Chapter VI: Call Me by My Name
"Onee-sama..."
You froze when you heard your roommate's voice, your hand hovering over the remaining tokens from your Gekota coin bank. After a moment, you resumed your work, putting the rest of the coins into your pocket and rearranging your coin bank as you said, "Welcome back, Kuroko. How was Judgment work?"
You turned around just in time to see her open her mouth before stopping herself. She seemed conflicted and hesitant. You merely looked back at her blankly, giving nothing away as you waited for her to answer. When she did, she pointedly look away from you. "It was fine. AntiSkill had let us leave for the night. They said they'd takeover the night shifts in guarding the Windowless building so our help isn't needed at the moment."
You watched her as she fidgeted under your gaze, rubbing her arm self-consciously as she took quick glances from you. You gave her a smile. "That's great then. At least you'll have some rest. I know you've been stressed these past few days because of your Judgment work. Try to loosen up a little, even just tonight."
"And you, Onee-sama?" she asked, sending you a pleading gaze, "What do you plan to do tonight?"
You looked down at your feet. You weren't a fool, and she wasn't either. She knew what you were intending to do, and you knew she did.
"I have some stuff to take care of. Don't wait up for me." You sent her what you hoped was a reassuring smile, but it was obvious that it didn't have its intended effect.
Her brows furrowed deeper and you tried to ignore it. The other six would be waiting for you. You had to leave now.
You began to walk towards the door, stopping for a moment beside her as you faced the opposite sides of your room. You hesitated only for a moment before putting a hand on top of head and saying, "I'll be going now, Kuroko."
You made your way to the door silently. You opened it, only to stop midway when she called out to you again.
"Onee-sama," her voice was soft and sad, and you chose not to turn her way so you wouldn't have to see the expression that was on her face. She didn't need to know. She didn't need to get involved. It was better this way. You heard her take a breath, before saying in a happier tone, "Take care."
You can't help but smile a little, and with your back still facing her, you nodded. "I will."
"I swear, Shirai-san, if you do this stunt one more time I will shock you until you're as black as your name!" You growled as you stomped your foot on the back of your currently tied up roommate.
Shirai-san was on the floor, her arms tied securely behind her back and her ankles in the same tight bind. She had once again snuck into the bathroom while you were taking a bath and tried to do... things with you, and it took all of your self-restraint not to shock her the moment you saw her. You had been surrounded by water after all and though your roommate's crimes could very well deserve a death penalty, you didn't really want to hurt her...that much.
Plus, the Dorm Mistress still terrified you and you wanted to live until tomorrow.
You now stood at the doorway of the bathroom behind Shirai-san who was still on the floor. You had enough decency to put a towel around you and drape another on top of your pervert of a roommate before tying her up, so thankfully, nothing important was in plain sight. Still, the whole thing had really left a mark and you were sure you were scarred for the rest of your life. It had been more than fifteen minutes since she had barged in and you had thrown all the bottles you could reach at her face, and the blush had yet to fade. You had never been so embarrassed in your life.
Shirai-san let out a whiny tone. "But Onee-sama~ I was only looking for some skinship! We have not had any time for ourselves and—"
"And you thought that barging in while I took a bath was a great idea?! I COULD CHARGE YOU FOR SEXUAL HARRASSMENT!"
"Mou~ but Onee-sama—"
"Stop. Just, stop." You rubbed your temples before pinching the bridge of your nose, trying to dissipate the growing stress in your body. As much as you appreciate your friend helping you regain your memories by acting normal around you, it was a little too much for you to handle something like this right now. It hadn't even been a week since you got released for heaven's sake and already, Shirai-san had been trying to do things to you that was a little too much for someone you had only met a little over two weeks ago.
In all honesty though, you didn't want to get used to this. How in the world did your previous self handle this?
You let out a tired sigh. You noticed that she had stopped squirming so you decided to loosen the strings. You knew she could've teleported herself out of it—she was obviously not afraid to break some of the dorm's rules as long as the Dorm Mistress never found out—so you guessed that it was her own little way of showing you that she would stop if you really didn't like it, and that she was, to some extent, merely joking. But sometimes, jokes could go too far and she had really picked the wrong time for it.
Once the thin ropes were loose, she pushed herself up from the floor and you turned around, giving her the privacy she had not given you to fix herself. You were still honestly a little irritated too so you just told her, "I'll finish taking a bath. Once I get out, and only when I get out, you can take yours."
You felt her stand up and retreat, before murmuring a soft response. "Alright, Onee-sama."
You went back into the bathroom and closed the door without another word.
Shirai-san was thankfully quiet for the rest of the night. You honestly weren't in the mood to talk so you appreciated it. You were still a little mad for the incident earlier, and you knew she must've sensed it because she stayed clear from you.
