"I can't feel my legs," Misaki Shokuhou whined, letting out a pained groan. She laid sprawled out on her stomach, rivets of sweat running down her face. "Ow, everything hurts."
"God you're pathetic," Kuroko Shirai rolled her eyes, letting out a disappointed sigh. She sat crouched down next to Shokuhou, eyeing her newfound ally with a great deal of scorn. "We barely did even half of what I wanted."
Misaki shot her a dirty look in response, but said nothing else as she grimaced and moaned again.
Kuroko rolled her eyes a second time, but she showed some mercy all the same. She grabbed a water bottle she'd brought with her, and handed it to Shokuhou. She quickly took it, and started taking deep gulps from it, only stopping and handing it back when the bottle was half empty.
Their impromptu training session together had been an interesting time, all things considered. Kuroko had gotten a fairer assessment of Misaki's physical prowess…and was left with even more disappointment than she'd started with. Misaki was terribly out of shape, even moreso than she'd initially believed. It was going to take a lot of time and effort to get her anywhere near the level of physical strength Kuroko wanted her to be at.
Still, at least she knew what sort of baseline she was working with.
"Alright, we're done for the day," she conceded, and stood fully upright. "Come on, get up. You can go hit the showers now, and wash off all that sweat."
Misaki sighed with relief at that, and moved to stand up. Her attempts were aborted rather quickly, however, and she remained stuck to the ground.
After a few moments of silence, she gave another groan and pleaded, "Carry me?"
"Ew, no. You're all gross and sweaty," Kuroko immediately denied with a firm shake of her head. "Come on, don't be such a baby. Get up already."
Misaki growled with frustration, though she started her movements back up all the same. Once she had managed to sit up, she asked,
"Y-You ran and did as much exercise as I did! No, even more! How are you not exhausted too?!"
"Because unlike you, I am in peak physical condition," Kuroko declared, placing a hand on her chest. "I went through the full Judgment training course, and let me tell you, that was no walk in the park. But I managed to get through it all the same, and came out better for it. You're the one who's allowed her body to wither into such a shameful state. If you'd actually been attending gym classes at any point in the last couple years, we wouldn't have to do this in the first place."
"I—I had better things to do!" Misaki protested. She paused for a moment, struggling to get into a kneeling position. Once she'd done so, she added, "And I have people around me who can…do physical stuff for me!"
"And what happens when they can't be there for you?" Kuroko pointed out, crossing her arms. "You saw my memories of your 'fight' against Gensei Kihara. Your clique wasn't around to help you then. The fact of the matter is, Gensei was able to steamroll you in part because you were so physically weak. You could barely run away from him. Hell, the only reason you managed to beat him in the end, was due to tricking him with your ability."
Misaki scowled at her words, but notably didn't say anything to refute them. Instead she finished standing up, shakily getting to her feet a few moments later.
Kuroko pressed her point home, meanwhile, as she continued to speak. "I can't guarantee I'll be around to protect you, either. So you need to train yourself to be stronger. I don't expect you to go out fist-fighting or anything with me or Touma, but if you do find yourself in physical danger, I expect you to be able to actually run away. As you are right now, almost every threat that's coming our way would be able to catch you with ease."
Shokuhou placed her hands on her hips, still looking distinctly unhappy, but Kuroko could see the gears turning in her head. Her mention of Touma seemed to have stirred something within her as well, as a pained grimace briefly flashed through her features.
What exactly she was thinking, Kuroko couldn't say. She had a fair idea of Misaki's relationship with Touma, but she didn't have a full grasp on all the finer details. She knew, vaguely, that Touma had defended Misaki during a conflict of some kind, and had gotten himself grievously injured for her sake. She also knew that Misaki had used her power to try and save him, at the cost of Touma no longer being able to remember her. The specifics of that situation, though, she was fuzzier on.
Maybe it was better that way: Kuroko knew enough about her history due to her meta-knowledge. Shokuhou's personal life was her own, and she deserved to keep some secrets to herself.
