IX: Just Like Back Then

You once again found yourself in the park, walking around to pass the time. School had just finished an hour ago and you were bored. Your homework for the rest of the week had been dealt with, Kuroko and Uiharu-san were both in Judgment, and Saten-san had to work on some group project so you were alone again for the mean time.

You really didn't think you'd be this bored after everything that had happened. You lost your memories and for a while, you thought you'd spend the first few weeks of school trying to catch up on your lessons relearning everything about every aspect of your life. As it turned out, neither happened because for some reason, ninety percent of your lessons were things you already knew and apparently, giving you too much details about yourself was highly discouraged so you were only given the basics.

You guessed it could've been worse. At least all your free time had given you the chance to re-familiarize the city. Whatever identity crisis you had been having has toned down as well, with all the support your friends—and some not—helping you when you needed it. And apart from those run-ins with people you had known before you forgot, your life had been pretty uneventful.

You pulled out your phone from your pocket, deciding to bug the only person you knew would be as bored as you were right now. Typing out a quick message that said 'I'm bored. Entertain me.', you sent it, your lips twitching up a little. You continued to walk as you waited for a reply, humming a little as you went.

You immediately flipped your phone open when you received a message.

Shokuhou Misaki: What am I, a clown? Entertain yourself.

You let out a laugh. You approached the bench you had spotted in front of the vending machine and sat down as you replied.

Misaka Mikoto: If I say you're a very pretty clown will you reconsider?

Shokuhou Misaki: No.

Misaka Mikoto: Oh c'mon. I know you're not busy. Hang out with me.

Shokuhou Misaki: Not all of us have enormous amounts of free time, Misaka-san. Some of us have responsibilities and work to do.

Misaka Mikoto: Pfff as if. I know for a fact that you 'ask' your clique members to do your homework. Plus, you don't have extracurricular activities. You're as free as a leaf.

Shokuhou Misaki: For your information I DO MY OWN HOMEWORK. And I may not be active in school but I have other activities outside of it. Once Heaven Canceller deems you fit enough to return to research work, you'll understand.

Misaka Mikoto: Research work?

Shokuhou Misaki: I'll explain more in detail some other time. I really am busy, Misaka-san.

Misaka Mikoto: With what exactly?

Shokuhou Misaki: That's something for me to know.

Misaka Mikoto: What the hell do you mean by that?

You drummed your fingers on the surface of the bench, waiting for her to reply but she never did. You sighed. Maybe she really was busy. You guessed that it was already nice of her to reply to your message in the first place if she really had been doing something.

Your friendship with Shokuhou was a bit funny. Your relationship with her could be defined by teasings, competitiveness and witty arguments. You two didn't even hang out much because apparently, two Level 5s being seen together was such a big deal and Shokuhou didn't like getting herself into the spotlight. You texted frequently though, and it was always fun. You hoped you two could go out for tea again some time soon.

You frowned though when you realized she was hiding something from you again. Secrets had been a constant with all your friends now. A reason for that was probably your doctor warning them not to tell you, but a part of you felt like they were hiding something else that wasn't about how you lost your memories. What was worse was that it felt like they were all in on it, like they were sheltering you from something.

You ran your hand through the back of your hair and stood up. It was no use worrying about it right now, and although you were a little displeased, you believed that they had good reasons to do it. Or maybe you were hoping they did.

You stepped towards the vending machine and pulled several coins out. You had learned from the first time you came here to always keep change in your pocket, just in case. You had also began carrying arcade tokens with you after your encounter with Sogiita. As he had said, you'd never know when you would need it.

You had just grabbed the can of juice you purchased when a familiar voice shouted, "Yo!"

You turned your head to find that same black spiky haired boy you had met in front of this very same vending machine. He was sending you a crooked grin while the hand that carried his school bag was raised in a gesture of greeting.

There was something in your chest that started forming at the sight. It tugged at your heart in a way that you couldn't describe, and all you could do in response was to smile back and say, "Hey."

