Hello, everyone! In this chapter, we've finally reached NT11, and so Shokuhou will begin to play a greater role in the story as we get into the second half of NT.

Before I get into the reviewer responses, I want to plug the KaMikoto Discord server that I created: discord (D0T) gg /CQvEJEGYF2 (remove spaces).

It's a few months old now, and has over 100 members. The server is very active, with lots of discussions about KaMikoto, and the To Aru series in general. I know many readers of this fanfic are already on the server, so if you're a fan of "Honest Railgun," then I think you'll like this server.

Blankow: Well, not a lot of people learn about linear algebra in high school, but it was one of my favorite math subjects in college, so I wanted to use it. Yes, Othinus has been through the wringer with cats. I'm glad you liked the Railgang figuring it out on their own, I figured it'd be more interesting than them just being told.

Waldhueter: Sorry about that, I did want to have them study a math subject, and I wanted to show some of the details.

MC91: Yes, the Railgang have finally started to learn about magic. Saten's thoughts on it will be interesting to write about.

Aminadab Brulle: The math was a bit advanced, but I'm glad you liked the scene with the Sisters tormenting Othinus. Yeah, Kuroko would definitely be the most skeptical, though in this story, she already knew about the dragons in Touma's arm, which is already something that can't really be explained with esper powers. So I feel her at least considering the possibility of other supernatural powers is somewhat realistic.

dragonghoul9707: Othinus does know a lot, but she is leaving it for humans to figure things out on their own. And she has suffered a lot due to both cats. Mikoto will definitely want to spend Christmas with Touma, so we'll see if she'll be able to escape like in canon. The Railgang managed to sleuth out the existence of magic, but they may still be surprised if they ever see Othinus in her current form. I think Shokuhou already knows about both of Touma's memory losses. I don't know when or if Touma will be able to regain his memories of Shokuhou, Ayu, and Kumokawa Seria, but if he ever does, he would certainly feel bad about what happened. Yes, Maika is still alive, and she does end up reappearing in NT18.

Rekuta: Yeah, I wanted to include some of the math details. On Hold is friendlier with Othinus than Sphinx, though Othinus may not see it that way. I'm still not sure how involved the Railgang will get in the Magic Side, but there's certainly some potential. Othinus or Index are good candidates to explain magic to them. And you'll see in this chapter how the Mental Out arc turns out.

SaSaltyDog: The Railgang knowing about magic does present some opportunities, though I don't know if they'd accompany Mikoto all the way to the UK to help out during the Coronzon Arc.

Vegitta: Yeah, it'll be interesting to write Mikoto's friends confronting her and Touma about magic. And you'll get to see what happens in my version of NT11 in this chapter.

MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

LordChorizoCosmico: I did want to have a couple of slice-of-life chapters before the Mental Out arc. Mikoto is doing her best to help Touma keep on track in school, but he may still be in danger of having to repeat a grade. Othinus did sort of third-wheel their study date, but she was pretty blunt and funny with them. She had a good reason to avoid the cat at home, but unfortunately for her, she just encountered another cat at the hospital. Higher-level espers do make use of a lot of math, though it is still somewhat helpful for Level 0 espers like Touma to know some math anyway. It's not surprising that Othinus knows the answers to unsolved problems, though she won't reveal them. Yeah, I wanted the Sisters to have some more affectionate time with Mikoto and Touma, and them tormenting Othinus just made the scene even more fun. It's definitely harassment, at least, I suppose. Maybe it was a little too far, but Othinus did cause some of the Sisters a lot of problems. I didn't know that cats' tongues were scratchy, so yeah, that probably would've hurt. Yeah, Touma was in a pleasant but distracting situation, being surrounded by multiple Misakas. I'm glad you liked how the Railgang figured out about magic on their own, and Mikoto will probably have to tell them fully about it soon. Saten will definitely be the most interested in it, and it'll be cool to write about her reactions to it.

Stryper88: Yeah, it seems like a lot of people didn't understand the math. Othinus was pretty funny in that chapter, and it'll be interesting to see what the Railgang does with their newfound knowledge. This chapter will cover NT11, but we'll get back to slice-of-life afterwards.

ArchiveX: Me neither.

xellos540: Mikoto visited her boyfriend in the hospital, along with Index and Othinus. I wasn't sure just how much Othinus would know, but she talked in NT22R about how she recreated the universe with Imagine Breaker, so I figured she'd at least know the answers to some of the unsolved problems that humans at least had enough knowledge to conceive of. I know a lot of theorems in math assume the Riemann Hypothesis is true, and I figure the same might be true for P=NP. Othinus does want to help Touma, I guess. Yes, the Sisters probably want to do the opposite. Being the Sisters' doll is indeed quite distressing for Othinus. Hmm, it's very possible that Othinus made Touma suffer from tickle torture, though not from her directly. No, Uiharu and Saten live in separate dorms. Well, I guess hacking is less threatening to the higher ups than destroying expensive military equipment, but they probably still don't like it. Mikoto and Touma told the Railgang in Chapter 26 what happened to Mikoto during the Daihasei Festival, and that included the dragons. And the Railgang saw one of the dragons in the Jailbreaker arc. Yes, that was Vento, and it is impressive that they figured out the potential existence of magic on their own. They saw the footage of Othinus and Touma's final fight in Denmark, though not any footage of tiny Othinus. This new chapters covers the events of NT11.

