Chapter 27 - Purifier and Slayer
White. It was all Touma could see when he opened his eyes. That typical white made his head spin as he lay uncomfortably on that bed.
"Here I am again" Touma muttered, sighing as he looked up at that white ceiling.
The hospital room Touma found himself in was the same as it had always been. In the end nothing had changed. He saw people being hurt, he investigated the situation thoroughly, he put his life at risk, and he fought to prevent more people from getting hurt. Now he was in his sanctuary, recovering from his physical and mental wounds. Only this time it wasn't quite like that.
"What have I done?" The boy aimed his eyes at his right hand, the one that served as a receptacle for a mysterious and inexplicable power. An eerie feeling crept over his body "It was like that time but... it felt much stronger"
Trying to sit up in bed, he stopped halfway when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his body. Needless to say, he had bandages over most of his body and some sticking plasters on his face. But Touma forced himself to sit up in bed. He didn't want to lie there staring at the ceiling. The truth was that if he could, he would get out of that hospital room.
Touma looked around that white room as soon as the pain subsided a little. His eyes were tired, his eyelids heavy, but he smiled as he noticed someone else in that room. The girl was sitting right there, next to his bed with her eyes closed. She had her head tilted to the side, a serene expression and calm, steady breathing.
"Shizuri?" Touma called her softly, just to make sure she was asleep.
If were to judge by the comfortable sleeping clothes the girl was wearing, maybe her intention was to sleep in the bed next to him as she liked, but she probably thought she would accidentally hurt his wounds so she decided to sleep in that chair.
Getting no response, Touma sighed and looked at his right arm again. He was perfectly fine. Although it had been cut at elbow height, his arm looked like it had never been injured in the first place. Most people would freak out at the sight of something like that, but Touma just put on a straight face. This was not the first time he had seen this phenomenon.
"Just a normal high school boy...nothing more than that" He spoke that almost in a whisper "That's what Kamijou Touma must be."
"Touma!" A familiar female voice sounded through the room "You finally woke up"
The excitement and relief could be felt in that sweet voice. The boy turned toward the chair that Shizuri had been sleeping in for the past minute just in time to see her get up in a jump. The smile on her face made Touma's heart race. The girl climbed onto his bed and hugged him, which made him grunt in pain.
"I'm sorry" She said, pulling away from the boy as she realized she was hurting him "You've been asleep for so long...I couldn't help myself...I..."
"It's okay. I'm sorry for worrying you so much" He smiled a little and ran his hand through her hair.
"Don't think about it. You came back to me, just like you promised."
Shizuri couldn't help herself. With one swift movement, she leaned toward Touma and kissed him on the lips. It was not a kiss with the intensity she liked, but she took her time. Touma was feeling amazing in that instant. Not many people visited him in the hospital, so he always felt alone and wanted to get away as soon as possible, but this warm welcome made him change his perception. He had almost forgotten what he was feeling when he woke up.
"Hmm... that feels so good" Touma said, smiling at Shizuri as she moving away. "It almost made me forget all the pain I'm feeling"
"My kisses are that good, are they?" Her smile was much bigger than his.
"You are the only good thing in my life lately"
Hearing this, the girl's smile narrowed a little. It was clearly a sincere compliment, but Shizuri felt all the pain in that faltering voice. The girl preferred to keep the gentle smile on her face all the same.
"Come here. I think it's time for this Shizuri-chan to spoil you a little bit."
Gently, the girl made him lie down on the bed again. She waited for him to find a comfortable place and then lay down beside him, smoothly sliding her hand down his body until she reached his head, where she began to caress him with great care.
"There you go. Now relax a little, you deserve it after working so hard" The girl said it with a soft tone, whispering in his ear.
"Thank you for telling me that...although all that effort was for nothing"
"What are you talking about? You won the fight. Now we can continue our mission. Given the state of #2, he won't be in any condition to fight anytime soon. Nor will we need to lock him up somewhere as planned. "
Touma became uneasy hearing his girlfriend say that. That bad feeling returned, which made him breathe deeply, trying uselessly to hold back something he knew he couldn't. Shizuri immediately noticed his uneasiness. Carefully, the girl pulled him even closer to her and hugged him. She just did this and waited, hoping her boyfriend was ready to say what was bothering him so much.
"Kakine is not our enemy" He revealed. Unconsciously a fist was clenched in that instant.
