Maybe it was because she saved me when I fell into the Arctic, but I still should've been more skeptical."
The girl also sighed, but then reiterated, "Like I said before, you're not the only one to blame, I trusted her just as much." After a pause, she continued musing, "It is kind of strange, though. Isn't one of GREMLIN's goals to get rid of you? If Birdway really was a part of GREMLIN, wouldn't she have tried to stab us in the back here, since we were doing everything according to her plans?"
The boy thought for a bit, and then pointed out, "Well, if you think about it, almost all the information we have on GREMLIN came from Birdway. It is true that Saronia and Cendrillon were trying to kill me, but maybe Birdway had some other motivation." After all, he knew that those two GREMLIN magicians had been used and deceived by their superiors.
While continuing to stroke the boy's hair, Mikoto rested one hand on her face and mused, "Well, maybe Birdway does have some other motivation, but now that I think about it more, I'm not sure if that means she's part of GREMLIN."
Touma quickly countered, "But when I asked her directly if she was part of GREMLIN, she said she'll leave it to my imagination! Wouldn't she have strongly denied it if it weren't true?"
Mikoto suggested a possible alternative, "It's possible she was deliberately pretending to be the villain for some reason. She's the leader of a giant magic cabal, so she's probably used to manipulating people. Honestly, she kind of reminds me of Shokuhou, so I could definitely see her pretending to be your enemy, especially if she has some sort of plan to beat GREMLIN that you wouldn't approve of." If her theory were correct, it would be sort of like how Shokuhou had initially left her in the dark about Kihara Gensei's scheme after kidnapping Misaka 10032 to protect her.
Touma didn't know who this Shokuhou person was, but he thought his girlfriend's theory might have some merit. He wondered out loud, "Okay, let's say you're right, and that Birdway has some secret plan that she doesn't want me to know about. If she still wants to defeat GREMLIN, what's the advantage for her of all those cooperative institutions rebelling against Academy City? After all, they present the perfect target for GREMLIN to go after the technology of the Science Side!"
The girl thought for a few moments about his question. After all, the defection of those institutions was the main long-term result of the incident in Hawaii, so if Birdway had engineered everything to get that result, her plan must somehow involve those institutions. Mikoto's eyes widened as she came to a simple conclusion, "Maybe that's the entire point! We all know that GREMLIN will want to go after those cooperative institutions, so maybe she's planning to take advantage of that somehow. Maybe she wants to use them as bait to lure GREMLIN in!"
Touma's eyes widened as well, and he quickly replied, "Wow, that might be it! She might want to set up some sort of ambush, or even just learn more about GREMLIN. After all, we weren't really able to get any information from Cendrillon or Saronia, since they were lied to by their superiors." But as he thought about it for a bit longer, he clenched his fists and said, "But even so, it wasn't right for her to manipulate us like this, or to drag the people of Hawaii into this mess."
Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, I agree. I really don't like it when people like her think they have everything figured out and decide to hide things from people who are involved." After all, she had experienced that before. She then continued, "Anyway, I guess we'll have to wait to see what she and GREMLIN do next with respect to those breakaway institutions. And I hope my sisters at those institutions are okay." She knew how impressive her sisters could be when they worked together, so she was hopeful that they'd be able to avoid getting captured. And as for what would happen next, she just hoped that the next big incident wouldn't be too soon.
Touma said in a reassuring tone, "I'm sure your sisters are fine!" He was also confident that they'd be able to handle the situation.
The two of them rested silently for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. Mikoto decided that it was a good time to give Touma the present she'd bought for him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and told him, "Hey Touma, could you get up for a minute? I have a surprise for you!"
Touma allowed his girlfriend to help him sit up, and questioned, "A surprise?" He watched Mikoto as she walked over and retrieved something from her luggage. She then sat down in front of him on the bed, and he now saw that she had a small jewelry box in her hands.
Mikoto smiled at him and opened the box, revealing two colorful rings. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and began speaking, "Touma, you're the best part of my life. I'm always at my happiest when I'm around you, and we've been through so much together, even if we've only known each other for a few months." She felt pretty nervous, but she continued, "W-will you accept this ring from me?"
The boy's eyes widened as he saw the rings in the box and listened to his girlfriend's words. With a blush on his face, he asked, "W-wait, are you proposing to me, Mikoto? Isn't it a bit too early for that?" He was thinking about them being a married couple earlier, but that was just a fantasy about the future, not really something he expected to happen soon.
Mikoto, having somewhat expected a reaction like that, rolled her eyes and said, "These aren't engagement rings, you idiot! They're Cupid Arrow tag rings. I thought this would be a good way to show our commitment to each other, since we've been dating for about a month now."
Touma quickly realized, "Oh, so they're like promise rings?" He smiled at his girlfriend and continued, "Then sure, Mikoto, I'll accept it!"