Guest10032: It's nice that you got a preview of future studies, and I'm glad you enjoyed the difference between the two cats. This chapter will cover the events of NT11, so you'll see what happens there.

The One who saw All: Yeah, that was a pretty risky thing for Uiharu to do, but they may end up being safe if it's decided that them knowing that information isn't much of a threat. I'm glad you enjoyed the study date, as well as the Sisters tormenting Othinus. She does have a lot of trouble with cats. Sorry for the math, but I wanted to have a scene of them studying the subject, and also wanted to show some of the details of what they were studying.

Shokuhou Misaki had been in a nostalgic mood the entire day. She had been remembering her various encounters last summer with a certain boy named Kamijou Touma, and she had been visiting all the locations of those memories. Most of them had been pleasant, everyday encounters between a boy and a girl, somewhat similar to those initial encounters between him and Misaka Mikoto.

But Shokuhou had also recalled her and Touma's desperate fight against Deadlock. That group had targeted her due to grievances over their comparative lack of power development, and of course, Touma had fought to defend her. The two of them had managed to win, but he had been severely injured. As a result of Shokuhou using her ability to block his pain sensors in order to stabilize him for surgery, Touma had not only lost all of his memories of Shokuhou, but he had also been rendered unable to form any new memories of her.

Those memories of Touma were one reason why Shokuhou couldn't get along too well with Mikoto. After all, if it were not for his double memory losses, Shokuhou thought it likely that she'd have been Touma's girlfriend by now. But instead, she had to constantly watch him hang out with Mikoto, whose feelings for Touma seemed to be obvious to everyone except him.

In any case, Shokuhou had come across a much more pressing issue. She had visited the artificial lake on the mountaintop in District 21. The lake was part of a geothermal power station, but more importantly, it was where Touma had inadvertently stopped her from erasing her own memories to remove the trauma from earlier incidents she had suffered through. But a chill had run down her spine when she realized that the current scenery looked completely different from her memories from over a year ago.

It seemed impossible that such a scenery change could occur over just one year, so Shokuhou could only conclude that her memories with Touma were false. Even the plastic whistle he had supposedly given her, to allow her to call him for help, was potentially just a planted fake.

When Shokuhou had thought about who could even mess with the memories of her, the strongest mental esper, a prime suspect came into mind: Kumokawa Seria, the brain of one of the members of the Board of Directors, and someone just as skilled as Shokuhou at mental manipulation, despite not using any kind of esper power.

Shokuhou had then made her way to Seria's apartment and had broken in. Seria had called her while threatening her with an assassin, but as soon as Shokuhou had asked about Touma, Seria had suddenly appeared behind Shokuhou, startling her.

After that, both girls sat down on opposite ends of the room's sofa. Kumokawa began the discussion by asking, "So, what about him?"

Shokuhou explained, "Embarrassingly, I've lost my ability to be sure if my memories with him are accurate. But if I had evidence from someone else who knew him back then, it might help me make a judgement about my past."

Kumokawa crossed her legs and replied in an annoyed tone, "I see, so that's why you came here. But I can't help you with that. We may have interacted with him around the same time, but we never set foot in each other's private affairs. I don't know anything about your incident, and you don't know anything about mine, so we can't really compare notes here."

Shokuhou frowned, but then pulled out the silver whistle from under her shirt, asking, "Do you recognize this?"

Glancing at it, Kumokawa immediately replied, "They hand those out everywhere in District 7, not just at schools, but at every kind of public facility. They're used for disaster training every year, so there are too many of them around."

As Shokuhou had expected, the whistle didn't provide much evidence for her. She mused, "That means I can only rely on him. But…"

Kumokawa finished the other girl's thought, "But that won't work either, since we both know what happened to his memories."

Shokuhou had no one who could tell her whether or not her past with Touma was real. She was thus beginning to think that it was a completely hopeless endeavor.

But Kumokawa then said, "How about looking at it from another angle? I don't know exactly what's happened to you, but this is something that got the better of Academy City's strongest mental esper and kept her from noticing for a long time. That would require a high degree of technology."

Shokuhou narrowed her eyes and said, "I thought you were the one behind it."

Kumokawa asked, "What would I gain from messing with your head?"

Shokuhou immediately answered, "You would get him all to yourself. Of course, that would only make sense if I were still in contact with him." Since Touma couldn't form new memories of her, there wasn't much point in trying to interact with him again.

Kumokawa fell silent for a moment, though not because of any anger at being falsely accused. Instead, she furrowed her eyebrows and exclaimed, "You're right, I could've done that! Damn it, why didn't I think of that?" But she also added to herself, "I might have also been able to prevent Misaka Mikoto from getting to him too. But better her than this girl, I guess. And it seems she hasn't even found out that he's already taken."

Coming out of her thoughts, Kumokawa held her head in her hand and said, "But anyway, like I said, this must have taken a lot of technology to pull off, so whoever did it must have something valuable to gain. Do you know which memories were falsified and what they've led you to do? If you could figure out who benefits from that, we could narrow it down a good bit."