"What?" confusion was clear in her voice. "He's one of the reasons we're doing all this. That bastard almost killed me."
"It probably wasn't his initial intention" Touma stated in a firm voice. Shizuri raised her head to look at him with narrowed eyes "He was in that lab for the same reason we were"
"Wait... that doesn't make sense. Gokusai said..." Shizuri was full of hesitation "She lied to us?"
Shizuri was right to hesitate, but she realized too late that was not a good question to ask. Touma looked up at the ceiling and put on a frown. Silence hung over the room for a few seconds until the boy spoke again in a despondent tone.
"Kakine told me during the fight that he killed several guards that night. Apparently he can turn things into sand."
"It was full of sand in that tunnel" The girl now became thoughtful "That guy's power doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. So that's why no guards came to me when I was making all that mess"
"That's right, he was never our enemy. I fought him for no reason."
"That doesn't matter anymore now. Anyway we will continue our mission, destroy the remaining labs and save those people. If they don't have a trump card as strong as Kakine, then it will be a piece of cake."
"At least one of us is excited about all this" His tone of voice was weak, as if he had no desire to continue talking.
"I wouldn't describe it as 'excited.' You said to me that you owed the people in this city a lot. I don't know exactly what you mean by that but I feel the same way. If I keep fighting..."
"Don't get carried away with my stupid daydreams" He interrupted her when he noticed her hesitant tone "If you want to do this to make yourself feel better, then go ahead. That's perfectly valid. But if your goal is just to please me...it's not worth going that far"
"Touma, don't do that again, please" Shizuri used one of her hands to make him look her in the eyes "Everyone makes mistakes, that's human nature. I have no idea how many mistakes you have accumulated over the years of your life, but it doesn't matter to me. You're not perfect, nobody is. But you are perfect to me, and that's enough for me to keep supporting you until the end."
"I think the same about you" His tone of voice was less somber now "Your perfect smile makes me so happy that I even forget that you tried to kill me more than once"
"Don't remind me of that, you're embarrassing me" To try to contain her embarrassment, the girl kissed him once more. It was just a little kiss on the lips.
"Rewarding me with a cute expression and a kiss just gives me more reason to do it again."
"Smartass. Wipe that smug smile off your face, I'm trying to be serious here"
Shizuri began to play with her hair, curling it nervously on her index finger. She looked away quickly when she saw Touma staring in fascination at that cute, embarrassed expression that only got worse with time, or better in the boy's opinion. If it continued like that she would blush soon.
It took a few seconds for Shizuri to recover. She suddenly looked serious, but the boy ignored this detail and just leaned slightly toward her. That made him smell the rose scent that had become his favorite. Sometimes he just wanted to leave everything behind as the girl had told him. To live away from these problems, this darkness. To wake up with that aroma invading his nose and comforting him, like a subtle message that everything would be fine and there was nothing to worry about.
Noticing how lost in thought the boy was, Shizuri decided to break the silence.
"Do you understand? I'm not a good person. Maybe one day I will be, but that day is still a long way off. So do like me, try to forget your mistakes for now and focus on your future successes. I'll say it one more time." She smiled radiantly again "I'll always be here for you. Even if you ask me to leave, even if you think you don't deserve any of this, I will still be here... until the end."
This time, it was Kamijou Touma who kissed her. He did it almost by reflex after hearing such sweet words. Forgetting his aching body, the boy turned sharply on the bed and began to stroke the smiling girl's hair once more. It was strange for him to think about it, but he felt happy at this moment. He had just gotten into a senseless fight and ended up injured, but as always he ignored the pain and tried to smile. The difference was this time he didn't have to force that smile.
"This was a good time to give me a decent reward, but you had to ruin it with another half-assed kiss" Shizuri said in a teasing voice. She shook her head negatively and sighed "Is that all I get in return after sitting for hours beside you in that uncomfortable chair?"
"You looked comfortable considering you were sleeping so peacefully" He teased her back, still smiling "I bet you must have dreamed about me. It's a pity I couldn't hear you talking in your dreams again."
"That's a lot of smugness you have there. By the way, you didn't tell me everything I said in my sleep that day, but clearly your version of my dreams is infinitely superior to what I'm seeing here" She rolled her eyes and pretended to be disappointed "Real life is crap. Maybe I should go back to sleep."
