Chapter 15 - The Same Mistake
A messy white room, full of boxes and no decoration. This is not what Kamijou Touma wanted to see when he woke up every morning, but this is what he was seeing now. A tired sigh echoed through that room that was so full but seemed so empty.
"I guess I slept more than usual" Grumbled the spiky haired boy, grabbing his pillow and staring at it as if it were a teddy bear "I wanted to put the blame on you, Mr. expensive looking pillow, but the truth is that I'm getting more tired every day. And probably crazier, considering that I'm talking to an inanimate object"
Putting the pillow back in place, the boy sat up in his bed and looked at the mess in his room. He had to fix it soon, but every time he thought about it, Kamijou felt like going back to sleep.
"Stopping to think about it, I don't know if it was a good decision to have moved here. Sleeping in such a big bed, living in such a spacious room... wearing expensive clothes that I paid for with dirty money" Kamijou got up from the bed and went to the window, opening the curtains and allowing the sunlight to wash away the darkness "Honestly, I don't even know what I am anymore... or what I should be"
After changing his clothes, he walked lazily down that corridor. His destination was the dining room, where your teammates should be having breakfast. Nobody woke up very early in that house, the exception being Kamijou (sometimes) who was supposed to go to class today, but he wasn't in the mood enough to even cook, much less go to a place where he was destined to be a failure.
"Nobody seems to have woken up yet"
Kamijou took a bowl from one of the cupboards and an unopened cereal box, then he went to the refrigerator where he took out a jug of milk. That giant dining room had two tables: a rectangular table more than 10 meters long that was in the middle of the room, and a smaller round table with room for about eight people that was to the right of the entrance and next to the cabinets. This round table was generally used for breakfast, which Kamijou had learned was where the ITEM girls chatted trivia almost every morning.
'What seat does she usually sit in? What am I talking about, she will sit next to me is obvious. On second thought, it would be better if I went back to my room and continued studying those building plans.'
The boy's thoughts were interrupted at that instant by a person who entered the room silently. He looked in the direction of the girl, who for some reason froze in place for half a second before continuing to walk toward a cupboard.
"Good morning, Takitsubo" Kamijou spoke, taking a seat at the round table.
"Good morning, Kamijou-san" The inexpressive girl chose a seat on the other side of the table.
"You can take that honorific off my name, we are teammates after all"
He opened the cereal box and served himself, then he slid the box toward the girl on the other side of the table. Kamijou watched as Takitsubo put some cereal into her bowl in complete silence, which lasted longer than he expected.
"I was going to cook today, but I ended up giving up" The boy began, starting to eat his breakfast "Something tells me you like my food, so I'm sorry about that"
"It's okay"
Silence returned after those emotionless words. Kamijou began to feel a little uncomfortable about the whole thing. The boy knew that Takitsubo was not the most communicative person in the world, but he hoped that at least he could hold a pleasant conversation with her, but the girl seemed to have other plans. The biggest problem in all this is that he noticed something strange in the girl's behavior, as if she could not relax when in his presence. She was disguising this very well due to her completely expressionless face, but Kamijou noticed how she avoided looking at him. This was not a good thing considering that they soon had to risk their lives on a battlefield.
"Hey Takitsubo, would you mind helping me with something?" He asked. The boy had to make an effort to understand what the girl was so concerned about.
"If it's something I can do, I don't see a problem"
"Great. It's not difficult at all, I just need someone to test this" He raised his left hand, activating his LIB "I hope you're not afraid of heights"
"I don't quite understand it. What is that thing?"
"Oh that's right, I forgot that only Shizuri knows about this" Kamijou flashed a discreet smile as he noticed his silly mistake "This is a portable harpoon made with nanotechnology. I've tested it a few times but I've never given anyone a ride"
Walking around with something like that was dangerous since someone might identify that prototype, which would arouse suspicion, so Kamijou was careful to explain, since the real secret was where and how he had gotten it, something he would only confide in Shizuri. Hearing this, the girl still looked confused.
"I think I understand what you want me to do, but why are you asking me to do something like this? I'm sure Mugino would agree to help you."
Kamijou was silent for several seconds. He ate his breakfast while thinking of a plausible answer to give that girl in the pink clothes. The truth was that he didn't want to give the 'real' reason, so he preferred to say something that would make sense.
"I plan to go to that amusement park, which is where the entrance to the facility we're going to raid today is. It would be good if you could take a look around, since you're the only one who hasn't seen it in person." Kamijou argued, but the girl still looked confused. "We'll use the grappling hook to climb a nearby building and observe the park area using binoculars."
"I see" she replied simply, returning to silence.
"Soooo.. is that a yes?"
The girl opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she saw Kamijou's gaze shift to the entrance of the dining room. Noticing the boy's expression become rigid, she turned to see the person who had caused this effect on him.
"Good morning" Shizuri said, going over to one of the cupboards and picking up a bowl
"Good morning" replied the girl in the pink outfit.
"Good morning" Kamijou looked away at that instant.
As expected, the girl sat down next to the person who interested her so much, flashing him a smile, who in turn focused his gaze on his bowl of cereal. The spiky-haired boy slouched in his seat, as if he didn't feel comfortable being there.
"Did you sleep well Kamijou?"
"I slept very well, thank you for asking" He replied, in an almost inaudible voice
"Good for you. I didn't sleep very well," Shizuri said, picking up the box of cereal and milk and filling her bowl. "I think I need to change my bed. What were you two talking about? Don't stop just because I'm here."
"I was asking Takitsubo a favor. We're going to District 11 to test my grappling hook."
"Oh yeah, can I come with you? It would be great to see this thing in action." Shizuri didn't hide her dissatisfaction when she heard that. She slid her right hand into the boy's left hand that was resting on the table.
"Better not" The boy removed his left hand from the table and scratched his head with it, which made the tea-colored haired girl not a bit happy "Three people draw a lot more attention than two"
Shizuri took a loud breath upon hearing that lame excuse. Instead of answering something, she waited for the boy to return his hand to the table, but he preferred to place it on his thigh. To her it didn't matter where her hand was, as long as she was holding it was enough to make her calm, and she really needed to calm down right now.
"I guess we'd better go. Right Takitsubo?" The boy asked, getting up from the table.
An expression of mild irritation came over Meltdowner's face when she failed to grasp the boy's hand, who turned away from her and started walking towards the door. Noticing Takitsubo also getting up, the level 5 was quicker and practically ran to the spiky-haired boy.
"Kamijou, can we have a little talk before you guys go?" Shizuri asked, grabbing that left arm as if she thought it would be the last time she would have the opportunity.
"Can't this wait a bit? The mission is tonight, so we have no time to waste."
"I don't know if I can wait any longer. You never know when it's too late" She started playing with a lock of hair at that instant.
"You talk as if something bad is going to happen. Don't be pessimistic, everything will be fine."
She squeezed that left arm even tighter at those words. His voice didn't have the energy it used to have, which made the girl apprehensive. Meltdowner didn't know what to say at that moment, she just remained silent and clenched her fists. The truth was there was something that had been bothering her since yesterday, and she needed to get it off her chest as soon as possible, but the boy kept trying to get away from her.
'I don't know what to do. Why is he acting like this? Why doesn't he look me in the eye and tell me what's bothering him?' She thought, restraining herself from expressing what she was feeling.
"I need to go now" Kamijou said, looking down at his left arm. That was a silent request, one that Shizuri did not want to accept.
"Okay"
Still clenching her fists, she reluctantly turned away from the boy she didn't want to leave. She turned her back and put both hands on that round table, not wanting to look at those two who left in hurried steps. Closing her eyes, Shizuri concentrated on those sounds of footsteps echoing down the hall, until they were inaudible.
Meltdowner stood for several seconds with her eyes closed, waiting to make sure Kamijou had already left the apartment. Upon opening her eyes, the girl exploded. First, a beam of Meltdowner shot out in a random direction, melting everything in its path, then the girl grabbed a chair with both hands and threw it, shattering the glass window. Still not satisfied, she started knocking over every chair she saw in front of her. Pots were smashed, the cereal box turned to ashes thanks to her ability, and the round table was now overturned on the floor. She only calmed down when that dining room was almost unrecognizable.