Shokuhou repeated in a thoughtful tone, "Who benefits, hmm?" The boy in her memories had been a spoiling and kind support for her. Had someone set her up to help him? He himself didn't have the technology needed, but perhaps someone was trying to control both of them, like during the Agitate Halation Project.

Kumokawa then continued, "The only other hint I can think of is the actual technology used. Whether it be an esper power, a device, or a technique, it must be something highly specialized to fool you. If there's any kind of trace left, I might be able to find where it came from."

Shokuhou shook her hand and retorted, "It can't be an esper power. No one could ever outdo me there."

Kumokawa nodded, "You're probably right about that, but like I said before, you have a major weakness." The other girl looked confused, so she stated, "You're powerful when it comes to the human mind but ridiculously weak against machines. So what if someone used a machine that manipulates the human mind?"

This notion caught Shokuhou completely off guard, and she was left speechless. Kumokawa sighed in exasperation and said, "Espers with high basic specs can get by on pure strength alone, but they get lax in checking the small loopholes of their powers. They're the type that tends to get beaten up by him." She then stood up from the sofa and motioned for Shokuhou to do the same, saying, "Okay, I'll help, so come with me."

Shokuhou asked, "Help with what?"

Kumokawa told her, "Like I said, we might find a trace of the device used on you. There might be something embedded inside you or a wound where something was injected into your skin. Come on, we can use my bathroom!"

Shokuhou frantically reacted, "Wait, wait, the bathroom? Hold on, I can do it on my own!"

Kumokawa began dragging her towards the bathroom, while explaining, "They've already messed with your head, so it might have a way to make you look past the oddity. It's not like I actually want to see you naked!"

Shokuhou was forced to remove her clothes, though Kumokawa allowed her to keep on her underwear for now. Kumokawa checked her back, while Shokuhou used her own hands to check the front of her body for anything amiss.

It didn't take too long for Kumokawa to find something. She grabbed onto Shokuhou's neck and said, "Something's attached, no, something's sticking into your neck. Don't move."

Shokuhou felt the other girl grab onto something and pull. She thought it would be something thin digging into her skin a bit, but a chill ran down her spine as she felt how very long it was. Once Kumokawa had fully pulled it out, Shokuhou turned and saw a fiber thinner than a hair and over 20 centimeters long. Whether it had extended up or down from her neck, it was a very disturbing thought.

Kumokawa glanced down at the object between her fingers and began to leave the bathroom, saying, "Now put your clothes back on, you're indecent."

Shokuhou protested, "W-wait, that's an important clue to solving the mystery of my memories!" She didn't want the other girl to just walk away with it.

Kumokawa retorted, "What are you going to do, perform an amateur internet search? With my position, I'll be able to find the answer much easier."

She then left the bathroom, and Shokuhou was forced to put her uniform back on before she could rejoin Kumokawa in the living room.

Kumokawa had already connected to her computer and accessed a restricted database. Shokuhou wondered, "You sounded pretty confident, but can you actually figure this out?"

While running a program on her computer, Kumokawa answered, "Most of the time, people use illegally modified equipment to evade detection, but it's always based on some sort of technology. So if I check through the research papers and patents, I should be able to find something."

The automated search came up with about 30 papers, but Kumokawa quickly eliminated the ones that didn't match and announced, "Here, this is probably it. It's called a Strobila, and it seems to be named for a stage in the jellyfish's life cycle. It's supposedly able to achieve mental control of a human without directly interfering with the brain. Your mind is also influenced by hormones secreted by other organs, and in the Strobila's case, it stimulates the heart to alter the balance of hormones. So that fiber must have run all the way to your heart. So you see, it really wasn't me."

Shokuhou felt fearful that the device had extended all the way into her heart. But she pushed that aside and took the opportunity to say, "That's your fault for always sneaking around in the background. Even he called you a mysterious and creepy old woman who wore too much makeup!"

Surprisingly, Kumokawa was nearly brought to tears, exclaiming, "What? H-he didn't, did he? You're lying, aren't you? Not to mention, we've decided that you can't even trust your memories!" Shokuhou looked at her with a smirk, so she took a moment to regain her composure before continuing, "Anyway, if you look into the people connected to the Strobila's development, or anyone who could have stolen the data, you should be able to find your culprit."

Shokuhou didn't feel much motivation to do that, nor did she really feel anger at having been used. She said in a disheartened tone, "Probably, and I truly do thank you for this. But how long has this been attached to me?"

Kumokawa replied, "I don't like saying this, but it's best not to trust your memories or actions too much."

Shokuhou took a small step back and muttered, "I see." She hadn't wanted to search out the truth to find and punish the culprit. She'd wanted to figure out if those warm memories with that boy were real. But now she knew the truth: that those memories with Touma were lies, and her past with him had never existed. She could find and crush the people behind that conspiracy, but what would that actually accomplish?

Kumokawa finally asked, "So, what will you do now? With the Strobila removed, you've left the culprit's expectations. They might target you again, but you've escaped for now. It's up to you whether you continue or turn back."