"Well... it's kind of obvious that the fruit of your perverted mind would please you that much." Touma pulled away from her a little and placed a hand on her chin "If I remember correctly, in your dream you told me that I was being bold. You know, forget what I said in the car about your games, I'm in the mood to play a little."
When he said that, the girl felt his hand on her cheek, but he used it to push her face away. Pushing her gently, he made her move away a little, only for him to close the distance again and grab her roughly by the waist.
"Is that all you have?" She was not impressed, not at all. "Disappointing."
"You also said things like 'keep kissing me' and 'don't hold back'. That makes it sound like you were doing anything I wanted" One of his hands came down slowly, stopping on one of her soft thighs exposed by that rather indecent bedroom outfit.
"I have another interpretation. Maybe I was giving you orders and you obeyed every one of them."
"Nah... you clearly said 'when my turn comes I won't hold back'. And now it's my turn"
Slowly he brought his face closer to hers, using the same technique Shizuri had used on him several times of stopping at the moment their lips should touch. The hand on her thigh was now moving up, stopping just above her hip, but his thumb bent, causing only the tip of that finger to enter her clothing.
"I better get back to my dreams. I don't see anything interesting here" She joked, changing her smile for a sneer.
"Are you sure?" His other hand that was still on her waist went up the girl's belly and stopped before touching her breasts.
"How boring" She yawned forcefully. "At least kiss me so I can make things interesting"
"If you want to kiss me that badly, do it yourself. I'm right here."
"You were the one who said it was your turn. So do something or let me sleep" Shizuri faked a yawn once again.
Listening to the girl who clearly wouldn't back down from something so simple, he removed his hand from her hip and brought it up equal to the other. The two hands met, stopping just below those breasts moving with the girl's heavy breathing. He moved his hands apart and looked at an important piece of the pajama blouse she was wearing. Using his thumb and forefinger, he grasped one of the buttons of those pajamas.
"Are you hot? I think I'll loosen some buttons. What do you say?" Asked Touma, looking at the girl's body instead of her eyes.
"Always so thoughtful" Was her expressionless reply.
One of the buttons was undone immediately. That was only a warning shot, since there were still two more until the girl showed some cleavage. The second button was undone soon after, but the girl still didn't react, which made Touma narrow his eyes and undo the third. Still nothing.
"What is it Touma? Is the fourth button harder to release than the others?" She asked sarcastically. She puffed out her chest at that moment, that was her counterattack. "I'm almost falling asleep here, so could you hurry up?"
"As you wish" He easily undid the fourth button, making the girl show a good portion of her cleavage. His fingers slid down to the fifth button "You're getting a little exposed here, interesting" Touma undid another button, and without warning, undid the next one as well.
"Sometimes you are too easy to please" That joke earned her another button being released. Now the situation was getting dangerous
"You're running out of buttons. Are you sure you want to continue?"
"I don't understand why you are trying to make it sound like I give a shit"
'Damn Shizuri, that's not romantic at all' He thought, hesitating as he released the next button 'Be a little embarrassed again at least.'
Although he thought this, deep down he was happy, since if she had blushed or shown any sign of embarrassment, he hadn't even gotten past the first button. The girl knew that Touma didn't have very high self-esteem. Although with her help his self confidence was rising considerably, she still had a lot of work to do.
"Need some help, Touma?" She teased him once again, smiling in a silly way "You take on Academy City's number 2 without hesitation but taking a girl's clothes off is too much for you?"
"Shizuri... you shouldn't tease me like that"
"I wish I didn't have to tease you like this. But at least it's fun." Shizuri licked her lips slowly as she said that. "Now go ahead, I bet if you try hard enough, the Kamijou Touma of my dreams will have to try harder to stay in the lead."
That aggressive girl was too much for the heart of a poor, supposedly normal high school boy to handle. Touma put a mischievous smile on his face at that moment, which made Shizuri bite her lip in anticipation of what was to come. Leaning towards her, the boy chose to place his lip against her ear so that he could whisper a tease.
"You are being very vague, Shizuri-chan. Tell me exactly what the other me was doing that was so good so I can imitate it" He slid his hand down her body again, which made her bite her lip even harder.
"Are you trying to cheat?" Shizuri began to breathe even more heavily. Touma wasn't the only one who was receiving damage from all the teasing. "Be creative. Or would you rather have an older girl guide you? I'm perfectly fine with either option...although the first one sounds much more interesting."