"I don't understand" Her voice was weak, as if she had just tried to run a marathon, but collapsed before the finish line "Why is he walking away?"
The girl sat down on the cold floor, clutching her head with both hands. She stood there for about 5 minutes, just gazing into the emptiness and trying to understand where she had gone wrong.
xxxx-xxxx
*The day before
That day was like a dream. The girl was so happy that she could hardly think straight. She felt light, as if the world no longer had the strength to hold her back, and now she could finally fly without worrying about the consequences.
'This is perfect' the girl thought, smiling like a child who had gotten exactly what she wanted as a birthday present.
At that moment, Kamijou held her waist as he stared intensely at her. Shizuri didn't care that he hadn't heard her story, she was too stunned to think about something so trivial. She was the center of his attention now. She and only she.
'He likes me, doesn't he? I wish he had said it out loud to be sure but he gave me all the signs I needed. He was so bold today, flirting, hugging me, and even complimented my perfume. Not only my perfume, he bombarded me with so many compliments that I almost lost control.
The girl looked discreetly around them, she didn't want to look away, but she needed to make sure that no one would get in their way now.
'There is no one here. That attendant did an excellent job. Thank you girl whose name I can't remember, I hope you enjoy the small fortune I'm going to send to your account, you deserve it. That's it Shizuri, forget about phase 3, this is the perfect moment to tell him exactly how I feel. Take a deep breath and keep smiling. Or should I put on a serious expression? I guess that makes sense... damn I am too happy, I can't stop smiling. How can I say something so important without stuttering in this state? I'm melting here. No matter, I have to do it. It's Kamijou after all, I bet he knows exactly what I'm about to do now, so there's no need to be nervous. I've already won, I just need to claim my prize.'
With her heart racing, the girl used her right hand to ruffle his hair. Her breathing was a little unsteady, so she decided to wait until her body cooperated with the important task she needed to perform. However, she soon realized that it was impossible to pull herself together, so she decided that this was how it was going to be.
"Kamijou, I have something important to tell you" Her voice was as sweet as honey. This was a tone that even she didn't know she was capable of producing "I know that maybe I should wait a little longer, but the truth is that I've already been waiting too long, so..."
The girl stopped talking abruptly when the boy raised his right hand and stroked her cheek again. That simple gesture caused that addictive feeling of static electricity to flow through her body, which was enough to make her heart beat so hard that her lips refused to move, as if the words were simply stuck in the middle of the path. Trying to pull herself together, she didn't even notice when her left hand moved to meet his right hand. In that instant, she began to wonder if it wasn't better to use her lips in another way. Words were not necessary, all she would need to do was lean a little closer toward him and her point would be as clear as day. But she snapped out of her ecstasy as soon as she realized that his hand moved away from her.
"It's getting a little late, I think we better get on with the shopping" Kamijou spoke, walking away from her. The girl wasn't fully in this world yet, so she couldn't react in time to stop him from walking away from her. "Tomorrow will be an intense day, so we'd better finish this and concentrate on the important matter, right?"
"Y-yes" She replied in an automatic way, as if her brain simply wanted to agree with whatever he was saying.
'No. What the hell did I just say? I was so close... never mind, when I get his attention again I'll pick up where I left off. Wait, it's better if I let him regain the initiative. Yes, he's in aggressive mode today, so it's only a matter of time before he flirts with me again. Maybe he'll tell me some of those interesting things he thought up. This day is going to be amazing.'
Unfortunately for her, the day only got worse from then on.
xxxx-xxxx
"Was he angry when I said he was being vague again?" Meltdowner brought her hand to her chin. She was beginning to pull herself together "Why am I so stupid? That implies that I don't trust him, even if I didn't mean to. He even told me a secret and this is how I treat him? Now he's turned away from me."
Their solitary discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the three other girls who lived in that house. They entered the dining room and for a moment they were sure that level 5 had just fought an intruder. Shizuri's life was easier when violence was the solution to everything, but this girl was facing an enemy she couldn't defeat using only brute force.
"Basically, what happened here?" Frenda looked confused as she saw the dining room hit by a natural disaster.
Kinuhata and Kaibi preferred to remain silent, since they had a vague idea why that room had been left in such a condition. The girl in the dress had even raised her guard and was more than ready to use her skill on that level 5 clearly irritated about something.
"What do you think happened?"
Shizuri asked that rhetorical question and stood up, dusting off her clothes. Sighing inaudibly, she contemplated for a moment the mess she had caused. At this point, it was better that she had demolished that entire room, at least then she would probably be calmer.
"I've 'slightly' lost control, but I feel fine now" Meltdowner was not feeling 'fine' at all at that moment "I think I just need some fresh air. That should be enough to help me keep living this shitty life, where the people who live with me keep asking stupid questions instead of trying to read the atmosphere."
Level 5 clenched her fists again and walked to the entrance of the room, while the other three girls made their way as if they were trying to avoid the plague. They could only breathe a sigh of relief when they stopped feeling that threatening aura. The girl in the dress only dared to say something when she was sure that her voice was out of Shizuri's range.
"Is she always like this?" Gokusai asked, ignoring the mess and trying to find something to eat in some cupboard that remained whole.
"No. That's the first time I've seen her super blow up like that"
"Basically, she usually gets impatient but this was... much worse than usual" Frenda lifted a chair from the floor and sat in it "Kamijou must have something to do with it"
"Makes sense" As she said this, the spy brought her hand to her chin "He must be doing 'it' again. Maybe I should talk to him about it. This time I'll shove some reason into that stubby, confused head of his."
"What are you super talking about?" Offense Armor also sat on an intact chair she found on the floor "What is he doing with Mugino? Don't tell me you think she confessed and he rejected her?"
"Basically, that would be great" Frenda said, putting her hands together in a silent prayer "I'm clearly the closest person to him, so that makes sense"
"Poor deluded girl" Gokusai said in a whisper, placing her elbows on the rectangular table that was relatively untouched "Anyway, I'll have to think of something to convince him to stop self-sabotaging. I have to call Flower Girl as soon as possible, she should be aware of the situation."
"I think she had a super epiphany" Kinuhata commented, nudging Frenda lightly, making her stop swearing allegiance to Odin, or whatever it was she was doing with that prayer "Hey spy, stop being super vague and help us understand why our dining room is in this state"
"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in sharing everything I know with you. The point here is that the bet I made was too risky, so I will do my best to increase the chances of success. Even if I get hurt in the process."
"Basically, you are being as mysterious as Kamijou" Frenda crossed her arms and pouted "And you two seem to know a lot about each other, besides fighting all the time. Wait, don't tell me you're his ex-girlfriend?"
"I wish" Gokusai opened one of her debauched smiles.
And with those two words spoken with the sole purpose of provoking them, those two girls thought more than twice about finishing what Shizuri had started in that room.
xxxx-xxxx
"Can you hold this for me?" Kamijou said, handing Takitsubo a low-quality binocular, which she took without question.
The two were now in district 11, near the 'Diamond Dust', the place where one of the facilities responsible for creating the more 'stable' version of the Ability Body Crystal was located. They turned away from the black car that had brought them here and entered a narrow alley.
"Okay, let's start slow. We're going to climb up that fire escape" He activated his LIB and looked at the inexpressive girl, hesitating for a moment "This is going to be a bit of a strange ride. I'm going to have to grab you now, okay?"
The girl just nodded and stood next to him. Kamijou didn't really know what to think at that moment. It was hard to read someone when they barely reacted to what you said or did, so he just let it go and concentrated on his task.
"I need you to hold me tightly" He said, holding the girl's waist, who did exactly as he said, still saying nothing.