Shokuhou replied in a weary tone, "You're right. I'll decide what to do from here on."

She then left Kumokawa's apartment. A member of her clique checked in on her, but Shokuhou told her that she needed to deal with her current trouble alone.

Once she was by herself, Shokuhou wondered what to do with her memories now. If they had solely been created to manipulate her, wouldn't it be best to get rid of them? She would only have to press a remote to her own head and push a single button.

She had lost her greatest support and her reference point. Shokuhou thought of her other memories, of her childhood, her coming to Academy City, Dolly, the Exterior Project, and her position as Tokiwadai's Queen and head of its largest clique. Were any of these memories important? Perhaps it would be best to erase anything unnecessary.

Shokuhou stood still for a long time, contemplating whether to go through with it. But she was interrupted by an ambulance stopping near her.

Some men in white coats stepped out and announced that they were part of Emergency Aid, and were tasked with treating her, since she had acted suspiciously by wandering around and breaking into Kumokawa's apartment.

Shokuhou was about to get in and accept whatever treatment Emergency Aid would give her. But she realized that the timing was off, since they had taken multiple hours to arrive after she had gone to Kumokawa's apartment. In fact, they were there to replace the Strobila that had been removed from her neck.

The men then tried to restrain her, but Shokuhou was able to subdue them with her powers. By questioning them, she found to her shock that the Strobila they planned to implant was actually empty, as was the one that had been removed. Plus, the Strobila was unlikely to work against her even if it did have data in it.

With this, Shokuhou realized, "The Strobila was a decoy, and their plan was to trick me into thinking those memories were false so I would erase them myself. That's how they would manipulate the mind of the strongest mental esper."

More important than realizing the culprit's true objective, Shokuhou could now conclude that her memories with Touma were truly real, since her enemy had gone to such lengths to get her to erase them. She felt a warm feeling spread throughout her body, and she ended up rolling back and forth on the ground in glee. She pulled out the whistle and wrapped her hand around it, now knowing that the boy truly had given it to her.

After calming down a bit, she thought about the path that had taken her here. She had originally feared that her memories were fake, but now she knew that they were real. The only conclusion was that the current landscape of the artificial lake was wrong, somehow. The conspiracy affecting her must somehow be connected to that lake.

Shokuhou tried to probe into the lead man, but he had been set up with a mental bomb, so she was forced to reset his mind and knock him unconscious.

With that avenue of investigation closed, Shokuhou decided to check on the artificial lake once again, to settle the matter once and for all. She called up Hokaze Junko, her right-hand girl, and asked her to gather any willing pawns from her clique to help her out with whatever she was about to face.

Shokuhou later called Kumokawa and learned that the geothermal power station hadn't been changed, at least according to official documents. But she still decided she needed to investigate it herself. When Shokuhou arrived at the artificial lake, she discovered that the entire landscape had been changed by magnetically-controlled monitor dust, which could be manipulated to change colors. That settled it, and proved to her that her memories of that summer with Touma were real once and for all.

With that discovery being made, her opponent finally appeared and eventually revealed herself as Mitsuari Ayu. Her power was the Level 3 Mental Stinger, and because of the Parameter List, she hadn't been able to reach her full potential of a Level 5 like Shokuhou had. For her scheme, she had used a Five Over OS based on Shokuhou's Mental Out to manipulate the landscape and control people.

When Shokuhou mentioned that there was a Level 0 boy who had protected her and surpassed her Level 5 ability, Mitsuari just laughed and told her that she had known Touma too. Using the Five Over, Mitsuari dragged Shokuhou into her own memories. They revealed that Touma had failed to save Mitsuari from suicide because he'd bumped into Shokuhou and lost his phone. This was yet another reason why Mitsuari felt that Shokuhou stole her life from her.

Shokuhou realized that she was stalling for time, and Mitsuari then brought out her ultimate weapon, the Five Over Modelcase Mental Out. It was supposed to replicate and surpass Mental Out, but it could only work by placing Shokuhou inside it to gather enough data. Shokuhou's clique members were able to take out the people providing different viewpoints to the Five Over OS, but Mitsuari was eventually able to briefly knock Shokuhou out and place her inside the Modelcase machine.

Shokuhou was immersed in a sticky fluid, and Mitsuari connected electrodes to her, preparing the machine to draw out her power. She would erase Shokuhou's memories of Touma and use the data to industrially mass-produce Shokuhou's esper power. And there was nothing Shokuhou could do to stop her.

But Shokuhou and Mitsuari were not the only people in the world. Shokuhou sighed and said, "Honestly, it's unbelievable. It's always at times like this, when even the person in question has accepted their defeat, that a certain someone shows up and refuses to accept the result."

Mitsuari looked at her and asked in a confused tone, "What are you talking about?"

The whistle Shokuhou was wearing floated up in the fluid and approached her mouth. Even though it wouldn't even make a sound in the fluid, she still placed her lips to it, remembering Touma's words, "Use it if you're in trouble. It might give me more chances to save you."

Shokuhou replied, "Maybe you wouldn't recognize it since he didn't make it in time for you. At times like this, when a girl is facing ruin and forgetting to even cry, someone will always come rushing in for her."

