Chapter V: A Secret Makes a Woman, Woman
You tiredly rubbed your eyelids with your thumb and forefinger. It wasn't even lunch yet but already, you were ready to head back to bed.
You had been released from the hospital yesterday, and you, your friends and your Mama had celebrated it with a nice dinner in one of the expensive looking restaurants in the city. You were a little sad that your Papa had had to go on another business trip so soon. You wanted to spend more time with him. He had called you around lunch time that day though, checking up on you and your release.
The dinner had been great, though you found it slightly unfair that you were able to remember which spoon or fork to use in each dish but forgot everything about yourself.
'Great work, brain.'
The problem had presented itself when you went back to your dorm. You had seen your room earlier that day (and you were very pleased to see that there was an adorable bear stuffed toy on your bed) wanting to familiarize yourself a little. Your things were all arranged, something that you just knew was your Mama's doing, and when you had sat on your bed to take everything in, it almost felt like you never stopped sleeping there at all. But since your memory was MIA, you failed to predict that your roommate could potentially be a pervert.
Correction, Shirai-san was a complete and utter pervert.
She had tried to do things to you when you had your back turned. Things that you would rather never remember again. It resulted to you accidentally releasing an uncontrolled amount of electricity (thank you, survival instincts) and frying the whole dorm building's circuits (no thank you, angry Dorm Mistress). But since she knew about your condition and the fact that Shirai-san apparently used to harass you on a daily basis (why the hell didn't she tell you?!), she let you off the hook—just this once, she said.
Letting out a tired sigh, you walked around the School Garden. You had hoped that revisiting the places you used to frequent would help jog your memory but so far, nothing had come back to you. The School Garden was rather impressive though, you thought as you looked around the streets. It gave off an ambiance of being in a foreign country. The brick roads and artful streetlight were a huge difference compared to the rest of Academy City. It certainly sent off the vibe of wealthy ojou-samas. Until now, you couldn't believe you were actually one of them. You certainly weren't as sophisticated as half the girls who had greeted you in your walk.
That was another thing that had been bothering you. Your Dorm Mistress had warned you to be extremely polite to everybody, especially to strangers. You had known of your reputation as the Level 5 poster girl of Academy City but you hadn't expected your apparent fame within the Garden. It was still a little bit disconcerting.
You kind of wished that Shirai-san, Uiharu-san or Saten-san could come with you today. Unfortunately, the two Judgment members had work and Saten-san had make up classes to attend so you were left to your own devices. You originally wanted to visit Tokiwadai so you won't accidentally get lost on your first day, but the School Garden had been more of a sight than you had expected, distracting you for a while from your goal.
You took your phone—an adorable Gekota style flip phone—and looked at the time. It wasn't lunch yet but it was late enough to warrant getting a snack after breakfast. You looked around you and found a cafe named Pasticceria Manicagni. It seemed pretty fancy, seeing as the shop's name was Italian. This fact made you wonder how you even knew what language it was. It could've been some ancient Latin and you shouldn't have known. But then again, you were a little surprised when you had accidentally read a whole book in English and realized only that it wasn't in Japanese when you started telling your friends about it in that language. Uiharu-san and Saten-san barely understood you, and it was only through their shocked and perplexed expressions that you noticed you had been talking in English.
You shook your head, focusing back on the little shop. It seemed quaint and small, but there was some sort of familiarity that tugged you inside. Pushing the door to the shop, the bell clinked as you immediately admired the selection of cakes in your view.
"Welcome!" came the shop's attendant. You stepped closer the transparent shelf that held the cakes, looking at each of them. "What would you like, miss?"
You took a moment to look over the delicious looking cakes before answering. "I'd like a Blueberry cake please." You thought for a moment and decided to get Shirai-san, Saten-san and Uiharu-san some cake as well, adding, "And a Strawberry Costrata, a Monte Blanco and a Cream Cheese Cake to take home."
"My, Misaka-san, I didn't know you had such sweetness ability. Can you really eat all those cakes?" A very feminine voice piped up from behind you.
You turned and saw a girl with long blonde hair and starry eyes smiling mischievously at you. You blinked, thinking for a moment that the eyes must be a mere trick of the light but after staring at them for a good three seconds, you realized they weren't.
"Excuse me," the attendant once again caught your attention, "What tea would you like to order?"