That gadget that Kamijou was in possession of worked in a way that he could not explain, which was true for more than half of the things involving technology in Academy City. Yesterday afternoon, after he and Shizuri had finished their shopping trip, he decided that he would test a little how this thing worked. He didn't have much to learn, since everything worked almost automatically. All Kamijou had to do was look in the direction he wanted to land, and the equipment calculated the trajectory for him to get there. This is one of the reasons why so many people get hurt in the calibration, since technically you don't need to 'aim' the grappling hook, which is kind of counter intuitive. People should read the instruction manuals.
Choosing his target, the external emergency staircase of that storage building, the boy raised his left arm. The black hook was thrown and soon both of them were flying towards the ladder.
"The landing was much smoother than I expected" Kamijou commented, still holding the girl by the waist "It doesn't seem to make any difference with one or two people. I wonder if it can be used with more than two?"
"I think we should have brought Mugino along"
The inexpressive girl had finally said something, which made Kamijou wish she would be quiet again. He held her again and then looked up to the top of a nearby building. The grappling hook did its job, pulling the two of them at high speed and throwing them up in a parabola, which served to allow them to reach the building's terrace without hurting themselves.
"One of the entrances to the lab is over there" Kamijou pointed to the amusement park, more precisely, to 'Victorian London'. He took his cell phone from his pocket, while the girl looked through her binoculars at the place in question "If these plans of the facility are correct, there is a secret entrance there with an elevator that will take us straight to the floor where they store the supplies"
"Where did you get these plans?"
"I guess it's okay to tell you. A girl named Shinseijou Kaguya handed me a device with practically everything about this facility."
"Shinseijou? The conglomerate 'Dust' belongs to her family right?"
"Yes. But it looks like she stole that information. If what Kaibi said is right, it must have been #2 who hired her to do that. Anyway, we need a better angle."
Understanding what this meant, the girl put her arm around his neck. For some reason, this kind of closeness didn't even shake him, not even a little. It still felt a little strange, since he barely interacted with the girl in the pink oufit, but maybe Shizuri's aggressiveness had served to reinforce his mask. That girl was creating a monster and didn't even know it.
"Are you enjoying the ride?" Kamijou asked casually, landing on a nearby building.
"It's a little exciting, to tell you the truth. Besides, I kind of like it when you touch me."
"What? Takitsubo, could you at least change your tone of voice when saying something so embarrassing? This Kamijou-san already has to deal with Shizuri being... you know… but that didn't train me enough for this moment."
"Hmm..." She tilted her head to the side and was silent.
"Takitsubo? This is no time to go into 'screen saver' mode. I could tell you were uncomfortable with me being around, but I didn't expect that to be the reason."
"Did you...notice?" Her eyes narrowed slightly at that instant "I mean, the reason I'm uncomfortable has nothing to do with me liking when you touch me. Or so I thought until now."
"What are you trying to say?" Kamijou raised his right hand and looked at the open palm "Does it have something to do with that thing about me destroying AIM fields? I think I understand, if your ability is to see AIM fields, so that means when I touch it is cancelled temporarily, correct?".
"Yes. By the way, could you put your hand on my forehead?" Asked the girl, still without changing her expression or tone of voice.
"Eh? I'm going to assume you're trying to test something. So... for science, I guess"
He complied with the level 4's request, which made her relax in place. It was strange to think about something like that, but he was pretty sure he saw that inexpressive girl slightly curl her lip for a split second.
"You did know that an esper's powers originate from their brain right?" Asked the girl, looking him in the eye "Which means that the most effective way to remove someone's powers is to cause them brain damage, like a lobotomy for example"
"That conversation got a little heavy all of a sudden. They don't do that kind of thing anymore these days, right?"
"Not the old way. I hear that Academy City has an effective way to permanently remove an esper's powers. The problem is that this is probably an intrusive and dangerous operation. However, wouldn't it be nice if you had a way as simple and quick as the one you are doing now?"
"Wait, you're not saying that I'm permanently erasing your powers now, are you?" Kamijou sounded a little worried as he said that.
"I can't say. It's unlikely to be permanent, but thinking about it, theoretically it's possible" When she said that, the boy tried to move his hand away from her forehead, but Takitsubo used her own hand to keep it there "It's okay, I said it's unlikely to happen. In a way, we are alike, you know?"
"What do you mean? Can you destroy AIM fields with your powers?" As he asked that, he relaxed again, causing the girl to let go of his hand.
"Saying 'Destroy' is a little too strong, but I am able to manipulate someone's personal reality. The truth is, that's my true esper power. Seeing AIM fields is just a byproduct of that, like an Electromaster who can see electromagnetic fields."
"That sounds impressive. I wonder how strong you would be if you reached level 5."
"Maybe strong enough to understand what you are"
This emotionless sentence made Kamijou Touma narrow his eyes and grimace. He pulled her hand away, and this time she didn't try to stop him. The boy pondered for a few seconds, trying to formulate a sentence that was appropriate to the situation.
"I don't have an AIM Diffusion Field, that's all. That's probably my right hand's fault, there's no mystery to be solved here."
"Kamijou, I have a request for you" She said, ignoring the boy's evasive sentence, who just nodded "I'm not sure how much you know about me, but I'm sure you know that I usually consume Ability Body Crystal in my missions"
She had hit the nail on the head. Thanks to Uiharu, Kamijou had seen footage in that mall that clearly showed the moment this girl had used this drug, the one he was trying to fight. The reason he never touched the subject is that he did not know how to deal with it. Takitsubo seemed fine, apart from her trips to nowhere, so he saw no reason to try to convince her to stop using.
"Come to think of it, that weird bracelet of yours makes you a real member of ITEM" The girl continued, making Kamijou confused about what she meant now "I have my crystals, Frenda her bombs, Kinuhata her nitrogen canister and Mugino her silicon cards"
"Takitsubo, you're straying a bit from the subject here. You said you had a request for me."
"Oh... I'm sorry, I don't usually talk for that long, so sometimes I get lost during a long conversation" She took a deep breath before continuing "I want you to let me get one of the shipments of the new Ability Body Crystal"
That request made Kamijou go into a deep state of thought. He had seen an esper almost kill himself after using something like that, so the answer to that should be obvious, but something still bothered him.
"Do you intend to use this new Crystal? It's a very dangerous drug. There's a good chance you won't be able to control your ability when you consume it. And then there's the whole nanotechnology thing altering your body."
"My body must have gotten used to this kind of drug by now, it must be safe to use"
"Even if you are right, I can't agree to something like that so easily. At least let me know what you intend."
"I just want to be more useful to my team" she replied quickly. Those words made him silent "Don't get me wrong, I don't feel useless or anything like that, quite the opposite. Many tell me that I am the 'core' of ITEM, thanks to my somewhat unique ability. It is my duty to try my hardest to make sure that my position as the 'core' is deserved. ITEM is my home, and I have to look after it."
This speech, which was made in an almost monotonous tone of voice, had more emotion than Kamijou ever imagined it would have. That girl really felt good about belonging to that group. If she was willing to do anything to be as useful as possible, the spiky-haired boy had no right to try to stop her. But there was still something strange about that request.
"I can't agree to something like that but... it's not up to me" Kamijou said, walking to the edge of the building "You can do whatever you want after all. Just let me know if any side effects happen, I don't want to see my friend collapse without me being able to do anything about it"
"I see" Takitsubo walked over to him, cupping the back of her hand against his right hand "So you consider me a friend? You are a kind person, Kamijou. Even though you are so scary."
"Huh?" The boy felt a strange sensation possess his body at that moment. He searched for an explanation why the girl found him 'Scary', one that wasn't what caused that feeling in him "Takitsubo, whatever Shizuri told you, that thing at the hospital was all a bluff"
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean. And something tells me you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Kamijou noticed the girl's voice failing at that instant. He watched her as she turned away from him a little. Her gaze became distant again, and her lips trembled just for a moment, something as if a shiver had just slid down her spine.
"Takitsubo, you need to be a little clearer. This Kamijou-san is a little confused" He had not sounded very convincing.