Mitsuari's face became distorted, and she angrily shouted, "No help is coming, nothing has suggested that! He has no information to lead him here, and he's also lost his memories of who we are in the first place!"

But Shokuhou retorted, "Nevertheless, he'll come. It doesn't matter if he knows the person, or if he has anything to gain, and he doesn't have to follow a careful sequence of hints." She looked up at Mitsuari's wavering face and proudly declared, "He is my hero! I don't care how others see him, or if he's also someone else's hero. He will come. Even if he's forgotten everything and even if someone else is smiling by his side, just this once, it's my turn!"

Mitsuari, angered by her declaration, thrust her arms into the thick liquid and began strangling the other girl, exclaiming, "He won't come! He won't just show up like that! After all, he didn't reach me. Being our hero doesn't make him almighty. If the conditions aren't right, he won't show up, just like when my hero failed to save me because of you!"

Even though this would ruin her plan, she choked Shokuhou with immense strength. At this moment, the ribbon holding the whistle broke, and it floated away from Shokuhou's mouth. Mitsuari declared, "No help is coming for you! Just like with me, the only path left for you is to be destroyed, longing for someone who'll never arrive!"

Shokuhou could barely remain conscious, but she still forced out a small voice, asking, "Then...who is that?"

Mitsuari turned around, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw something, no, someone. She trembled, "It can't be! This is District 21, it's so far from District 7, and no one would come to an unmanned power station deep in the mountains while on a walk!"

Shokuhou retorted, "But that's what I did."

Mitsuari then said, "Both of us have vanished from his memory, so he'd never think to come save you. He shouldn't have any way of learning about this or even imagining it."

Shokuhou explained, "He doesn't have to start from the beginning. It's not uncommon for him to show up midway to save someone."

Mitsuari shook her head and protested, "He didn't make it in time for me, because he lost his only hint!"

Shokuhou then replied, "There's more to him than just that."

At this point, Mitsuari grabbed her head and exclaimed, "But why? Why did he make it this time?" A tremendous sound burst out, and Shokuhou saw the scenery distort around Mitsuari as her anger drove her powers out of control.

Since both of their powers worked by controlling the moisture in human brains, Mitsuari's out of control power compressed the moisture in the air, threatening to freeze-dry any living creature that approached. The monitor dust turned white and began sparking, causing a surreal color change upon the entire landscape. Shokuhou was protected by the fluid within the Five Over, but the person outside was not.

Touma had his right arm in a cast. When Mitsuari's demonic territory approached him, he simply swung out that arm to the side. When it came into contact, the cast shattered, and his now-exposed right hand eliminated the distortion in an instant. He did not know what was happening, nor did he remember the people involved. He didn't remember the promise he'd once made to Shokuhou the previous summer, but he was still there to save her.

Shokuhou saw Mitsuari's lips mouth the word "why." After seeing Mitsuari's memories, she could sympathize with how she must have been feeling now. She concluded to herself, "I've been saved enough now."

With this, she told Mitsuari, "This is your homework. Go get his help, get enough of it that you'll accept it this time."

Mitsuari turned her full attention to Touma. Clenching her fists and with tears in her eyes, she demanded, "Why? Why are you here now, to save her, when you failed to save me? Why does life always work out for her, while I'm left in the dust? Why were you her and everyone else's hero, but not mine?"

Touma flinched a little at her words. Mistuari then looked down sadly and sighed, "What am I even doing? You don't remember who either of us is, and you don't remember what happened last summer. It's pointless to be mad at you when I'm the one who's a failure."

The boy looked at her with a sad expression, thinking, "My past's catching up to me again, it seems." It was clear that he had known this girl, as well as the one she'd been attacking, before he had lost his memories a few months earlier. This was something Touma had always been worried about since then, but now he would have to face the issue head on.

Touma looked directly at Mitsuari and said, "I don't know what's going on between you two, but it seems it has to do with me, or at least the previous me. It's true, I have forgotten who you are. I don't know if we were acquaintances, friends, or even something else."

He paused for a moment and gritted his teeth, before adding, "But there's one thing I do know. If some bastard named Kamijou Touma thought himself to be a hero but failed to save you, then he's not worth your tears! And you shouldn't see yourself as a failure, when he's the real failure." Not only had he failed to save her, he hadn't even realized that she'd survived, and he'd left her all alone, struggling with that trauma.

Mitsuari looked up at him in shock, not expecting him to respond that way. She stammered, "Wh-what are you saying?"

Touma thought back to how Othinus had accepted her punishments, from the world, from Mikoto, and from herself. He thus resolved to do the same himself. Although it still pained him to move his right arm, he held out both his arms and declared, "I lost my memories, and I lied about it to prevent a girl from crying. She eventually found out that I was living a lie, as did another girl, but they both stuck by me, even though I was a different person from the one they'd known. But even so, that doesn't change the fact that I messed up by failing to help you. You have every right to be angry at me. So, what are you going to do now? The guy who ruined your life is right here, so this is your chance to make him pay!"