You sat on your bed, your back against the wall, reading a book in English that your mother had given you before she left Academy City a few days before. It was a pretty cute romance novel about two people who met in an airport, and ended up taking the same plane with their seats next to each other. Your mood had considerably lightened because of it.
It was then that Shirai-san cautiously spoke for the first time since the incident. "Onee-sama?"
Her nervous voice immediately caught your attention, but you feigned disinterest and simply let out a questioning hum in reply.
"I'm sorry." You finally looked up when she said that, and you found her standing in front of you as she fiddled with her thumbs. You raised an eyebrow to prompt her to continue. "I shouldn't have done what I did. I went too far, and I apologize for that."
"Are you apologizing because you pushed me too far, or because you know what you did was wrong?" you asked back.
"I uhm..." she looked to the side, avoiding your gaze, "I—both?"
You sighed, grabbing your phone and using it as a temporary bookmark as you set aside the book you were reading. "Look, you probably meant well, Shirai-san,"—although right now you had no idea how—"but even though this was a normal occurrence between the two of us before, you have to remember that I'd only just met you. It would take me some time to grow...tolerant of your actions, and until then, all I ask of you is to tone it down a bit." You told her softly as she once again met your gaze. "And I'm sorry that I have to point this out, but I'm not the Misaka Mikoto that you knew—not yet, at least, and it would take a while to get her back."
She must've caught on to some of your current insecurities because she violently shook her head in disagreement. "That's not true, Onee-sama! You're you. You may not believe it but you're still the same Onee-sama that I know and love. Sometimes, I even forget that you had lost your memories but then—" she suddenly cut herself off and shook her head again, "It is all my doing. I had gone too far. Even if you had not lost your memories, it would've still been too much for you. I am sorry I got carried away."
"It's alright." You told her gently, smiling. "I'll try not to get too mad next time too as long as you promise not to go too far again."
She smiled back. "I will."
She was about to go back to her desk when you called out to her, making her halt. "Shirai-san?"
She turned to you. "Yes?"
"Why do you call me Onee-sama?"
She was frozen for a moment before her face melted into a melancholic smile. You wondered if you had said something wrong. "It's a rather long story, Onee-sama."
Maybe it was selfish, it was obvious that the memory was only making her sad, but you want to know why Shirai Kuroko was so special that Misaka Mikoto had let her call her big sister even though she was a complete and utter pervert.
"We have time." You insisted.
Her smile widened a little as she sat down on her bed, facing you. Maybe it wasn't the wrong thing to ask after all.
You two had been talking for more than an hour when she finished. Your first meeting in the alley, your supposed delinquencies, the junior-freshman partnership thing, the spice research facility, the kidnapping; the facts almost went over your head, but in the end, you were able to get more information about your friendship with Shirai-san than you had hoped for.
"Do I even want to know how you managed to switch rooms to be my roommate?" You asked her amusedly, "I thought you needed my signature for that?"
"That is a secret that you best not know, Onee-sama." Shirai-san proudly said.
You just laughed. "I can't believe we got into all that trouble just a few weeks after we met."
"You have a talent for getting into trouble, that much I've learned."
You merely grinned at her. "Well, thank you for telling me, Shirai-san. I really appreciate it."
"It is no big matter, Onee-sama. I'm just glad I was able to help."
"I should thank you for taking care of me all the time too. I sounded like such a handful. I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow as thanks."
She shook her head. "You do not have to do that, Onee-sama, but..." she suddenly became hesitant before saying, "I have something to ask of you."
You looked at her in curiosity. "What is it?"
"Can you please call me Kuroko?" she asked, almost shyly. "It had always been how you addressed me, and I would appreciate it if you do so again... but if you're not comfortable, I completely understand—"
"Alright, Kuroko," her eyes widened at your words and you gave her a cheeky grin, "We should go to sleep. It's late."
She was beaming as she said, "Hai, Onee-sama!"
Author's Notes:
Hi, I'm alive! :DDD yyyeeaaaahh. but anyway! The story-of-how-Mikoto-and-Kuroko-met that was mentioned above is actually based on a fanfiction story A Certain Destined Introduction by Cun-sama. XD I distinctly remember asking her about it and she gave me permission! I'm pretty sure everyone has read that story and to be honest, I proclaim it as canon :D
Anyways! If anyone is still reading, thanks! Also, this is self beta'd so there are mistakes there somewhere probably. so tell me :)))
By the way, I don't know if anyone noticed, but aside from the first scene on the first chapter (a scene which is set after this chapter), Mikoto only ever called Kuroko as Shirai-san :)))) see! The Chapter titles are not random!
Next Chapter: Our Third First Meeting
HMMM... I WONDER WHO THIS ONE WILL BE
XD
Please tell me it's as obvious as I think it is
~~61wisampa