"Mugino told me about your powers. She said you were born with them, but that's a little weird. How would you be able to know that anyway?"
"I... just know. What's important is that there's no reason to be afraid of me" Again, that didn't convince the girl one bit "I think we're done with what we came here to do. We'd better get back... on second thought, we'd better extend the walk a little longer."
Noticing the boy's odd hesitation, Takitsubo began to wonder why he had chosen her for this 'ride' over Meltdowner. He had said he wanted to show her the amusement park so she could get a little familiar with the place, but she knew there was more he didn't want to tell her.
"Kamijou, what is the real reason you called me for this 'ride'?"
"Real reason? Takitsubo, you're making it sound like I brought you here with ulterior motives" He tried to smile a little to lighten the mood, but the girl looked at him in a strange way at that moment, which made him change his mind "I just wanted to understand why you were so uneasy around me"
"That makes sense, but why did you give Mugino that lame excuse? We could talk, even with her along"
Kamijou didn't know what to say. The truth is that his intention yesterday was to test the harpoon with Shizuri, but his plans changed for one reason only: He was confused. At that moment, in that clothing store, something was telling him to make her stop talking somehow. This was the reason why he began to caress her face, which made her even more nervous than she already was. After that, the dark blue-eyed boy kept trying to get as far away from her as he could. When she wanted to grab his arm, he pretended to be interested in some clothes and moved away in an unsubtle way. He began to walk at different paces than she did, so that she would always be either ahead or behind him, and when she tried to match his pace, he would simply grab some clothes and walk into a fitting room, forcing her to wait for him, who would repeat the process until she tired of it.
"Takitsubo, have you ever played one of those new Virtual Reality games? There are several rooms dedicated to that in that new mall" He asked, taking the girl by surprise with that question that came out of nowhere. "The rooms are big so that people can move around the game world. But I found that a little odd. The world in the game is clearly bigger than those rooms, but I had no problem moving around. I even tried walking in a straight line for quite a while hoping I would run into a wall in real life, but it didn't happen. Strange, isn't it?"
"Not so much. People have a tendency to go in circles for some reason, even if they think they are always going in a straight line."
"Indeed. I know how it feels" He sat on the edge of the building, a dangerous move, even though the building wasn't that tall "I feel like I'm running all the time, trying not to look back, but… I always end up in the same place. There doesn't seem to be a solution for it."
"Of course there is" She also took the dangerous route, sitting down next to him "Just have a reference point"
Kamijou turned to her at that instant, but the girl was gazing at the city below them, so he couldn't look her in the eye. Swaying his legs nonchalantly, the pointy-haired boy looked up at the cloud-covered blue above him.
"A reference point?" He sighed.
'Is that enough for me to move on?'
xxxx-xxxx
In a park on the outskirts of district 7, a girl with tea-colored hair was sitting on one of the benches. She read the manga in her hand carelessly, ignoring everything around her. Every now and then she sighed and stared at the sky above her, but soon returned to her silent reading.
'I wonder if he's back in our apartment yet. We seemed so close yesterday... I was so close to being really happy, but everything fell apart so fast that I didn't even have time to understand why. I need to know what is bothering him and help with it. That's my duty as the person who will stand by him.'
"Hi, you look focused. I see you liked the recommendation."
That familiar female voice sounded very close. Mugino Shizuri was so thoughtful that she didn't even notice the approach of this girl standing there with one eye closed. The Meltdowner put the manga in her lap and stared at the girl wearing the uniform of a famous school in all of Academy City.
"May I join you?" Asked the girl from Tokiwadai, displaying a manga in her hands.
"What the fuck do you want Railgun? Can't you see I'm busy" Shizuri rolled her eyes and went back to reading her manga "We only met once, so don't act like we're great friends"
"Wow, are you always this angry?" Misaka Mikoto sat down next to the other level 5, starting to read her own manga.
"Almost always, especially with people who are not worth my time"
"I am beginning to regret trying to start a conversation with someone so rude. I should have just kept walking to another park."
"It's not too late for that yet. I'd appreciate it very much by the way" Meltdowner flipped the manga page in a noisy way, just for dramatic effect.
"Really, I don't understand what he sees in you"
Shizuri immediately stopped reading and looked in the direction of Railgun, who slowly turned a page at that instant. The older girl knew exactly what the Tokiwadai student was trying to imply, so she remained silent for several seconds, doing a sort of ritual to prevent herself from firing a Meltdowner beam at close range at that cheeky girl.
"According to him I am beautiful, elegant, intelligent, take an interest in his hobbies, pamper him and on top of that I am always willing to listen to what he has to say. I don't know how long you have known him, but something tells me you are jealous."
"What?" Misaka Mikoto closed her manga and looked at her with a stunned expression "I've only met Kamijou twice, counting yesterday. Unlike in manga, there is no such thing as love at first sight, so no... I'm not jealous."
"Really? Good. It's not enough that he speaks so highly of you when we're together" Shizuri shrugged and resumed her reading.
"Wait... he talks about me? So I made a good impression" Railgun looked thoughtful for a moment, then she realized something important: Meltdowner had a giant smile on that perfect face "You... you tricked me"
And with that, the tea-colored haired girl laughed out loud, for several seconds. When she finally pulled herself together, she found a clenched fisted Misaka Mikoto letting out sparks from her bangs, as if she were some kind of human bug zapper.
"Hey, watch out for those sparks, you're going to accidentally hurt someone. Do you have trouble controlling your anger or something?" Shizuri asked nonchalantly "Thinking about something you like will help you with that."
"OK, now you've really pissed me off" Misaka stood up from the bench and pointed an inquisitive finger at the tea-colored-haired girl "Stand up, I'll… "
"You can stop right there, I'm not interested in pointless fights" Meltdowner didn't even bother to look at the girl clearly in anger "If I had met you a while ago, I'd be the first one to try to fry that high-class 'maiden' ass of yours myself, but at the moment I'm more interested in getting the attention of a certain someone"
With a somewhat tired sigh, Mugino Shizuri turned her attention back to the clouds in that distant blue sky, raising one of her hands, as if wishing he could grab one of them. Meanwhile, Railgun was making a confused face at that statement. That older girl had made it clear that she had no intention of fighting, not only that but she didn't even raise her guard, as if she didn't mind taking a surprise attack. Still a little irritated, the Tokiwadai maiden smoothed her messy hair a little and sat back down on the bench.
"You really seem to like him" Commented the short haired girl, imitating the older girl and looking up at the sky "I kind of understand. Even though I've only seen him twice, I could tell he's a good person. He even helped me make a friend who likes the same thing I do."
"He's much more than a 'good person'" Shizuri raised her right hand until it was in front of her face, looking at the rays of the sun streaming through her fingers, which left shadows where they couldn't touch "And that's why he's so interesting. I need to try to understand him at least a little, so that he feels comfortable being by my side."
"Even more?"
"Huh?" Meltdowner shifted her gaze to the younger girl for just an instant.
"I mean, he looks really at ease by your side. I saw when he offered his arm, I thought it was kinda cute. It even looked like a scene from a shoujo manga that I like."
"Railgun, for some reason I'm starting to find you less annoying" Shizuri commented, tucking a smile into the corner of her lip "That's quite a bit of progress, considering how many times I've thought about killing you"
"Wait... what?" The girl from Tokiwadai even dropped her manga upon hearing that phrase said so casually.
"Don't worry about it, I'm getting good at controlling my anger. Putting that aside, tell me more about this shoujo manga you like."
xxxx-xxxx
"An amusement park in this district is something so unusual" Said Kamijou
"I think it would only be weirder if it was in district 12" Takitsubo replied.
"You are right. That's where they have all that research on religion, isn't it? It was in one of those shrines that I met my friend, Hokaze Junko. If you had come to the park that day, the two of you would have met. You would have gotten along well."
"What makes you think that?"