"Perhaps you have a point," Misaki finally acknowledged through gritted teeth.
Kuroko smiled at that, more than happy to receive such a concession. With that, she continued to advance her argument, saying,
"It doesn't have to be me that keeps training you, if that's what you're worried about. I'm sure that Hokaze would be more than happy to take over, or do it whenever I'm unable to. But the point is, there are tons of dangerous people and organizations in this city, and quite frankly, you are physically unprepared to deal with any of them. I just…want you to stay safe, you know? I don't want you getting hurt, or worse."
She trailed off with a sigh, her mind flashing back to the image of Misaki Shokuhou, bruised and beaten into submission by Gensei Kihara. It had been an uncomfortable enough image then, and it was doubly so now.
Misaki's starry eyes softened at her tone, and after a few moments she gave a small sigh of her own. She still looked disgruntled, but a lot of that ire was swiftly fading away in the face of her argument.
"Fine. I…get what you're saying," Misaki groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I certainly don't relish the idea of being in such a vulnerable state with Kihara, or anyone else for that matter. I'll…talk with Junko about setting up a proper exercise regimen for myself. And…I suppose I'll let you train me from time to time, as well. It might not be a bad idea to learn some self-defense techniques…"
Kuroko smiled at that, and happily nodded at her. "Good! That's all I ask. Let me know once you've coordinated things with Hokaze, I'll help however I can."
With that, she handed Shokuhou's bag back to her. Misaki eagerly snatched it back, briefly looking at the contents inside to make sure she hadn't messed with it. Satisfied it was all untouched, she turned her attention back to Kuroko.
"Fine, fine. I'll let you know," she sighed.
Then, a more mischievous gleam entered Misaki's eyes, causing alarm bells to ring in Kuroko's head. With surprising speed, Misaki seized the back of her head, and pressed Kuroko's face against her chest.
"Aww, it's nice to know you care so much about me~!" Misaki cooed, rubbing her face along her gym shirt.
"Ack! Gross, let me go! You're all wet and sweaty!" she protested, before breaking free from Shokuhou's grip.
She teleported a few feet away for good measure, glaring at Misaki as she snickered to herself.
"And here I thought some people liked that," Misaki teased, giggling some more.
"Those people are freaks and degenerates, and I'm not one of them, thank you very much," Kuroko shot back, placing her hands on her hips.
"Oh? Hm, is that so? You know, speaking of degenerates, I'm fairly sure in that other life, that you—!"
"No, stop! Don't say anything else!" Kuroko demanded, in a half-pleading, half threatening tone. "I-It's not like I'm that person anymore, so—!"
She cut herself off, eyes widening as she fully registered that reflexive statement. An anxious pit opened up in her stomach, while a whole new cascading series of thoughts and questions started filling up her head.
"I—I'm not—but I'm not Kuroko Shirai either, so—!"
Kuroko let out a shaky breath, her hands billed up into fists. Her nails bit deeply into her skin, almost hard enough to draw out blood. The entire time her mind raced a mile a second, that yawning pit growing deeper inside of her, growing closer and closer to consuming her entirely—
Then, Kuroko heard the click of a button, and felt a sudden flood of endorphins wash over her system. She let out a surprised gasp, and was in hardly any state at all to resist Misaki as she started hugging her again.
"Hey, you're fine. Everything's fine," Misaki whispered to her, gently patting her back. "You're still you, and that's all that matters right now. Just breathe, okay?"
Kuroko gave a stiff nod, breathing in and out as she heard some more clicks and presses from Shokuhou's remote. After a few minutes, she felt her body start to calm itself down, that pit in her stomach receding until it wasn't even there.
She closed her eyes, letting out a shaky sigh a few moments later.
"Thank you," she said, letting Shokuhou hug her. She felt an odd warmth bloom in her stomach, that odd fluttering feeling returning, though this time she didn't mind it in the least.
Misaki murmured something in reply and patted her back again, the two of them staying like that for a little while.
Kuroko, of course, had to break the mood by stating the obvious.