Mitsuari felt a pang in her heart as he mentioned two girls who were apparently special to him, particularly given the ring she saw on his left hand. Of course, he had forgotten all about her and moved on to other girls. She growled as she thought back to how much she had suffered, and she thought, "That's right!" Her hands were still clenched, so she brought up her right fist and punched Touma in the face.

The boy reeled back a bit from the punch, but simply looked back at her with a grim expression. Mitsuari felt the urge to release all of her anger on him, so she continued punching his face and chest with both of her fists, exclaiming, "You asshole! Rotten jerk! Because of you, my life was destroyed!"

After several punches, she stopped and breathed heavily. Seeing that she was apparently done, Touma quietly asked her, "Was that enough to satisfy you?"

Mitsuari sighed and replied, "I guess, at least as much as it could have." It did feel good, but she was still left to deal with her current life, and it would not be an easy thing to overcome, especially since she would likely be severely punished for using Dark Side resources to attack Shokuhou.

Touma didn't know about all that, but he knew that this single encounter wouldn't magically fix her life. Nevertheless, he could at least help her out with the first step. So he smiled at her and said, "Good. Now, even if my mind has forgotten, my heart is telling me to help you. Both of us are different people compared to a year ago, so let's re-introduce ourselves. I'm Kamijou Touma, and it's nice to meet you."

Mitsuari smiled back at him and replied, "I'm Mitsuari Ayu. It's a pleasure to meet you too." Shokuhou had urged her to accept his help, and Mitsuari decided to take her advice. She had slipped deep into the darkness, and she couldn't just instantly leave it, but she could still reach out for the salvation that she had longed for and deserved.

A little later, Touma was once again back at the hospital, with his right arm in a new cast. Because of the fight, his condition had worsened again, and his right arm was in a lot of pain due to him removing it from his previous cast.

Mikoto, Index, and Othinus were with him, but they were all annoyed at him putting himself in danger again. Index coldly said, "I see, so you took off your cast, and now you're complaining about being in a lot of pain? It seems to me like it's your own fault."

Othinus glanced over at Index and added, "Don't show him any kindness or attention, or he'll grow addicted to it."

Touma protested, "Hey, why are you two being so coldhearted?" He then looked over at his girlfriend, hoping for a more considerate reaction.

Mikoto let out an exasperated sigh. She reached out her arm and ruffled her boyfriend's hair, saying, "I guess you went off to save someone again, huh?" Given what he'd done, that was the only possible conclusion.

The boy smiled at her and replied, "Yeah." He still felt guilty about failing to save Mitsuari, but at least they'd been able to come to a resolution. He then asked, "Could you walk with me to the courtyard, Biri-Biri?" He could still walk fine, so he was eager to get some fresh air.

Mikoto nodded, "Of course, Touma." When he stood up, she wrapped her right arm around his left arm, and they began heading towards the courtyard.

As they walked through the hallways, the girl asked, "So, who did you run off to save this time?"

Touma furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember. He eventually replied, "Hmm, I actually didn't get her name. Actually, I didn't even know that something was happening there, I just got a cryptic message from a senpai telling me to go there. When I got there, she was being attacked by a girl named Mitsuari Ayu, who was using two Five Overs based on the Mental Out power."

Mikoto was a little worried about there being Five Overs that could replicate Mental Out. But there was something else that stuck in her mind. She looked over at the boy with a confused expression, thinking, "So was Shokuhou the one he saved? But he met her during the Daihasei Festival, so did he forget her name? And why was this Mitsuari girl attacking her?"

Before she could ask him about this, Touma continued, "Apparently I failed to save Mitsuari-san when she tried to commit suicide a year ago, which is how she became submerged in the dark side. I still can't believe I just left her to suffer back then! What kind of a bastard was I?"

Mikoto looked at him with a frown, knowing just how painful that information must be for him. She knew that there was no point in saying that he couldn't be expected to save everyone, or that whatever had prevented him from saving Mitsuari may not have actually been his fault. So instead, she just gently squeezed his hand and said, "I'm sorry, Touma. Were you able to resolve things with her?"

Touma sighed and answered, "Well, I let her punch me a few times, and that seemed to satisfy her, at least a little. And then we re-introduced ourselves to each other, and she smiled."

The girl gently nudged his shoulder and said with a smirk, "Good, so there was a somewhat happy ending, even after all that!"

Touma chuckled and replied, "I guess so."

Mikoto then noticed a vending machine nearby, so she released his hand and announced, "Why don't you go on, and I'll get us some drinks in the meantime."

The boy nodded, "Okay, Mikoto." He watched her head towards the vending machine for a moment, but then continued walking towards the courtyard.

When he reached it, he noticed that there were a few other people around the area, and that it was cold despite the sun being out. Nevertheless, it felt nice to get some fresh air, so he sat down on an unoccupied bench.

But soon afterwards, someone else sat down next to him, saying, "It's been a while."

Touma was startled, turning to see a blonde girl sitting way too close to him. He backed away a bit and asked, "Um, who are you?"

The girl laughed and replied, "Don't worry, that's the normal response. You always forget me right away."

The boy tilted his head in confusion, unable to figure out what she meant. He muttered, "That uniform...do you really go to Tokiwadai too?"