"She would get along with anyone... as long as you don't hate Gekota. We're done here"
As he said this, Kamijou Touma stood up and clapped to dust off his hands. He offered his right hand to help the expressionless girl up, who silently accepted and then approached him, holding him tightly. Kamijou looked around before grabbing the girl and throwing himself off the building, using his grappling hook to slow his fall.
"Kamijou, you've been a good influence on Mugino" Takitsubo said, picking up her cell phone from her pocket "She's smiling a lot more lately, not 'that' kind of smile. I don't understand why you are avoiding her."
"That's... very complicated"
'The truth is that I like her so much that I don't know what to do. So much time looking for someone who likes me and is my type and when I finally find her, this is how I act. I'm such an idiot... breaking the promise I made at the first opportunity.'
"As they say, something complicated is nothing more than a tangle of several simple things. You just need to focus your attention on what matters and leave everything else aside until you solve the problem" Takitsubo said, sending a message using her cell phone.
"First, I've never heard anyone say that, and second, I can't 'leave everything else aside'. Not at the moment."
"It doesn't have to be now"
She only said that, but it was enough to trap the spiky-haired boy in his own thoughts.
'She's right. The problem is that I'm trying to overcomplicate something that should be so simple. But it's so much easier said than done.'
Kamijou Touma liked to think that he's not the kind of person who would hurt someone on purpose and without good reason, but ironically that's exactly what he was doing at the moment. His insistence on staying away from Shizuri yesterday and this morning made her feel horrible, and the worst part was that he knew it. The biggest problem here was the fact that Kamijou used to think too much sometimes, and always at the worst moments. All this time, he refused to see the obvious, always occupying his mind with anything that kept him from seeing the truth.
'Always running away... always leaving everyone behind... repeating this until the end of time. Now I realize that we are alike in some ways...and how hypocritical I am. That's not what I want for my life, but someone like me doesn't deserve anything I want. That's the way it has to be... but I'm getting so tired of running away.'
xxxx-xxxx
"I guess I didn't really get the message behind that" Mugino Shizuri brought her hand to her chin after hearing a part of the story from the manga that the girl sitting next to her told"So the guy basically did everything to win the girl of his dreams, only to have her reject him because he made a single mistake halfway through? How is that supposed to be a 'cute' story?
"You do realize that this isn't the main couple, right? Their story was basically a platonic love, it was obvious that it wouldn't work out" Railgun complained, sounding a little too excited "I don't know why you're focusing so much on that, they're not even important to the plot. What matters is that the main heroine got what she wanted, since unlike the other couple, she was patient."
"Yes, I get that, but I can't help but find it kind of depressing. The two deserved to be happy, and the author blew it just because he wanted to pass on a shallow moral lesson that barely makes sense."
Shizuri sounded extremely indignant, like someone in the mood for ice cream in the middle of the night, only to find that someone else ate it all and returned the empty tub to the refrigerator because they thought it would be funny.
'Don't we both deserve to be happy? I don't know what bothers him so much, but if he is right when he says that the universe doesn't like him, then I'll show him that even the universe isn't enough to stop both of us from getting what we want.'
"I'd better go now" Shizuri announced, getting up from the bench and fixing her hair "That wasn't such a bad conversation Railgun, although the manga you usually read are garbage"
"You really can't be civilized, can you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm being civil"
With a smirk on her face, the tea-colored girl simply turned away, without bothering to say good-bye or wave, and walked to a black car parked across the street. She gave the driver a simple instruction not to disturb her, and then sat down in the back seat of the car.
After a few minutes in that congested traffic, Level 5 made a confused yet excited expression when a sound came from her cell phone. She held that device tightly with both hands, as if trying to protect something fragile and important to her.
"He texted me" She said with a silly smile.
The girl had taken the trouble to customize the ring tone emitted by her cell phone, in case she received a message from the one person she was interested in.
'I'm already back, the girls are trying to convince me to start the explanation without you, where are you?'
"So that's what this is about" She was disappointed "What was I expecting? That he would ask me out and I could finally finish what I started yesterday?"
The cell phone was put aside after a tired sigh escaped the girl's lips. She knew that Kamijou was trying to focus on tonight's mission, so much so that he was in charge of the whole attack strategy, but level 5 couldn't think of anything else but what happened yesterday.
'Maybe I'm being impatient. He seemed very thoughtful yesterday, probably because of what we're going to do today, so it would be better to give him a little time to breathe. But at the same time, I can't just let him walk away from me, so I'll find a middle ground.'
Meltdowner picked up her cell phone again and started typing a message.
'I'm on my way. Wait a little longer, I want to be by your side when you are explaining.'
'Don't worry, I would never start without you being here. You are the leader of this team after all.'
'I'd rather he hadn't typed the last part, but that's okay. He's just focused, there's nothing to worry about.
But she was still worried. Kamijou Touma was not the only confused person in this story, however they did not share the same reason. Shizuri was obvious about her feelings, she rarely cared what others thought about her, so trying to hide it would be a foolish thing to do. The reason for her confusion is that the person of her interest was too mysterious, which made him almost impossible to read. Even though she was so aggressive, she still had doubts about how Kamijou felt about her, and it was making her feel insecure as well.
'I thought I had all the signs I needed, that I was doing everything right, but something is still missing. He likes to do things his own way, in his own time, so I will wait patiently until he is ready to take another step towards me. Remember what he told you Shizuri: Trust has to be a two-way street, so all I have to do is trust him. The most complicated questions often have very simple answers.'
xxxx-xxxx
In the apartment of the dark side group known as ITEM, 4 girls and a boy were gathered around a round glass table, this one containing various papers, pictures and diagrams that looked like building plans. The boy with the spiky hair was looking at the off screen of his cell phone as if he was using it as a mirror. The blond girl in a fancy dress was standing next to him, watching the way he took a deep breath and then shook his head, as if he were arguing with someone in his head.
"Kamijou, do you have a minute?" Gokusai asked, touching the boy's shoulder with her fingertips.
The boy briefly snapped out of his trance upon hearing this, but before he could open his mouth to reply, the door to the room opened. The last member of ITEM, Mugino Shizuri, had returned. The tea-colored girl closed the distance between herself and the person who had promised to stand beside her, with a simple smile on that divine face.
"Sorry for the delay. You can start whenever you want, Kamijou."
Shizuri stood on his left side, her favorite spot, but she didn't try to hold Level 0's hand or grab his arm, something that was completely normal between the two of them. Even though the boy was ready to make an excuse to get away from her, he couldn't stop thinking about why she had betrayed his predictions.
'Is she angry? No... it can't be that. Damn it Kamijou, why do you get so upset when you get what you want? She is exactly where you need her to be, close enough so that you can comfort her, but far enough away so that she doesn't get hurt.'
"Basically, I got the bombs to the specifications you wanted" Frenda said, making the boy blink and look at her "It wasn't that hard, but it would be great to get a reward. I even thought of something interesting"
Kamijou was sure Shizuri was restless in that instant, but when he turned to look at her, she was completely calm, although her arms were crossed now. Clearing his throat, the boy began to explain his strategy.
"I'll hear what you have to say later, Frenda. Let's concentrate on the mission for now" He began pointing to a large diagram in the center of the table "As you can see, I have obtained the construction plans for the entire structure. I have been being vague until now, so it is only fair that you know that most of this information was given to me by Kaguya herself, heiress to the Shinseijou family."
"Wait Kami-chan, you said she super 'gave' this information to you?" Kinuhata asked, seeking to understand how that boy had accomplished such a feat.
Some very low muttering was heard the instant that nickname was uttered, but Kamijou was too busy to understand what the girl next to him was saying. Still, he was sure he heard something like 'little slut' and 'flat-chested'. Maybe it was his imagination.
"I think I got it" Kaibi said, grinning "This is a classic Kamijou Touma moment. Using your 'Lady Killer' talents to get what you want. Kumokawa has taught well"
"Kaibi, you promised you would be quiet when I was explaining, so could you please not get in the way?" Warned Kamijou, throwing her one of his looks that always made her uncomfortable. And that was most effective. "Now let's get down to business. Frenda, the bombs you got will be used at the key points marked in red. That facility has several underground floors and my intention is that everything will be destroyed."