You were still a little too surprised from seeing the girl's eyes so you said the first tea you could think of. "Jasmine, please."
You watched the attendant nod and then retreat to the back of the shop, presumably to brew that tea you had requested, before you turned back to the girl. It was only then that you were able to fully look at her. Thin white gloves that reached high above her elbows, a bag with the same design as her eyes slung on her shoulder and her well-endowed chest. You felt a little irritated looking at it, but you mentally told yourself how ridiculous it is to get mad at a stranger just because she had bigger boobs. You met her eyes and stayed silent for a moment, feeling something stir in your mind the longer you looked at her.
"You see something you like?" the girl smirked wider.
Your brow twitched. "Annoying would be the proper word."
The girl had the gall to giggle. "As always, you were never receptive to my advances."
You blushed at her words. "W-w-what? A-advanc—what are you—"
She broke out into a full on laughter at your response. "Oh my. You're just as easy to tease as ever, Misaka-san! I'm glad that hasn't changed."
You gritted your teeth in irritation and was about to shout back at her when you realized what she had just said. You stopped and looked dumbly at her as you asked, "You... you know me, don't you?"
Her laughter quickly died with your words, seemingly comprehending what exactly you had meant, and all she offered was a sad smile. "I did." She answered quietly.
Her use of tense didn't elude you, and you waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn't, you pressed, albeit hesitantly. "What were you to me?"
She turned away. "A rival, I guess. You didn't like me very much."
You looked at the ground as she said that, feeling a little guilty. You may not remember her but there was something in her gaze, a feeling in your gut, that maybe you could be—could've been?—friends.
You glanced at her again, seeing her still turned away from you, and pensively, you asked her, "What was I to you?"
There was a short moment when she seemed to have frozen, but the next, she was once again smiling mischievously, her literally twinkling starry eyes looking at you with mirth. "Now that is an interesting question, isn't it?"
You let out a sigh, though it sounded more like a groan. "You're not gonna answer me either, are you?" You said when you realized the fact.
"A girl has to keep some secrets to herself after all." She just replied with that annoying smirk of hers.
You narrowed her eyes at her, retorting, "I hate secrets."
"You'll soon learn its importance I assure you."
At that moment, the attendant of the cafe returned, pointing you to a small table where they had set your cake and tea. You nodded to the employee in thanks and turned back to the girl, contemplating only for a second before saying, "You wanna join me for a little while?"
She shook her head. "Ah-ah, Misaka-san. If you're gonna use your persuasion ability to get me to tell you I—"
"I'm not gonna ask, I promise." You told her, because as tired as you were of the secrets, you were also getting sick of having to ask people you didn't know you knew. You jerked your head towards the direction of your table and offered her a small smile. "C'mon. It's my treat."
She stared back at you for a long moment, before you witnessed her eyes soften and say, "Okay."
If you two weren't friends before, maybe this was your second chance to be one.
–
Shoukuhou Misaki was an odd girl, you thought as you made your way back to your dorm. You were passing through the park as you recalled your little meeting with the blonde.
She had teased you mercilessly, irritating you at first, and you had teased her back, once you found out her weaknesses—she was horribly physically unfit but loved stuffing herself with food that will only help her gain weight.
After a while though, you eased into a more civilized conversation. You had learned—or rather, relearned—that she was the 5th Level 5 and was the most powerful psychic in Academy City. You had asked her if she could read your mind too and had said that no, she couldn't because of the electrobarrier created by your ability. You had asked her to try anyway—curiosity killed the cat—and even though she was reluctant, because apparently your doctor had told her not to put any more pressure on you, she agreed after you had incessantly requested it. You immediately regretted it because it had hurt like hell which resulted to her telling you 'I told you so,' with a shrug.
In the end, you two had exchanged numbers ("Take care of it, Misaka-san. Not many have the privilege of getting the Queen's number so try not to let it get leaked.") and you felt like it was a start of a great friendship that would've probably never existed if you hadn't lost your memory.
Maybe forgetting everything wasn't so bad after all.
You smiled to yourself, swinging the bag of cakes that you held in your right hand lightly as you walked. The last few days had been stressful, with all the secrets and going back to your dorm and your pervert roommate trying to harass you. It was nice talking to Shokuhou. It was nice meeting another friend.