He approached you, stopping a few meters away from the machine. "Been a while. You brought change this time?"

You nodded, showing him the can you had just gotten. "Thanks for last time, by the way."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it. No one else should suffer losing money because of this old thing." He said as he kicked the corner of the machine lightly.

You hummed, but then stopped when his words finally registered to you. "Wait... 'no one else'?" you sent him a playful smirk, and he immediately avoided your eyes, looking away innocently. You crossed your arms as you turned to him, saying in amusement, "Oh I gotta hear this."

"Hear what?"

"The story of how you apparently lost money to this thing," you jerked your head towards the machine as you spoke, "and how much it was exactly."

He kept his head turned away from you.

You started to grin. "Hey, c'mon. How much was it? I won't laugh at you, promise."

He sent you a glare, "Oh no, I'm not falling for that. You said that the last t—" he stopped himself, his expression suddenly turned sad and regretful as he looked away again.

You froze at the same time he did. You didn't need to ask to know what he had been about to say—the last time. "What?" you asked, your voice a mere whisper. "The last time," you repeated, the volume of your voice rising a little, "That's what you were going to say, right?"

He didn't answer, and after several moments, when you realized he wasn't going to say more, you persisted.

"You knew me, right?" you asked. The tug at your chest became more insistent, as if it was telling you that you were doing something right when you wanted to know who he had been in your life. "I've guessed before, when we first met here and you saved me from getting my money eaten." You thought he had flinched twice as you spoke, but you couldn't figure out why. "It wasn't hard to figure out, but... why didn't you say anything? I know Heaven Canceller probably told you not to tell me anything important, but why didn't you even tell me we knew each other?"

For some reason, your chest was constricting almost painfully as you spoke. It hurt. As if something terrible had happened and you wanted to cry. You didn't understand these feelings, but you followed them either way, abiding by what your unexplained feelings were telling you to do.

He was silent for another moment before he murmured, "I'm not important."

You felt rage burn in your veins. "No. You don't get to be the judge of that." You growled lowly, clenching your fists as you desperately tried to keep your emotions in check. You were mad at him, so much, but the most prominent of all was that you were upset with him. It felt like your heart was breaking and you didn't even know why. "I deserve to know. You can't just walk into my life so casually and not tell me! If you were so unimportant then why did you even bother meeting me again?"

"Because I can't stay away." He responded, and when you looked at his face, you could see the sadness that he was trying to hide and it made your heart hurt all the more. "I can't be important to you, but you are to me."

There were about a hundred things you wanted to say to that but you held them back. You weren't being fair, you realized, because as hard as it was to lose your memories, you knew it was just as hard for the people who cared about you. You looked down at your feet in shame, noticing that the can you had been holding was now a little deformed. You took a deep breath, calming yourself, before saying in a soft voice. "Can't you at least tell me your name?"

You were expecting it, but it didn't hurt any less when he gave you a sad smile and said, "I'm sorry."

You two were silent for a long moment, just standing there in front of the vending machine lost in your own thoughts. Absentmindedly, you held the can between the palms of your hands and used your ability to bring it back to its original shape. Using your ability for tenuous activities was still impossible for you but you could do little things like this.

The silence was broken when you heard him sigh. You turned your head towards him to see him looking at the other direction. "I have to go." He said. You felt a little disappointed at that. "I know this hasn't been the best second meeting, but I'll still be coming by here every now and then. It's your choice if you want me to see you again."

You frowned a little at his words. "Don't say it like I won't want to."

He let out a mocking smirk. "Well, you shouldn't."

You wanted to argue but you couldn't find the energy to. Who was this guy who obviously cared a lot about you but didn't think he deserved you to care back? It was confusing and your chest only felt heavier as you thought about it.

"Bye then." He suddenly said, walking away from you.

"Wait." You called out before he could take another step. He stopped and looked expectantly at you. For a moment, your mind went blank. You didn't know what to do or what to say. But then you noticed the can of juice that you still held and threw it at him. He was surprised at your sudden action but he caught it nonetheless. "It's thanks for the last time. Now we're even."