"I see, so these key points will be the places where we place the bombs?" Surprisingly, it was Takitsubo who asked this.
"Correct, Takitsubo. We don't know if there are signal jammers throughout the facility, so we will use time bombs. The first bomb will be near a generator" The boy moved one of the papers aside so that the girls could see a picture of the subject at hand "The intention here is for the emergency alarm to be activated, which will cause everyone in the facility to evacuate"
"Basically, I don't understand what you intend to do" Frenda was skeptical. As an explosives expert, she knew that the boy's plan made no sense. "Even if we use all the bombs I have gathered at these 'key points', it is not enough to cause a chain reaction and destroy such a large facility. We would need much more than that. Unless you have some strange technology that allows us to carry that many bombs without drawing attention, it won't work."
"You're right. But you forgot one thing" Kamijou smiled and raised her index finger, drawing the attention of all the girls "Like I said, I want everything to be destroyed, but we don't have to be the ones to do it"
The whole room was silent for a while, but the answer soon came, but not from the mouth of the spiky-haired boy or the explosive blonde.
"I've watched enough movies to understand what you super mean, Kami-chan" Kinuhata stated, crossing her arms smugly "The place has a self-destruct sequence"
"10 points for you Kinuhata-chan" Kamijou said, which made Shizuri sigh beside him.
"Makes sense, we are in Academy City after all" Level 5 added "Considering that for some reason this project is being led by a company from outside, they obviously have a way to get rid of all the evidence. If we cause a big enough mess to get Anti-Skill's attention, those rats will have to go back to the sewer they came from, and they won't want anything linking such a big company to something like this."
"Well done Shizuri, 20 points for you" Kamijou clapped his hands twice as he said that.
"Hey, what the hell kind of super ridiculous scoring system is this?" Complained Kinuhata, exchanging glances with the level 5 who was in the lead now.
"Kamijou, I remember you saying there was more than one facility" Kaibi said this ignoring the atmosphere becoming tense between those two high level espers "Do you have the construction plans for all of them?"
"Yes... and no" The boy shrugged and was silent.
"Huh? I thought all this being super vague was over. Kami-chan, don't leave us in the dark!" Complained Kinuhata once again.
The truth was that the boy had received from Uiharu only the diagrams of this particular facility, as the girl was running out of time to decrypt the rest of the information Kaguya had given him. The encryption key he had gotten from the interrogation at the hospital helped speed up the process, but the flower girl was very busy due to the numerous out of control esper cases overwhelming her Judgment branch.
"That doesn't matter at the moment" Once again Takitsubo surprised everyone there with her inexpressive voice "We have to focus on one thing at a time. Right, Kamijou?"
"Yes, you are absolutely right Takitsubo. 30 points for you!" announced the boy, causing the fury of the two girls he had now left behind.
"Super What?"
"What the fuck?"
Shizuri had lost her temper for the first time at that meeting. She and Kinuhata now looked at Kamijou with expressions that changed from shocked to frustrated. The two espers were going through a strange development, since now instead of enemies they were more like rivals who quarreled often but always came together for the greater good. Actually, they were just jealous.
"Kami-chan, I need the super list of the rules of this game, or at least speak it out loud"
"Shut up, little slut" Shizuri didn't even look at Kinuhata "You're behind me, so we'd better continue in the dark. Between the two of us, I have the best brain, so it's only a matter of time before I resume the lead."
"Basically, I should be the one complaining here. I haven't scored so far" Frenda said, with a pout so cute it would convince a Serial Killer to never kill anyone again.
"Stopping to think, Frenda got the bombs and was also the first to say something pertinent so I..." Kamijou started, but 3 stares, yes including Takitsubo, were launched with a power that did justice to those 3 high level espers "10 points should be enough, what do you think Frenda?"
"Kinda unfair, but at this point in the championship I can't complain. Basically, that puts me above the spy, that's good enough for me." She stuck out her tongue as she made a peace symbol with her fingers.
"Ok, now leaving that 'competition' aside, I'll give you a few more details on how we will invade the place"
xxxx-xxxx
The explanation of how ITEM's mission should go lasted a little over an hour. After Kamijou had finished and all her questions had been answered, Mugino Shizuri preferred to lock herself in her room so she could take a break from the mess her life had become. Taking a quick shower, the tea-colored girl changed into comfy clothes: a large pink blouse and velvet shorts of the same color.
Lying down on the giant double bed on the right side of the room, she picked up her cell phone and started reading the messages exchanged with the one she was so interested in.
'Don't worry, I would never start without you being here. You are the leader of this team after all.'
"I restrained myself as much as I could from trying to grab him during the explanation" She said this and then lay on her stomach, sliding her finger on the Smartphone screen to see the next messages.
'It was all your idea, so you will be our leader today'
"That must have shown how much I trust him" She began to swing her slender legs nonchalantly "He's great at combat tactics, so I don't need to worry. We just follow the plan and everything will be fine. When all this is over, then he'll focus his attention back on me, and then it'll be my chance."
'Thanks for trusting an idiot like me, Shizuri, it is great to have someone like you by my side'
"Being patient is hard when he starts saying those things. I did the right decision by coming to my room instead of talking to him. If I push him, he won't be able to focus on what's important at the moment. I hope everything works out today, if something happens to him I don't know what I would do with the person responsible."
'Actually I know very well what I would do...'
She turned over again on the bed and this time stared at the ceiling. Her right hand slid down her body to her broad chest, pausing to rest where her heart was beating rapidly.
"What am I thinking? If his luck is really that bad, it's to be expected that he won't come out unscathed. I should think about comforting him and making sure he recovers quickly instead of something useless like revenge or something like that. That's how it will be from now on."
'I can't wait to spoil him some more. How I wish he wasn't acting so cold.'
xxxx-xxxx
"So this is where you are"
Kamijou didn't bother to turn to look at the girl who came to keep him company on that lonely balcony. He was leaning dangerously on that ledge, as if at any moment he was going to jump off it straight onto that hard asphalt below.
"I don't want to talk right now, Kaibi" The boy's voice came out a little too low.
"Really? You should have locked yourself in your room like #4 then"
Rolling his eyes, he cast a bored look at the girl in the dress next to him, who was staring at a distant point in the city of science. Those two had known each other for months, but they had never tried to get closer than necessary. That choice came from her obviously. At first she thought she could never get along with this boy, that all she could do was put up with him and complete the missions that mysterious girl managed for them. In exchange, she would gain protection and favors from influential people in the city, thus guaranteeing a prominent position, while at the same time remaining anonymous. It was a good deal, but in time she realized her mistake.
"You know, sometimes I don't recognize you" She said, still with the distant vision "Has anything changed in this time we've gone without seeing each other?"
"Yes. But don't worry about that. People change after all, and I am not the exception to that rule."
"That's not quite true. Even so different, you still seemed the same to me. But now... I'm kind of disappointed."
"As I often say, life is almost never fair and is always full of disappointments" Kamijou retorted, who this time received a look back "It was to be expected that after wandering so long in darkness, I would forget who I was. I know that Kamijou Touma is not the kind of person who belongs to a group, who lives in a luxury apartment or..."
"That's not what I'm talking about, idiot" The girl interrupted him with irritation in her voice "Just because you claim to be a level 0 is no excuse for being so dumb. What I am trying to say is that Uiharu is right, you are making the same mistake again"
Kamijou froze when he heard that last sentence. He was used to arguing with this girl whenever they disagreed about something, and he also used to call her worse things than she was calling him now, so it was all irrelevant to him. What mattered was that this time he knew she was right.
"Did you...talk to her?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. He sounded like someone desperately trying to remove the water in a sinking boat using a bucket, refusing to dive into the water and try to save himself some other way.
"Obviously so. Frankly, what the hell are you doing? Using the excuse that you're supposedly a different person now doesn't erase the promise you made."