"Are you sure? I have a good track record when it comes to holding back" Touma nuzzled his nose against her neck and took a deep breath "But that rose scent and your mischievous smile are driving me crazy"
"That was the point" The girl couldn't take the constant teasing and turned her face to kiss him on the lips. It was a quick kiss, but enough to make her gasp "After all, I don't want you to hold back any longer."
Shizuri certainly had enough. She held both of Touma's hands and brought them to the last button and then placed her own hands above her head with their palms exposed, flashing one last smile that could be interpreted as 'what are you waiting for?'
"I think I'll go with the first option" He said, releasing the last button.
"You never disappoint"
Those two were so amused in their banter and teasing that they momentarily forgot where they were. Unfortunately for them, Touma's misfortune always chose the worst moments to strike him, and this time it took the form of an annoying noise coming from the hospital door.
"It's got to be a fucking joke." Said Shizuri exasperated, looking at the door where someone was knocking "We're busy, come back later." Shouted the girl, looking back at Touma.
"Shizuri, you know we're in a hospital right? We can't just tell people to go away" He turned away from the girl and sat down on the bed.
"Can't we? I've been doing this since the day I walked in here" She joked, holding one of his hands as if she didn't want him to move away "Just ignore it and come back here."
"Kamijou? Mugino? May I come in?" That emotionless female voice was recognized immediately by those two.
"Takitsubo?" Shizuri muttered. She became extremely thoughtful. Sitting down on the bed, she sighed and began to button her blouse again "Looks like it's hopeless. Come in, Takitsubo" Without looking at Touma, she began to grumble "You still owe me a decent kiss after you almost killed me with worry and another for backing out like that after all that teasing."
The only thing Touma could give in response to those grumblings was a tilt of his head before Takitsubo opened the door. The black-haired girl looked at those two and stopped at Shizuri, noticing her buttoning the last button and straightening her clothes.
"Hi. Did I come at a bad time?" The level 4 asked with her usual neutral tone.
"Actually you came at a very, very good time" Murmured Shizuri with a tiny smile at the corner of her lips.
"Hi Takitsubo" Touma ignored those murmurs and greeted the girl "Don't worry about it, we were just talking"
"An excellent conversation by the way" Shizuri commented, placing a hand on Touma's shoulder "We were getting to a very important topic even. We should have this kind of conversation more often."
Rolling his eyes at his girlfriend's antics, Touma turned his gaze back to Takitsubo, who was now staring intensely at him for some reason. Shizuri seemed to notice this strange look as she began to alternate her vision between her and him.
"Glad to see you doing so well Kamijou" Said the inexpressive girl, looking Touma in the eye "It's hard to believe that you actually faced the second strongest esper"
"Not only did he face but he beat him" Shizuri ran her hand around the boy's waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I was a little anxious while waiting, but he proved once again that he is the perfect person to stand by my side"
"How was the fight? Did he have many tricks up his sleeve?" Takitsubo asked. Even with such a neutral tone, you could notice a little interest in her voice.
"He had so many that I don't even know where to start. Seriously, that guy is a fucking monster. His power doesn't make any sense."
"You are the last person who should say that" Takitsubo argued, narrowing her eyes at that right hand.
Shizuri suddenly became restless. She noticed that Takitsubo was acting a little strange, which meant there was something she wasn't telling. The tea-colored girl turned away from Touma and got out of bed abruptly, which made the boy look suspicious.
"Touma, I remembered that I have something to say to Takitsubo. I'll be back in a little while."
Without giving the boy time to respond, she waved to him and practically dragged Takitsubo out of the room. Takitsubo didn't try to resist, she just followed level 5 through the corridors of the hospital until they reached an isolated area that was probably only for authorized personnel, but Shizuri had made such a fuss in this hospital that the people there avoided her as if she had a rare and contagious disease.
"Why did you bring me here?" Takitsubo asked, looking around that place that looked like a warehouse, considering it was full of boxes.
"No one should bother us here." She closed the door and walked to the back of the place. Shizuri clearly wanted to stay away from the door. "Takitsubo, I've noticed that you're acting more strange than usual lately. And I think I know why."
xxxx-xxxx
*A few hours ago
"I'm sorry I doubted you at that moment. I guess I worried for nothing. However, remember that our agreement still stands. I'll do whatever I want with you and don't even think about complaining" Shizuri said this with a teasing tone as she looked up at the stars in the night sky.