He looked at you for a moment, then at the can in his hand before her lips twitched up into a smile. "Thanks."

You felt heat rushing up to your cheeks and tried to shrug indifferently, looking away. "Don't mention it." You tried to distract yourself by fumbling for more change to put into the vending machine. You couldn't figure out why you were suddenly so nervous. The quick shifts of emotions you had left you a little disoriented.

"You know, I heard that there's a legendary granny-like oblique kick at a 45 degree angle that can make any malfunctioning machine work." He told you with an easy grin. You blinked. "Maybe you should try it."

With that, he turned around and went on his way, leaving you staring at his retreating back. Your brows scrunched up as you thought about what he said. "Is he insinuating I should steal?" you murmured to yourself, looking back at the vending machine with critical eyes. After his suggestion, you were almost sure that people had been kicking this thing, if the dents on the side were any indication. You thought about it for a moment, wondering if committing a crime was worth to satisfy your curiosity.

With your stare still intensely locked onto the machine, you took a stance, hopping lightly on your feet before twisting around and doing a skirt-level kick.

"Chaser!"

A wonderful clunking sound came from the machine, followed by the terrifying sound of security robots announcing an act of vandalism.


"You're not kicking it today?"

Your hand paused for a second when he spoke, and then continued to reach for the can that the vending machine had popped out. You were aware that you had uncharacteristically bought from the vending machine instead of kicking it for free drinks like usual, and of course, he'd notice that as well.

You opened the can of juice and took a few huge gulps before letting out a content sigh. You shrugged in reply to his earlier inquiry. "Didn't feel like wasting energy for it."

He chuckled a little. "You should conserve energy more often then."

"Shut up, you idiot." You said, but both of you knew there wasn't any real hostility to it. Smiling a little, you turned to him. "You're taking remedial classes again?"

He let out a defeated sigh. "Well, this idiot is just unfortunate enough to skip so many classes that remedial classes are required even though I passed the subject." He moved beside you and slipped a couple of coins into the machine before pushing a button. His own can of juice dropped down and he bent down to pick it up. "Thanks for that by the way. At least attendance is the only thing I have to make up for."

"Don't mention it."

"Why don't I treat you to something?" He said, taking a sip from his juice. "It's the least I could do."

You elbowed him playfully. "I just said don't mention it. You don't need to do anything for me."

"Then why don't you do something for me?" He grinned at you, and your heart skipped a beat. "Will you go out with me for lunch? My treat. Just don't go picking something too expensive. I'm not a rich ojou-sama like you."

You felt your cheeks heat up but you tried to keep calm and replied. "Sure." You fought the goofy smile that was threatening to escape your lips. "I know just the place."


Author's Notes:

yes. uhm. hi. no excuses. just sorry i haven't updated in... uh 3 months? yeap. man this fanfic is not that great to make you guys wait that long for a chapter XD

One thing that I really don't like about Touma's character is his hero complex. like, he's surrounded by really powerful friends and yet he still thinks he has to save all of them? I mean, it has gotten better in the few last novels i read (which is NT12 i think XD) but yeah being overprotective is annoying because it means you don't think that person can take care of themself which in turn means you're insulting them :D sorry i'm channeling my anger from another fandom...

BUT ANYWAY. I didn't realize Mikoto and Misaki are like... totally flirting on text... the BLONDE AND BRUNETTE LESBIAN TROPE IS UNSTOPPABLE. haha no but don't worry this is Kamikoto through and through ;D

Also Kamikoto has been having study dates before this fic. And also actual kinda dates.

So my update schedule is still inexistent but i do have a good news for this fic. Until last chapter I still have no idea where the story is gonna go and was just writing ideas that may be cool. but now I've finished the outline and there's a tentative 20 chapters in total! We're not even halfway there! :D

anyhow. If you find grammar errors and stuff please tell me :DD

Next Chapter: You're Still You to Me

Ten bucks no one will get this right XD

I hope you guys are still reading this! XD

~~61wisampa