"This has nothing to do with the promise I made. Why are you two insisting on it?"
"We're not insisting on anything, you are. Look, I put off this conversation because I knew that on my own I couldn't even come close to convincing you, but now that even you've realized the stupid way you're acting, I don't have to do much to get you back on track."
"So you think that's the problem? That I just need a little push to 'get back on track'?"
"I could give you a speech telling you what an idiot you are, it wouldn't even be hard" She began, rolling her eyes and ignoring the stupid question "I could also tell you the real reason I kept working alongside you, but I won't. Instead I'll tell you just one thing" The girl in the dress raised her index finger over her head, serving as both a way of getting attention and as a way of intimidating him "Stop running away you damn asshole"
That was it. Those words, which seemed so wrong coming out of that elegant girl's mouth, hit him with everything. Kamijou knew exactly what she would say, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be shaken. A person can telegraph their blow as much as they want, but if you have no way to defend yourself, it will hurt just the same. And that blow had really hurt. But instead of knocking him out, it only served to ward off what was unnecessary. The boy needed this, like a vaccine that contaminates the body with a weak version of a virus, preventing something worse in the future.
"Twice in two days" Kamijou said, trying to display a smile "You two are a pain in the ass you know that?"
"It's better than continuing to watch while you drown in guilt and self-mockery" She seemed calmer now that she had said what was important "I don't believe someone like me has to say this to someone like you, but I'm going to say it anyway. Just look back for once and understand that you're not only hurting yourself. Aren't you supposed to be a beacon in this dark fog? What kind of lighthouse guides all the ships to it, but then turns off its light and leaves everyone else to their fate? Let at least one ship come to you this time, is that so hard?"
He didn't have to answer that, at least not verbally. The spiky-haired boy finally managed to complete his smile formation. That girl in the dress was right, as was her friend with the short black hair. Kamijou Touma was not an easy person to deal with. His nature was volatile, chaotic, in such a way that he often changed his way of thinking and acting depending on the circumstances he found himself in. But there was something about him that would never change. This was his core, what remained when everything unnecessary was taken away: It was the power to break barriers, to reach out a hand to someone after everyone else had given up. Kamijou was not defined by his mysterious power, Imagine Breaker, nor was it defined by his combat experience built from a strong intuition and countless battles fought. It was the power to keep trying without fear of failure, no matter how many times his outstretched hand was pushed away or how many nasty looks he earned. He was to be a beacon... a reference point. The moment he forgot that, he would cease to be Kamijou Touma.
But Kamijou Touma was in a quandary. That right hand had been offered to someone, and that person held it much more firmly than any before. A promise had been made long ago, and now he had made a different promise , but both depended on a single decision, and he would make it today.
"Thank you, Kaibi" Said the boy who was no longer lost "I guess of all the people I know, it was you I needed to hear that from"
"Don't thank me. It was Uiharu who started all this, I'm just giving you one last push" Kaibi breathed with relief now, seeing the determination flowing from that boy "By the way, I know this alone isn't enough to get you out of this hole you dug yourself, but you've made a decision haven't you? Something tells me it won't be that easy, it never is when you're involved, but at least don't run away again, can you promise me that?"
xxxx-xxxx
In her room, Mugino Shizuri looked somewhat restless. She had rolled over in that entire bed at least three times, desperately trying to find a comfortable place where she could get some sleep. She was so tired, but not because she hadn't slept very well that night.
'I really need a new bed. Or maybe one of those body pillows?'
The girl smiled with those useless thoughts flowing through her mind. She picked up her cell phone from her bedside table to see how much time she had left before they left for district 11.
'I still have plenty of time. I won't be able to sleep, so I'd better occupy my mind with something else.'
Getting up from the bed, Shizuri reached down and pulled out a large wooden box that she kept under the bed. Inside that box was her new manga collection, something the girl never imagined she would one day have. Taking one of her new belongings, she laid her head down on her pillow, so soft but for some reason so uncomfortable, and began to leaf through those illustrated pages.
'I can't believe he actually got me hooked on this. The bastard said his plan out loud and yet I did exactly what he wanted.'
The girl was grinning like an idiot at the thought. She was more relaxed now, even if it wouldn't last long, since an irritating sound took her concentration off the romance-adventure story she was reading.
"I'll be right there" she shouted angrily at the person knocking on her door. Getting up, the girl walked with her bare feet to her bedroom door "It better be extremely important, like a life and death situation"
"Then I guess I came at a bad time"
Shizuri changed her expression from irritated to surprised when she saw the person who came to visit her in her room. It was obvious to whom this reaction was being directed. Standing there with one hand in his pocket and the other behind his head was the boy who was responsible for her conflicting feelings. He gave her a slightly surprised look as well, but she barely noticed due to the shock.
"You seem to be trying to relax, judging by your clothes" He said, making her almost blush in that instant as she realized she was practically in her pajamas in front of him "I don't want to get in the way, so I'll come back another time"
The boy went to turn to leave, but Shizuri stepped out of the room and raised her hand to grab him, but she stopped halfway.
'No Shizuri, don't spoil it. He must have come to say something important about the mission that's all. If I grab him out of nowhere he'll get uncomfortable. Take a deep breath and try to hold your impulses.'
"Actually I was just reading some manga. I can get a few minutes to listen to what you have to say" She spoke, not being able to help but play with a lock of her hair at that moment. "You can come in if you like.
"Are you sure? A boy walking into a girl's room like that...come to think of it, you've been in my room, it's almost the same thing isn't it?"
He took a step forward, which made the girl make room for him. Shizuri was very organized in her room, so she had no problem letting Kamijou in just like that. The only thing out of place was that box full of manga, but she was sure that would serve to improve his impression of her, not the other way around.
"Wow, this room is huge." The boy hissed softly as he said that "Is that a closet?"
"Yeah, take a look at that" The girl went to her closet and opened one of the double doors. Kamijou followed her, with an expression that was one of surprise and exasperation on his face.
"What the hell, that thing is the size of a Subway car. You must have more clothes than you are capable of wearing in your entire life."
"That was an exaggeration. Even if I -"
"You even have mannequins here for a reason. Talk about dedication."
Still surprised, the boy started to walk around the room and look around as he shook his head positively, being followed by a Shizuri who didn't quite know what to say.
'What are these reactions supposed to mean? Does he find me weird?'
"Hey Kamijou, do you like the decoration of my room?" She asked expectantly. These two seemed to live in different worlds, but she still hoped he understood her tastes.
"Well... I'm no expert, but I liked that you used only light tones." He stopped near one of the windows and crossed his arms. Looking at her, the boy continued "You seem to try to make the most of the sunlight if I were to guess by the positioning of the windows."
'He's doing it again. It's a simple trick he uses but it's incredibly effective. Starting with something vague and then watching the involuntary movements I make to understand what the next path is. I'm not able to tell if he does it on purpose or if it's something as natural as breathing, but it's amazing either way.'
"But let's leave it at that" Kamijou said, approaching the girl "I didn't come here to see what your room is like or anything. I came here to apologize to you."
An incredible sensation was felt in that instant, causing Shizuri's mind to go blank for half a second. After a whole day, what she had been denied had returned. With one swift movement, the boy took the girl's right hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
'What's going on? He held my hand out of nowhere after walking away from me at every opportunity. This is his plan for sure... but who cares, he's holding my hand, finally... and in my room on top of that. Wait Shizuri, what are these dangerous thoughts?'
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you since yesterday. That must have made you feel horrible" Kamijou used his free hand to stroke the soft face of the melting girl in front of him "I want you to know that you haven't done anything wrong. If you were wondering that, then you can rest easy now. The problem is that I was feeling confused and a little nervous too, so I seemed to act cold, but it's all right now."
'It's nice to know I didn't do anything wrong, but he's stroking my cheek now too...how does he want me to pay attention to his excuses like that? Okay, I can play that game too.'