The girl absolutely beamed in response. She picked up the larger ring out of the box. Holding onto the boy's left hand, Mikoto carefully placed it onto his ring finger. Once it was in place, she grinned and exclaimed, "There! It should be safer on your left hand, since it's less likely to get cut off!"
Touma chuckled, "Yeah, you're probably right about that." He picked up the remaining ring from the box, held up Mikoto's left hand, and placed the ring on her ring finger. Gazing at her cheerful face for a bit, he then started stroking her cheek before leaning in and kissing her.
Once they pulled apart a few seconds later, Touma brushed her hair behind her ear and said in a soft voice, "I love you so much, Biri-Biri! You're the best part of my life too, and whenever you're with me, I feel a lot less unlucky."
Mikoto stroked his cheek as well, and replied, "I love you too, Touma." She then intertwined her left hand with his, continuing, "Now we have something to remind us of each other whenever we're apart."
Touma smiled at her and nodded, "Yeah, that's right." Once they pulled their hands apart, Touma took a few moments to gaze at his new ring, marveling at the complex and intricate color pattern, and how it matched Mikoto's ring. He turned back to his girlfriend and asked, "Oh, how much did this ring cost? It must have been a lot to get this color pattern, right?"
The girl shook her head and said, "Don't worry, these rings are made of titanium, so they were pretty cheap! Each ring was less than the equivalent of 10000 yen." She knew that he might be a bit unsure about accepting an overly expensive gift from her, so she wanted to reassure him.
The boy was a bit relieved to hear that. He wasn't entirely against getting somewhat expensive gifts from his girlfriend, since he knew she would still put a lot of thought into them, but he didn't want it to just be her spoiling him. He replied, "That's good, though I would've expected them to cost more just for the color pattern."
Mikoto smirked at him and revealed, "Actually, I colored the rings myself using electrolysis!"
Touma was very surprised to learn this, and exclaimed, "Wait, you can actually do that? How does that work?"
Mikoto answered, "Well, if you electrolyze titanium in solution, a layer of titanium oxide forms on the surface of the metal. The thickness of the oxide layer is proportional to the amount of voltage applied, and different thicknesses lead to different colors. So by applying different voltages to different points on the surfaces of the rings, I was able to make these color patterns!" She was really proud of what she'd done, and was happy that her boyfriend wanted to know the details.
The boy was enthralled by her explanation, and replied, "That's so cool! But why does changing the oxide thickness change the color? Shouldn't it be the same color no matter how thick it is?"
Mikoto shook her head and clarified, "Not quite. Actually, the oxide layer is transparent, so it results in thin-film interference."
Touma tilted his head in confusion and repeated, "Thin-film interference? What's that?" Although he had heard of light waves interfering, that particular term was unfamiliar to him.
Mikoto leaned over towards the nightstand between the two beds and picked up the notepad and pen that were there. As she drew a diagram on the paper, she asked her boyfriend, "Do you know about how light waves interfere with each other? Like constructive and destructive interference?"
The boy nodded and recalled, "Yeah, I think so. If two waves are lined up with each other, they add up to a bigger wave, and if they're lined up out of phase, they cancel each other out, right?"
The girl grinned at him and said, "That's correct! So basically, light that shines towards the surface of the ring can either reflect off of the oxide layer, or it can pass through the layer and reflect off of the titanium metal underneath." She indicated this on the diagram that she'd drawn, and continued explaining, "So any particular wavelength of light will split up, and since one portion will travel an extra distance back and forth through the oxide layer, it'll end up interfering with itself."
Touma looked at the notepad as she went through her explanation, and he then deduced, "The extra distance is two times the thickness of the oxide layer, so if the thickness is half the light's wavelength, it'll constructively interfere, but if it's one-quarter or three-quarters of the wavelength, it'll destructively interfere?"
Mikoto playfully rubbed the boy's head and exclaimed, "Good job, that's exactly right! Though you can also have constructive interference if the thickness is one and a half times the wavelength, and destructive interference if it's one and a quarter or one and three-quarters. But anyway, if you want a specific wavelength of light, you can calculate the thickness you need to get that wavelength to constructively interfere, and most other wavelengths will at least partially cancel each other out."
Touma then looked at his ring and pointed out, "But some colors are made up of multiple wavelengths, right? I see some pink, brown, and white in here. And I don't see any red, so is that color impossible to make?"
The girl explained, "Well, red light has about double the wavelength of violet light, so if red light is constructively interfering, then violet light will also be doing so, so they end up mixing together and producing pink or magenta instead."
Touma scratched his head and asked, "Okay, so what about the brown and white?"