The tea-colored haired girl stayed outside the building where Touma and Kakine were fighting at the request of her boyfriend who was worried that she would be hit by a stray shot if she got too close. The boy had told her to call an ambulance as soon as she heard from him. After the fight was over, they with Kumokawa's help would find a suitable place to keep Kakine locked up until they finished their mission.
"Touma?" She asked after hearing a strange noise. The girl got no answer. Looking at her cell phone, she realized that the call had been ended.
A bad feeling invaded Shizuri's body. She had been given clear instructions but she didn't think twice before rushing into that abandoned factory as if her life depended on it. The girl sped through that ruined place, not caring about anything else. Her heart was racing, her mind confused and her body sweating.
"Touma, please be well" She said to the wind, approaching the place where the fight was happening.
"Time to die, fake level 0. But you fought well, although you never had a chance."
When she heard Kakine's voice, the girl's body boiled with anger, but she froze in the doorway when she saw Touma kneeling with his clothes covered in blood. From her position she could only see the boy's left side. Her vision went down to the huge pool of blood that was spreading near him. He had clearly taken a direct hit and was about to lose.
Shizuri gritted her teeth, unable to contain her anger, both at Kakine and at herself for making the mistake of letting Touma fight that monster alone. Her right hand was raised. She didn't care if her powers didn't work on that monster, she had to do something, she had to try to save the life of the person she loved so much. However, Kakine was faster than she was. That wing flew so fast that the girl couldn't even keep up with her eyes.
"Huh?"
But something happened at that moment. Shizuri couldn't understand it, but somehow the level 0 boy had defended himself against that attack. It wasn't like he always did, that attack was stopped in mid-air, as if an invisible barrier was protecting him. The girl was feeling strange at that instant. It was as if her perception of the world was changing. Kakine certainly said something, but everything seemed so distant. She wanted to move, to do something to help her boyfriend, but she just stood there, watching him being attacked over and over again. But none of the attacks hit him.
That in itself seemed impressive, but what came next made Shizuri's eyes widen. She felt the wind being shaken all over the place, just before something inexplicable happened. The wings on the blond boy's back moved to form a shield around him, but it was all useless. They were destroyed, turned to dust, as if they were as fragile as glass. But it didn't stop there. The girl watched as something hit Kakine. Her jaw dropped when she saw Academy City's number 2 being tossed around like a rag doll. But it wasn't over yet. That invisible force hit the boy time after time, making the floor of the place crack. It was as if a giant meat hammer was crushing the body of the poor boy who looked like a helpless child even though he possessed a level 5 power.
"That's enough" That voice snapped her out of her trance. It was Touma's voice, however she was sure Kakine was no longer in a position to hear it.
Once again she felt the air around Touma move in a strange way, only now it seemed different. For an instant it was as if the light itself was distorting around him, causing a phenomenon she was unable to comprehend. After that, she heard her boyfriend take a few breaths and stare into the void. He walked a few meters, standing close to the place where Kakine had been crushed. It seems that he was trying to confirm if the blond boy was still alive. After that he collapsed, probably because of the blood loss.
Shizuri didn't know what to think in front of that scene. Her body moved on its own at that moment, running to where her boyfriend was lying. She held him in her arms, not caring about the blood on his clothes. His breathing seemed quite steady, and the boy's heart was in a stable rhythm. She smiled at that instant, for more than one reason.
xxxx-xxxx
"Isn't that amazing?" Shizuri asked with an odd smile on her face, which left Takitsubo a little disconcerted. "As I said, there are no limits to how interesting my boyfriend is"
The level 5 girl had just told in detail what she had seen in that abandoned factory, which almost drew a surprised face from Takitsubo. She probably couldn't get a bigger reaction because of the fact that the AIM Stalker already suspected that Touma was hiding something.
"So this confirms what I said before" Takitsubo said, placing a hand on her chin "Kamijou was hiding something from us this whole time. But I'm still confused, you said it was as if something invisible was protecting him. What do you think is his power then? Some kind of psychokinesis?"