"Kamijou, you're talking too fast. I think you need to relax a bit." As she said it in a sweet voice, she smiled and ruffled her spiky hair. "How about I give you that second lap pillow you asked for yesterday? Then you can tell me what's bothering you so much more calmly."
"Eh? Are you serious? That's two lap pillows in two days. You are being too generous with this Kamijou-san."
"Hmm... you're right" She shook her head and pretended to think of something "In that case, let's turn this into a daily ritual then. Just don't sleep so fast this time, okay?"
"Wait, this is getting a little out of hand, it better -"
"Don't resist. This is my room so I'll do whatever I want in it."
After those dangerous words, she ignored the boy's complaints and practically dragged him over to the bed. Sitting down, the girl smiled at him and then patted her exposed thighs twice. It was only now that the boy realized that the situation was "worse" than he thought.
"Shizuri, you do realize that this is no mere lap pillow don't you?" The boy said this while pointing to that pair of thighs that seemed to glow at that instant, probably because several neurons were activated at the same time while contemplating that scene.
"Oooh... come to think of it, I was wearing pants yesterday, so you just enjoyed the trial version of this Shizuri-chan's lap pillow"
"Wait, you're doing it again" He sat down next to her, slightly irritated "What the hell was that? Version 2.0 of my speech pattern? I demand payment of my royalties for using something so precious without asking permission"
That was the cue he needed. Putting everything aside for the moment, this time the boy no longer hesitated. He let his body lean over, serving himself with the premium lap pillow offered by the older girl. Kamijou even tried to find the best place to lay his head on her lap, enjoying the feeling of softness to the fullest.
"Now that's a lap pillow, my stress evaporated in an instant. Did you say a daily ritual? I can get used to it" The boy let a sigh of relaxation escape "But that's still not the true power of a level 5. Can you play with my hair too, or is that not part of the package?"
"Now you're being too bold" She joked, sliding her hand up to those black spikes, which made the boy close his eyes immediately.
'And I wish you would be even bolder...like yesterday. It's no fun if only I make the advances. Maybe I should give him a few more opportunities to act that way… and there goes those dangerous thoughts again'
"Yes... I think I can see the light from the beacon in this fog" He spoke, taking a deep breath.
"Kamijou, now you are being a bit too dramatic"
"Can we keep this up for a couple of hours? That should earn you at least a hundred points."
"A hundred points?!" Meltdowner's eyes widened and she shivered a little, causing the boy to put a somewhat smug smile on his face.
'Suck on that, bitches. I always win.'
"Shizuri, I've been thinking...I guess you wanted to tell me something yesterday" Kamijou opened his eyes briefly as he said that "May I ask what it was? It seemed to be important."
The girl stopped cuddling the boy's head and looked away by reflex.
'What? WHAT? Was this his plan all along? That's why he came to my room, he didn't just want to apologize. There is a good chance that he knows exactly what I wanted to say at that moment. Damn it, I have to calm down. I don't know what else to do. Do I tell him how I feel now or not? Does he really like me like I thought at the time, or was he just teasing me with those flirtations?'
"Shizuri? Did you hear what I said?" he insisted, sounding even more relaxed than before.
"Y-yeah. It's just...you kind of caught me by surprise just now."
'This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. He's so comfortable, while I'm a nervous wreck. Maybe I'm the one who needs a lap pillow. If I tell him now how I feel, what are the chances that I will get an answer right away? Almost zero, I think. I don't want to overwhelm him before today's mission, so maybe I should be more patient.'
"I'm almost asleep here, you know" He yawned to make his point clear "That's odd considering I usually take so long to fall asleep most of the time. I seem to feel totally at ease around you."
'What did he say now? Did he notice my hesitation and now he is giving me signals to move forward? If he feels at ease by my side, does that mean he likes me? I think I'm beginning to cling to any hope here. Why am I suddenly so afraid of being rejected? Time to lay the cards on the table, Shizuri. He told me in a very direct way that I am his type, and I am trying my best to treat him in the best possible way, which is exactly what he needs after a stressful day. That alone is enough to put me in the lead, but there is still everything he said to me yesterday...however...he called me 'friend' not once, but TWICE. Is that why he feels so at ease, I'm just a good 'friend' to him?'
"Kamijou, I don't know if this is a good time for me to tell you this" She played with his hair again at that instant, trying uselessly to hide her somewhat unsteady breathing.
"Why not? I thought it was something very important" he said softly, also starting to play with her hair.
"That is why it is better that I tell you this later. I know you are focused on completing the mission as effectively as possible, so I don't want to fill your head with something else."
'Actually, I just wanted to make sure how you feel about me. But something tells me I'll never know, so it would be silly to wait forever. I'll be patient just a little longer, just a few more hours. When all this is over, I'll bring you here again, or somewhere else, I really don't care where, and then I'll tell you how much I like you. If everything goes well and you feel the same way about me, then we'll be happy together... the universe willing it or not.'
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Hey! We're down here again, huh?
This chapter was a kind of intersection. The ITEM mission will start in the next chapter, so nothing better than to have a little internal 'conflict' before something so important happens. It's not just Shizuri who is confused about what she is feeling, Kamijou is just harder to read, which makes it even more complicated. These two are teenagers who have never been in a relationship, so it is common that neither knows exactly what to do.
By the way, what do you guys think of Takitsubo in this fic? I'm trying to keep her quiet as much as possible, but I decided from the beginning that she would talk a lot more than her canonical version, because of all this stuff about our "Hero's" mysterious power. Does her acting so out of character sometimes bother you?
So… Reviews?
Elementalgaming30: This kind of thing helps to reinforce the happy moments. I'm glad you liked the final scene.
KHVSFF: I am happy that you liked the characterization. After I read your comment I went to read Accelerator Idol, and I enjoyed seeing Shizuri 'winning' that race between level 5, it's so silly but so good. Thanks for the compliments.
Aiman031122: Things will get more spicy with time(hehe).I'm glad you are finding the story interesting. I have plans for Shizuri to meet Kamijou's parents, but we are still a bit far from that moment.
zora does not exist: Poor Kamijou-san hahaha
5queso: I was re-reading some old chapters and realized that NT9 was the novel I have referenced the most so far(in second place is NT22r). This of showing a bit of how Kamijou feels and how others see him is something that is being explored in GT, so I'm trying to do the same here, it's good that you're enjoying it.
xellos540: I'm vague a lot of the time, I think it's because I read so many thrillers, but the idea I wanted to get across here is that Kamijou is not dense, he lies to himself and ignores or avoids 'raising flags' (he even jokes about this at one point in the old testament), but Shizuri is so aggressive that he can't force himself not to see the obvious. GT Touma is the closest we have to his version before the loss of memories, I don't know if you have read GT yet so beware of spoilers ahead…... As I said, The 'two' Kamijou are not completely different (If I said so, it would contradict the conversation with Fortune). Discovering the 'core' of Kamijou Touma is a major plot point in GT, so I think it's important to make that distinction if not Touma's line "We are both #0" has no significance at all. About Kamijou pushing people away, that's just my interpretation since Kamachi is vague sometimes, even more about PML Touma. The expression I use here is " Running away", which is something he actually does (not always, obviously), as with Youen. He basically tells her: "You are being very nice to me, but where I go there is only chaos, so I need you to stay away where it is safe." And then basically forgets that the girl exists. One interesting detail is that it is obvious that Youen likes Touma, Kaai even says this out loud and he just ignores it, which makes sense considering that he doesn't want her around. I could talk about Hoshimi, a girl he said "I will never abandon you" (a promise similar to the one in this fic), but I don't think it's that relevant to this subject. Maybe I'm just overthinking it? I don't know for sure. Kamijou is by far my favorite character so I always try to read too much between the lines when he is in the spotlight. In the end, this is all my opinion, which may be a little biased most of the time.
I think that's it for this chapter. Wait... not yet, I turned this thing about Touma saying something random and Shizuri saying "This is all his plan" into a running gag at this point. It's not going to stop any time soon. I guess this is where I say goodbye. Nio leaving.