You bumped lightly with someone as you turned around the corner, and you immediately jumped back, apologizing. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it." The boy you had bumped into merely continued to walk, looking nonchalantly in front of him. You weren't even able to see his face, and you watched him walk away. You were about to turn around when he spoke again. "Ah, Number 3."
You looked at him in surprise, and he still had his back to you when he tossed you something. You caught it with both hands as he said, "Something as thanks."
You blinked at him and looked at what he had thrown, seeing a bar of chocolate. You quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Hey, wait, what's—" you began, but when you looked up, he was gone.
You were pretty sure he was a Level 5. Who else would call you by rank? Shokuhou had mentioned it was a weird form of endearment (like hell) or acknowledgement between you seven. You chose not to question it at that point. It must've been lucky of you to find four of the remaining six Level 5s, you thought dryly, although they had been the one to visit you, you were sure.
You stared at the empty space where you saw him last, and let out a sigh, muttering to yourself, "What is it with Level 5s and dramatics?"
–
You pounded at the closed door in front of you as you tried to catch your breath. You didn't want to be here. And you really didn't want to do this but you had no choice.
The door opened to reveal Shokuhou's eyes wide in surprise. It only lasted for a second though before she reverted back to her usual demeanor whenever she would talk to you. She smirked a little as she crossed her arms. "Oh my. To what do I owe the pleasure of Misaka-san visiting me in my dorm room. I didn't know you even knew my room. Were you perhaps stalking me?"
The usual irritation that her words always brought came to you and you snapped back at her before you could think. "I don't have time for this." You growled lowly at her and her face dropped into a serious expression. Her eyes narrowed as you glared right back at her. You swallowed. Normally, your pride would never let yourself ask Shokuhou—of all people—for help, but you were desperate and your pride wasn't worth a damn compared to him being safe. "I need your help."
She let out a mocking snort, tossing her long blonde hair behind her with a hand. "And since when did you need myhelp, Misaka-san?"
"I know that you know what's happening out there." You gritted your teeth. She was pushing your buttons again, you knew, but you didn't have the patience to deal with it right now. "And I know you and I were never friends but I need your help because I can't do this alone."
She gave you a deadpanned look. "What makes you think that I'll risk my own neck for you?"
"Then do it for him!" You shouted. You were mildly aware of the stares that your conversation had gathered but you ignored them, locking with Shokuhou's gaze. "I don't know what your history is with him, but right now I don't care!"
You two held gazes, waiting for the other to submit first. But after a moment, you felt desperation seize your heart once again. You couldn't do this alone, and if she said no, your chances of saving him would drop. He could die without her help. You took a step back, unflinching from the eyebrow that she rose at your action, and bowed.
"Please..." you asked in a whisper as you looked at your shoes, desperation coating your voice, "Please help me save him."
You felt her move and you closed your eyes, readying yourself for the slamming of her door. But instead, you felt warm hands push against your shoulders, straightening your body as she murmured, "As if you even had to beg, Misaka-san."
You looked at her with wide eyes, surprised at the softness of her voice. For the first time, you witnessed her truly smile and you thought briefly that if this was the real Shokuhou, you would'nt have minded being her friend.
The sound of her remote brought you back to your senses and you gave her a disapproving glance. She must've caught it because she said, "We can't let anyone know about our conversation. I'd rather leave my clique out of this mess."
The corners of your mouth began to twitch up. "I guess you're just another softie after all."
She turned snobbishly away from you. "Hmp. I do not know what you are talking about."
You felt your heart lighten. You have more help. You can do this. You could save him.
"I'll need to do some preparations." She told you, catching your eyes. "I'm assuming you'll seek for the others as well? Number 6 is a little elusive but I know how to track him down."
You nodded. "Yes, please. It's why I went to you first."
"Don't I feel special." She remarked playfully, and you even managed to let out a soft laugh. You met gazes once again and she said, "Now let's go and save our damn idiot of a hero, shall we?"
A grin was your reply. "Let's."
Author's Notes:
I have to say this is one of my favorite chapters so far XD Also, in my mind NT11 never happened so yeah
Let me just say I'm not supposed to be posting this because i am basically procrastinating and i'm dying of all my school requirements and yeah i'll keep this author's notes short coz i'm coding right now XD
Next Chapter: Call Me By My Name
This one's easy to guess. i think. maybe. probably not. but yeah.
Thank for reading!
~61wisampa