"It's Touma we're talking about here, so it must not be something so simple." Shizuri was still smiling as she stared into the void "It's hard to explain what I saw. Maybe he can manipulate AIM somehow just like you?"
"It's a plausible theory. It would explain how he can negate espers powers and why I can't detect anything on him without trying very hard. As for this strange attack, maybe he molded a gigantic mass of AIM or something. How much calculating power is needed to do something like that? I need to overload my ability to the max to be able to 'reverse the flow' of a person's AIM, so we are talking about something higher than level 4."
"Yes, that power is definitely level 5. It overwhelmed number 2's power without a problem" She paused for a moment, an idea forming in her head "If we are right about his power, then maybe he could beat even the strongest esper."
"It's too early to make such assumptions" Takitsubo put a skeptical tone in her voice "We'd better hope Kamijou doesn't need to test that theory"
"Yeah. But it would be interesting if the strongest person in Academy City, and consequently the world, lost to the guy our power system considers the weakest. It's kind of poetic" For some reason she sighed audibly, like a damsel in love. "I know I shouldn't think about such things, but after what I saw today..."
"But I'm still confused" Takitsubo said, leaning against a wall and staring at the ceiling "Why is he hiding something like this?"
"I don't know, but if I had to guess I would say it's some trauma"
"Huh? Do you think he accidentally hurt someone with his powers?"
"It's just a theory, but he told me he came to this city because everyone in his hometown thought he was a monster," she revealed, with a reluctant tone. "If he was born with these powers, then it is to be expected that something horrible happened involving that. He attributes it to bad luck, but it doesn't make any sense. I mean, I've seen that his bad luck doesn't mess around, but people getting spontaneously injured because of it is a little hard to swallow."
Stopping to think as she placed her hand on the chin, the girl forced her mind back to that event she found so fascinating. It was weird, but her mind seemed clouded as she watched it, as if she were under the effect of something. But she was sure that there was a large pool of blood on the floor on the right side of the boy's body. She didn't see him raise his right arm as he stopped that attack, she was sure of that.
"He was badly injured there" Shizuri continued "For a moment I even thought number 2 had severed his arm when I saw that pool of blood...in fact I was almost certain I saw his hand on the ground."
"Are you trying to imply that he can regenerate body parts too? That would be ridiculous."
"I know, like I said I'm not sure. What I'm trying to say is that maybe getting hurt so badly reminded him of his trauma, which consequently made him lose control of the ability. A power that big can't be easy to control."
"I can confirm that." Takitsubo nodded and then looked into the void. "This could be a problem for him at some point. Not to put any pressure on you, but do you intend to talk to him about it? You are his girlfriend after all."
"I don't want to question him with something like that right now." Shizuri also leaned on the wall, standing beside the inexpressive girl "We all have secrets. He has a right to have his own too. Besides, I want him to take the initiative to talk about it on his own, however I will give a few hints here and there so that he understands that I know what he is capable of. But I will try not to be direct. If I'm right about the trauma, then it's best to give him a little time to feel comfortable enough with me to talk about it in detail."
"You don't want to suffocate him then?" Takitsubo looked at Shizuri and nodded "A very mature way of thinking"
"Thank you. I am getting a little better at that thanks to a good friend of mine."
xxxx-xxxx
All that white hurt in his eyes. The truth was that he was tired of all this darkness, but he felt that he couldn't just walk into the light without looking back. It all started when he saved a girl from the clutches of darkness, but was unable to save her from herself. He wanted to stop feeling so useless, but it seemed that he was doomed to fail at everything he tried.
"My goal hasn't changed" Touma stared that white as he spoke to no one "I just have to leave my mistakes behind. Focus on my future...focus...focus..." He shook his head and closed his eyes. There was only darkness before him now "Really, why am I still trying?"
"Talking to yourself again, Touma?" Shizuri asked, entering the room without warning. "I hope it's something productive."
The girl pulled the chair she was sitting on earlier closer to the bed and sat down on it. She reached out and took Touma's hand. Their eyes met at that moment, hers looking much brighter than his, but the boy put a smile on his face nonetheless.
"Why did you sit there instead of on the bed?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"I'm a little tired. I'm going to take a nap in this uncomfortable chair."
"Ok... but that doesn't explain why you chose the chair over the bed. You have slept next to me before in case you don't remember."