Shokuhou brushed her hair from her shoulder and puffed out her chest, boasting, "Go ahead and make a thorough inspection if you want. I'm quite proud of my growth here!" That summer, he had insulted her for having a flat chest, so she was glad that she'd remedied that by now.

Touma couldn't figure out what she was trying to do, but something else came to his mind. He hesitantly asked, "Hmm, have we met somewhere before?" She didn't say anything for a moment, so he continued, "Um, sorry if this sounds creepy, but the honey scent of your hair somehow seems familiar."

Shokuhou sighed and muttered, "That's just not fair. There shouldn't be any chance left, but that memory ability of yours is giving me some hope." He wouldn't be able to remember her at all, thanks to what her powers had done to his brain, but apparently he could remember her scent. When the boy looked at her with a puzzled expression, she said more loudly, "Nothing, just talking to myself. Someone you know may use the same perfume or shampoo."

The boy replied in a confused tone, "Is that it?"

She then moved on to the next topic, "Do you have anything to ask about Mitsuari Ayu?"

Touma replied, "Mitsuari-san? How do you know about that girl from yesterday?"

Shokuhou let out an exasperated sigh before saying, "You remember the enemy but not the one you saved, that really is a strange memory ability." After a pause, she then said, "The Five Overs were completely destroyed, and I was just about to clean up the design data. So don't worry about Mental Out being mass-produced and spread around the world."

The boy's eyes widened, and he replied, "Wait, was that Mental Out person involved?"

The girl answered, "It's fine if you don't know. As for Mitsuari Ayu, she was officially sent to a juvenile hall, but there'll be a lot of people after her after she made unauthorized use of various items from her organization. But don't worry, I'll take care of watching over her to protect her from assassins, and to make sure she doesn't head back into the dark side."

This was a lot of information to take in, but Touma replied, "Oh, okay." Since the girl went to Tokiwadai, she probably did have the resources and connections to accomplish those goals.

Shokuhou then scooted closer to him, feeling a bit irritated at his uninterested reaction. She asked, "By the way, why did you suddenly show up at that artificial lake last night?"

Touma looked up at the sky, answering, "Oh, that? My senpai sent me the location and told me, 'It's her birthday today, so how about setting out a flower for her?' I didn't know what she meant, but I figured I'd go to the mountaintop to find out."

Shokuhou had a kind look in her eyes as she muttered, "I see." She realized that Kumokawa had come through for her, after all.

The boy then asked again, "Who are you, anyway?"

The girl immediately replied, "You'll just forget, so it's hard to build the motivation to name myself. So instead…"

As he heard her last word, he saw her face lean in towards him.

Meanwhile, Mikoto had finished buying some drinks from the vending machine, and was now in the courtyard. She had seen Touma sitting with Shokuhou, and had decided to give them some privacy so Shokuhou could thank him for saving her, even though Mikoto didn't really like the idea of the other girl being around her boyfriend. But when she saw Shokuhou lean in towards Touma, she almost dropped the cans in her hands.

Fortunately, Touma immediately leaned back and held out his left hand, shouting, "Woah, what are you doing?"

Mikoto was glad that her boyfriend hadn't passively let another girl kiss his forehead, but she still walked closer to them so she could hear what they were saying, in case she needed to intervene.

Shokuhou was starting to get annoyed that the boy wasn't responding to any of her advances, since she prided herself on her beauty and attractiveness. She frowned and replied, "I just want to thank you. Is that really so bad?"

Touma firmly replied, "Sorry, but I have a girlfriend." He didn't get why this girl he didn't know was making a move on him, but he wanted to shut it down as firmly as possible, especially since that girlfriend of his could arrive at any moment.

This revelation absolutely stunned Shokuhou, and her mind blanked out for a moment. Eventually, as she looked at his outstretched left hand, she finally noticed the colorful ring on his ring finger. She immediately recognized it, having seen the matching ring several days earlier. She questioned with a bewildered tone, "No way...you're really dating Misaka-san?"

The boy realized, "Oh, you must have seen Mikoto's ring. Yes, she's my girlfriend."

Shokuhou reeled back as she began to process this major revelation. She looked down and sardonically thought, "I know I said I didn't care if he was someone else's hero or if someone else was smiling by his side, but I didn't mean it like this!"

She had never really gotten along well with Mikoto, even when the two of them had worked together. They had been at odds ever since they'd met the previous year at Tokiwadai, when Shokuhou had angrily dismissed Mikoto due to her reminding Shokuhou of Dolly. And in addition to that, for the past several months, Shokuhou had had to witness her rival Level 5 get closer and closer to the boy she liked, often in similar ways. The one silver lining had been that Mikoto was too tsundere to actually confess her feelings to Touma.

But now, that had all apparently changed, and it had changed without her noticing it. Shokuhou had seen Mikoto's ring over a week earlier, and they must have been dating for some time if they were now wearing paired rings.

Shokuhou felt both depressed and angry at the same time. She had been through a stressful day, wondering whether her memories of one of the best times of her life were real, and she'd had to deal with someone trying to erase them. She had been happy once Touma had arrived to save her, and when he'd remembered her scent, but this news caused all her hopes for a miracle to come crashing down. With clenched fists, she desperately held back tears as she quietly demanded, "Why? Why her, of all people?"