Mikoto continued explaining, "When the blue light is canceled out, and you get brown, which is a mixture of red to green light. And white is a mixture of red, green, and blue light, so you get it when none of those three colors are completely canceled out."
The boy was once again amazed by how smart Mikoto was. He smiled at her and said, "Wow, and you were able to work this all out and use your ability to make these beautiful rings! You really are amazing!"
The girl was embarrassed by his enchanted gaze. She blushed and stuttered, "W-well, I only needed to go up to around 120 volts, so this could probably be done even by some Level 1 Electromasters. And you don't even need to be an esper to make even these kinds of patterns, you could use a metal paintbrush to color different parts of the metal at a time by applying different voltages."
Touma gently grabbed both of her hands and assured her, "That doesn't matter. I don't care if another Electromaster or a random person with a metal paintbrush could color this ring, all that matters is that you colored it for me!"
Mikoto was deeply touched by his words, and she began tearing up a bit. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves and replied, "Thank you, Touma. You know, that new sister of mine, Misaka Worst, made fun of me for getting these rings. She said it wouldn't be romantic, but like putting my hair in a piece of chocolate, and that you wouldn't like getting a ring from the girl. I tried not to let her get to be, but I was a little bit worried."
The boy chuckled, "I don't mind you giving me a ring, Biri-Biri. And coloring it with your electricity is pretty different from putting your hair in chocolate." He then released her left hand and stroked her hair with his right hand, saying, "Besides, I love your hair!"
The girl shyly smiled at him, feeling very relieved, softly saying, "Yeah, you're right, thanks." She realized she didn't need to pay any mind to Misaka Worst's jabs about the rings.
Touma then released her right hand and placed his left hand on top of her left hand, putting the two rings very close to each other. He wondered, "Hey, could you use your magnetism to stick the rings together."
Mikoto thought for a bit and replied, "Well, titanium isn't very magnetizable compared to, say, iron, but I should still have enough power to do it." She activated her ability, and while she had to create a very large magnetic field to attract the rings together, she was comfortably able to do it, and the two pieces of metal gently clicked together.
The boy tried gently pulling his hand up but failed, confirming that the rings were magnetically stuck together. He thus intertwined his fingers with hers and joked, "Well, I guess we have no choice but to stick together from now on!"
Mikoto laughed along with him. After a bit longer, she removed the magnetic field, and they were able to separate their hands again.
Mikoto suddenly started yawning, and this caused Touma to yawn as well. She then said, "All right, I'm getting pretty tired, so let's go to sleep!"
Touma stood up from the bed and stretched his arms, replying, "Yeah, okay." Mikoto pulled up the covers and lay down on the right side of the bed. Meanwhile, the boy turned off the lights, except for the lamp on the nightstand between the beds, and then started walking towards the other bed in the room.
When she saw what he was doing, the girl exclaimed, "Hey, where are you going, Touma?"
Touma looked back at her with a confused expression, answering, "Um, to the other bed?" He wasn't sure why his girlfriend seemed to be so taken aback.
Mikoto sighed, "Of course he's trying to be a gentleman." She pulled away the blanket from the left side of the bed and patted the open spot next to her, saying, "Come on, c-come sleep next to me!" She was nervous about doing this, but she didn't want to waste this precious opportunity.
The boy blushed in response to her bold request, and he questioned, "W-wait, are you sure about this? It might be a bit too soon."
The girl continued rubbing the open spot and replied, "W-we already slept together on the plane, right? So it shouldn't be a problem." She then smirked at him and continued, "Do you not want to cuddle with me or something?"
Touma frantically replied, "No, of course I do! You have no idea how much I want to!" The thought of being able to sleep with his girlfriend on a bed, not just on a plane, was a dream come true.
Mikoto held out both of her arms and gave him an inviting smile, saying, "All right, then get over here, you idiot!"
The boy didn't hesitate any longer, and got into bed with his girlfriend. Mikoto quickly wrapped him in her embrace, and with one hand in his hair, she pulled his head to rest against her chest. His spiky hair poked against her chin, but Mikoto didn't mind that at all.
Touma was very surprised and a bit flustered by this, muttering, "Wow, they're softer than I expected!" He then felt her stiffen against him, and he realized that he'd just blurted out. He then tried to fix the damage, saying, "S-sorry, Mikoto, I didn't mean it that way!"
Mikoto sighed sadly and replied, "It's okay, I know that my breasts are small. You don't have to tiptoe around the issue for my sake." As she said this, she began gently stroking his hair. Although she had hoped for a bit more positive reaction from him, she was at least a little happy that he said they were soft instead of completely flat.
Touma wanted to cheer up his girlfriend, so he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face even more into her chest, saying, "Come on, they're still pretty nice, and this way, I can be closer to your heart!" Indeed, he could feel her fast heartbeat against his face.