"I remember it very well, Smartass" She smiled, but soon gave a yawn. That made Touma wonder if it was all pretense before or she was really tired "But you're a lot more injured than before, so it's not smart to use you as a body pillow"
Instead of making an argument, the boy pulled the sheet off him and stood up from the bed. Before Shizuri could ask what he was planning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, making her stand.
"Touma, what do you..."
"Quiet" He interrupted and held her in his arms. With all the care in the world, he placed Shizuri on the bed and covered her with the sheet. "There. I don't want to hear any complaints."
Shizuri smiled slightly as she watched the boy turn around the bed and lie down beside her. He made a point of hugging her and placing her head on his chest, who reluctantly accepted the gesture and snuggled into him.
"Are you sure? I tend to move around a lot in my sleep" She said, closing her eyes and trying to relax.
"I know that very well and I really don't care."
"If you say so. I also don't want to hear complaints when I wake up on top of you and maybe open some wound" She was speaking softly, as if her energy was running out.
"Talking like that makes it sound like you want to climb on top of me on purpose"
"That's technically the truth" Shizuri gave another yawn and ran her hand across his chest "By the way, I may be tired from staying up most of the night, but I wouldn't mind if we continued from where we were interrupted"
"Maybe it's just an impression, but you seem to get more aggressive every day. I really can't keep up."
"It's not just an impression, believe me. I can't say exactly when I started to like you, but this feeling has grown so fast and so strong that I can hardly control myself when we are alone. God... before we even started dating I almost kissed you in that alley in front of the girls. Since the day I met you my life has been... strange, but in a good way.
"Wow... you told me I had a big effect on you but I didn't expect it to be that big" Touma smiled lightly and stroked the top of his girlfriend's head. "So you already liked me before that date at the amusement park"
"Hmm... I can't say for certain that I was already fond of you before your promise to me. I was certainly beginning to enjoy your company, but there was still something missing to convince me that I was falling in love." The girl suddenly turned away from him and sat down on the bed. She opened a drawer of the bedside table and took out something "Talking of falling in love. I was so happy when you woke up that I forgot to give you this."
Opening her palm, the girl smiled as she showed the silver ring that Touma had given her before the fight against Kakine. The boy sat down on the bed and reached out to take the ring, noticing something different about it. Touma's face showed confusion but soon he put a happy smile on his face as he read the message that was engraved there.
"What did you think?" Shizuri said, before her boyfriend could say anything. "I wrote this using my powers, it wasn't exactly easy considering I needed to be pretty precise. "
"'I love you too'. That's very romantic" Touma replied. He held the ring with the tips of his fingers and was about to put it on, however he suddenly stopped "Come to think of it, now that you've engraved this message on it..."
"Do you want me to put it on your finger?" She interrupted him, gently taking the ring from his hands.
"Are you reading my mind now?"
"That shows that we are in sync. Now come here."
Delicately, like a tailor putting a thread on a needle, the girl put the ring on his finger. As she used her right hand to do this, the message on her ring lit up like magic. She put another one of her natural smiles on her face and intertwined the fingers of her hands in his. Touma watched this for only a moment and then used his left hand to grasp the girl's cheek.
"I love you, Mugino Shizuri" he said in a soft but firm tone. He looked deep into the girl's eyes, which seemed to shine like a starry sky at that moment.
Still smiling, the girl leaned down and made her lips meet his. When she pulled away, she stroked his hair and looked into his eyes again. That bluish darkness had a mesmerizing effect. She squeezed that right hand tightly, as if to say with that gesture that she didn't want to let go ever again.
"I love you too, Kamijou Touma"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Welcome to the bottom! This chapter serves as the epilogue to the fight between Kakine and Touma and also to this "arc". Did you think I would leave the end of the fight off screen, huh?
Let's talk about this entire arc now. Technically speaking, this first major arc is divided into a prologue and 3 more short "arcs". The prologue goes from chapter 1 to 5 (as I said in my notes on chapter 4) and it focuses on Shizuri and Touma meeting and learning the basics of each other and solving a problem "together".
From chapter 6 to 11 the base dynamic between these two is created which in this case boils down to the two teasing each other all the time, with Shizuri focusing on bringing Touma closer to the darkness and consequently to her. Meanwhile Touma is focused on both resolving the situation with the ability crystals and finding a way to convince Shizuri to open up to him. This first short arc ends with Touma's promise to Shizuri, which makes her want to have him around even more and allow him to call her by her first name.