Touma furrowed his eyebrows, not really knowing why she was suddenly so upset. He replied, "Huh?"

Mikoto was also briefly confused, but she was able to deduce the situation, wondering, "Wait, since when did Shokuhou like Touma?"

Shokuhou exclaimed, "Of all people, why would you choose to go out with Misaka-san? Isn't your type supposed to be girls with more chest ability? Not only does she lack breasts, she lacks in kindness ability too. She doesn't even have a feminine figure, she's a complete musclehead, and she's rude, violent, and overall lacking in manners. Why would you agree to date someone who doesn't have anything to offer?"

Mikoto heard her entire rant, and she became rather pissed off, with sparks emitting from her head. By this point, she was less offended by Shokuhou's comments about her body than by the other girl portraying her as a violent delinquent who lacked compassion. She grumbled to herself, "What a bitch! She's the one who always insults me first, but if I dare to lose my temper or return the favor, suddenly I'm the bad guy."

Before Mikoto could do anything else, Touma glared at Shokuhou and coldly asked, "Are you fucking done?"

Shokuhou's eyes widened at his harsh words, and Mikoto stopped sparking as she prepared to listen to what he would say next, seeing how angry he was on her behalf.

Touma growled, "Who the hell do you think you are, just coming up to me and insulting my girlfriend like that?"

Shokuhou reeled back on the bench. Her body trembled, and she stammered, "B-but..."

The boy continued, "Look, I don't know what your problem is with her. Maybe you two are rivals at school, or maybe there are some deeper reasons you don't get along with her. And maybe Mikoto has also said some mean things to you. But if that's not just your anger speaking, and if that's what you truly think of her...then you don't know or understand her at all!"

As Shokuhou blankly stared at him with her jaw agape, Touma fondly looked at his ring and said, "Mikoto is kind, determined, and always willing to step in to help people. She's very sweet and caring to me, her friends, and her family. She's an amazing girlfriend, who's always fun to talk to and just be around. She's saved my life multiple times, and she saved me from my guilt and despair. And despite what you said, Mikoto is smoking hot!" He then looked up at Shokuhou and concluded, "So take it back! Take back all the lies you said about the girl I love!"

Mikoto blushed as her boyfriend praised her over and over again, and she brought her hands up to her chest, thinking, "Thank you, Touma." She was especially touched to hear again just how much he appreciated what she'd done for him in Denmark. And though it was a minor detail in comparison to everything else, she was also glad to hear he found her so attractive, even if he'd said it in somewhat crude terms.

Meanwhile, Shokuhou felt the strength leave her body with every admiring thing he said about Mikoto, and her heart broke completely when she heard the word "love." She could only mutter, "Are-are you serious?"

Touma nodded and said in a firm tone, "Yes. Take it back and apologize."

Shokuhou sighed and replied in a defeated tone, "Fine. I'm sorry for insulting Misaka-san."

Mikoto widened her eyes in amazement. She couldn't believe that Touma had so easily made her apologize. She could only conclude, with some trepidation, that Shokuhou really didn't want Touma to think too badly of her."

The boy simply replied, "Good. Now look, I have no idea what issues you have with her. But I bet if you really got to know her, you'd get along with her pretty well."

Shokuhou scoffed to herself, "Yeah, right." Nevertheless, she politely smiled at him and said, "I'll keep that in mind." She saw no point in trying to argue about that.

Mikoto decided that this would be a good moment to reveal her presence, so she approached the front of the bench. Both Touma and Shokuhou were surprised to see her. She placed one hand on her hip and greeted her boyfriend with a smirk, "Hey, Touma!"

Touma looked up at her with a soft smile, greeting her back, "Hey, Biri-Biri." He then realized something, and nervously asked, "Did you happen to hear us?"

Mikoto glared at Shokuhou and replied, "Oh, I heard enough." At the moment, she really didn't want to talk to the other girl, so she didn't say anything more.

Shokuhou knew that she was no longer wanted there. She could tell by observing Touma how much he loved Mikoto, and the reverse was just as obvious. Not knowing what else to say to Touma or to Mikoto, she just stood up and silently walked away.

Mikoto felt relieved that the other girl left without further argument. She turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Man, I know Shokuhou insults me every time I see her, but I've never seen her be that vicious." But now that she knew that Shokuhou had feelings for him, it did make sense, and she wondered, "When did Shokuhou even meet him? Was it before he lost his memories?"

Touma shrugged, "Yeah, I'm not sure what her problem was." Given that Mikoto knew the other girl, he still figured that there were some school or personal issues between them.

Meanwhile, Shokuhou waited until she was out of sight of both of them, as well as anyone else, before finally crouching down on the ground and letting herself cry. Despite Touma not being able to form any new memories of her, she had worked hard to become a better girl and had hoped for a miracle so that she could once again connect with him. But how, that small hope was completely extinguished, and her rival Level 5 had stolen Touma away from her. She mused to herself, "Is this what Mitsuari-san felt, being replaced by me? I guess karma really is a bitch."