The girl was cheered up a bit, though not completely. She laughed and teased him, "You're really using that cliched line? I distinctly remember you telling me that your type is mature, well-developed girls."
Touma then replied, "Well, I won't deny that I'm attracted to big boobs, but small ones are good too! Plus, the rest of your body, your legs, ass, and midriff, are all pretty hot!" He felt a little awkward saying that out loud, but he hoped it would make her feel better.
Mikoto blushed furiously in response to his comments, and stammered, "Th-thanks, you pervert." She was happy that he was attracted to her despite her small chest size, but she still knew that he would prefer her to be a bit bigger.
The boy noticed she was still feeling a little sad. While rubbing her back, he softly asked her, "Is this a sensitive topic for you, Biri-Biri?"
The girl frowned, and admitted, "Yeah, it is. I already feel insecure about it by myself, but sometimes other people make fun of me too. Misaka Worst did it earlier, Shokuhou does it almost every time I run into her at school, and even Mama does it sometimes."
Touma frowned as well, feeling bad that his girlfriend had to endure such belittling comments. He hugged her tighter and said, "I'm sorry you have to deal with that."
Mikoto smiled, feeling a little cheered up, and revealed, "Yeah, when I joined Tokiwadai last year, I told myself I wouldn't worry about this at least until the following year, but now here I am, and I haven't grown that much. One time, I teamed up with another flat-chested girl to try to find an Indian Poker card called the Bust Upper, among a giant stack of cards from a dealer. We kept taking naps, trying every card, but we weren't able to find it. I guess it got lost somewhere."
The boy could help but laugh at that story, "Sorry, but that's really funny! It sounds like the kind of misfortune I would have!"
The girl laughed along with him, "Yeah, I guess it does." It was an embarrassing episode, but talking and laughing about it made her feel a lot better.
Touma then asked, "Well, you're only 14, so there's still plenty of time for them to grow, right?"
Mikoto shrugged, feeling a bit doubtful, replying, "I guess so." However, she soon remembered something and continued, "You know, there's actually a theory that if a girl gets her breasts rubbed by someone she loves, they'll grow bigger."
The boy looked up at her and skeptically replied, "Really? How is that supposed to work? Increased blood flow or something?"
Mikoto replied, "Something like that." She wasn't sure if that theory was even true, but she figured it would be worth a shot.
Touma then hesitantly asked, "So, do you want me to rub them?" He wasn't sure if that was what she was going for, but he definitely wanted to seize the potential opportunity.
The girl shyly replied, "Y-yeah, if you don't mind." She turned around in her boyfriend's arms, and he moved up a bit on the bed so his head was now on the pillow instead of on Mikoto's chest. She was now nestled back against him in a spooning position. She grabbed onto both of his hands and brought them up, until they were grasping onto her breasts. She then nervously asked, "H-how do they feel?"
The boy eagerly started squeezing and massaging her breasts, enjoying their softness. He joked, "These make nice, soft handrests! They fit really well in my hands!"
Mikoto rolled her eyes and retorted, "Don't call them handrests, you idiot! But I'm glad you're enjoying herself." She then closed her eyes and enjoyed the pleasurable sensations for a bit, before deciding to reveal another embarrassing memory, "One time, when I got really annoyed with Shokuhou mocking me, I grabbed onto her giant boobs. They were soft and heavy, and it kind of felt like they were grabbing back onto my hands."
Touma raised his eyebrows and said in a disbelieving tone, "Wait, you just groped them because you were annoyed at her?"
The girl groaned in embarrassment, replying, "Yeah, I know, I was totally in the wrong. It was such a big shock that I couldn't stop muttering about how they felt even a while later, and she hit my head with her bag to snap me out of it."
The boy chuckled and said, "Well, you probably had that coming." He found both of the stories she'd told him very funny, but he knew they meant her insecurities were serious. As Touma continued rubbing her chest, he tried reassuring her, "Anyway, I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but I love you no matter how big they are! And whether or not they grow in the future, that won't ever change."
Mikoto laughed at that line, replying, "That was so cheesy, but thanks, Touma." She was really touched by his words, though, and they did manage to alleviate some of her insecurities.
Touma was happy that she'd opened up to him about this, and hoped he'd helped her gain confidence in herself. He moved his hands back down to her waist, and Mikoto turned around and rested her head on his shoulder, directly facing him. Wrapping one arm around him, she then leaned in and kissed him for a few seconds. When they pulled apart, she smiled and told him, "Goodnight, Touma. I love you."
As Mikoto closed her eyes and settled in on his shoulder, Touma brought up his right hand to gently cradle her head and stroke her hair. He kissed the top of her head and replied, "Goodnight, Mikoto. I love you too."
The boy then closed his eyes as well, and they both drifted off to sleep, very comfortable in each other's arms.