From chapter 12 to 18, we have a major change in the relationship of the two. Shizuri is confused about her feelings while Touma is even more focused on solving the situation the city finds itself in. Until Touma admits to himself that he has fallen in love with Shizuri. This second arc ends with a fight and with our two main characters finally becoming a couple.
The third and final 'mini-arc' focuses on the new couple dynamic. It is a time for rest, but internal fighting in ITEM forces Touma to leave the comfort of the hospital and return to the battlefield for the "final" fight. And of course, our lovebirds say the "I love you".
I've talked about it more than once, but this story is more focused on romance and character development, so I hope that in these 3 arcs I've managed to make these two evolve enough. The story will continue in the next major arc which will have a slightly different structure than this one. The story will start to get... strange as characters from the magic side will appear in this arc, but in ways you might not have imagined. The next chapter will be full of "Slice of life" and serve as a cool-down before the journey continues.
I'll take a look at the reviews now.
Toumafukoda: The wait is over. I hope you enjoyed it.
aiman031122:Thanks. I wanted to make this fight similar in size to what is common in the novels.
5queso: The dragons didn't show up, but they will get their time to shine. Fiamma has reason to be scared, considering that he hit the invisible thing with an attack with enough force to destroy the planet, and Touma's power made it look like an insignificant attack, so Kakine had no chance xD. Thank you very much for the compliments.
Xellos540: In respect for the effort to these 3 detailed reviews, I will respond line by line. (This is gonna be looong)
First Review: Fanfiction doing a little trolling, welcome back. Considering that in GT, you have a character who literally asks if Touma is immortal after seeing him survive things he shouldn't, you are absolutely right. Touma has girls in his pseudo harem that he doesn't even remember exist, Kamachi even jokes about this in NT2 LOL. Here Shizuri's supporters were jealous of Touma since she crossed her arms, which accentuates her breasts, maybe I gave the wrong impression here? Shizuri says something similar about killing 20000 slimes to level up in the railgun manga, I just took it out of context as I like to do. The intention was to make reference to a famous scene from COTE, but yes, it fits just about every girl in Tokiwadai. Really came out of nowhere considering that I wanted to keep the point of view focused on Shizuri since I felt that 'head-hopping' here was unnecessary. Lol, you sound kind of disappointed, Touma is an expert at ruining the mood xD. Sakibasu Yuri is a character from the novels. She is a strange kind of Tsundere LOL. Shizuri was just afraid of losing the person she loves. Nah, there's still a lot more for you to see xD. The original sentence was "My sadistic girlfriend can't be this cute" but I changed it while I was revising it. One more step behind, several more to go.
Second Review: Sort of. Touma in Biohacker be like. Kamisato felt an disturbance in the force. Yep, Matrix Reference. Too cool for SCHOOL xD. Misaki was going to be a loyal client. The reason for this will be more or less revealed soon. That was just apology cookies, nothing will blow up I swear. Doesn't normal Kami-yan disease count as chronic? :thinking: . Poor Aihana. This is not even her final form. It's a fingerless glove, so I think it's okay. This was something that would happen sooner or later.
Third Review. This time it wasn't a reference, trust me xD. This fight have some references from Touma vs Rensa, such as Dark Matter's wings splitting and Touma easily negating it and also the "boxing dodges". She was not watching this, but she saw something interesting that night. Othinus vs Touma beta version. Interrupting something Touma is doing willingly in Academy City goes against his plans, since everything Touma does is one step closer to "ultimate purity", Spare Plan is just an epithet of Kakine here and also symbolizing "Touma's spare plan". It seems that I was the victim of a false cognate, thank you very much for pointing this out as I was probably going to make this same mistake more often since a similar word has other meanings in my language. A true member of ITEM. Another big mistake of mine here, the intention was for Touma to use the same OT3 technique, predicting andmoving in the direction the attacks are going, but I worded it pretty badly here. Stealing a line from the novels: On this occasion, Kamijou Touma did not feel that one punch was enough. Indeed. Spin the wheel of misfortune so we know who will handle this. True number one xD. Number one above god LOL. Poor Kakine. Thanks for the reviews.
Shizuri saw something very interesting. She must be excited. I don't have anything else to say about this arc for now. See you at the next one. Nio leaving… wish me luck.