"God, you stink."
Shokuhou snorted in response, and pushed her away as she wryly remarked, "And whose fault is that again?"
Kuroko rolled her eyes, but a good-natured smile remained on her lips all the same. "Come on, let's go get you washed up now."
From there, the two of them left the track field, and made their way over to the nearby locker room.
Misaki wasted no time in stripping, and started tugging off her wet clothes in a frantically zealous manner. Kuroko, of course, politely looked away as she heard her clothing hit the tiled floor.
"Ugh, now my stockings and gloves are ruined," Misaki whined, Kuroko able to glimpse said sweat-stained garments out of the corner of her eyes.
"Hey, you're the one who chose to wear them," she pointed out with a shrug. "I'm sure they'll be fine once they're properly laundered. And hey, now you know not to wear them next time."
Shokuhou grumbled under her breath, but said nothing else as she stripped.
Kuroko heard her walk into a shower stall soon thereafter, the sound of running water soon filling up the room around them.
"You ought to shower too, you know. I can't imagine you smell nice either," Misaki remarked from her stall.
Kuroko opened her mouth to reject her premise on principle, but paused. She took a quick sniff of herself, and wrinkled her nose at the smell. "Oh, fine. I suppose you have a point…"
She sighed, and started to strip as well. She put her clothes away in a more neat and orderly manner, before choosing a stall opposite Misaki's own to start her own quick shower. Kuroko let the pleasant hot water run down her skin, eyes closed as her body mechanically went through the process of cleaning herself.
She almost lost herself entirely to the process, but a sudden, errant thought interrupted her. Her body came to a brief stop, before she slowly started to resume her motions.
"Hey, I meant to mention this the other day. But you should try to track down Mitori, if you can,"
"Oh?' Shokuhou's voice called out in question.
"The timeline for when Mitori Kouzaku was recruited by Gensei Kihara is a bit…vague. We're too late to stop her from getting arrested and taken to the Reformatory, but we might not be too late to get her out. Mitori would be a useful ally for us, and she'd do anything for Dolly. If Gensei hasn't already grabbed her, you should definitely try to do it for yourself," she explained.
Of course, it was entirely possible that Kihara had recruited her already, in which case such a gesture would be fruitless. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. Besides that, Mitori was a good person, if just misguided and driven to bitterness and cruelty by what Academy City had done to her and those she cared about. If they could save her from Kihara's clutches, and show Mitori that there was another way, then that would save them a lot of trouble and heartache for the future.
She ought to look up Mitori in the Judgment database when she had the chance: if she showed up as deceased, then she'd know for sure that Kihara had already gotten to her. And if not…well, frankly, Kuroko wasn't sure if Misaki herself had the resources to break her out of the Reformatory. Perhaps…if she couldn't, they could enlist Heaven Canceller's help? Surely he had the influence and sway to get someone out of there.
Yeah, that wasn't a bad idea, actually. Kuroko filed that thought away for later.
"That's a fair point. I'll keep that in mind," Misaki conceded. "She would certainly be someone useful to join my Clique, if I could get her record scrubbed clean. Even if not, any friend of Dolly's is a friend of mine."
Kuroko nodded, and kept cleaning her body thereafter. She finished up before Misaki was done, and was already dried off and dressed back in her regular uniform by the time Mental Out walked out of her stall. Once more, she politely kept her gaze away from her.
"Ah, that feels so much better," Misaki sighed with relief.
Kuroko heard the sound of rustling cloth behind her, as Shokuhou dried herself off and started redressing. Soon enough she was presentable and dressed back in her own uniform, though minus her stockings and gloves.
"Well, I think all that exercise has worked up quite the appetite," Misaki sighed, running a hand through her hair. "And I think you should take some responsibility for that. Don't you?"
Kuroko narrowed her eyes, an objection already leaping to her tongue. But this time, Misaki was faster on the draw than she was. A vindictive smile spread over her face, and the last thing Kuroko heard was the click of a remote.
When Kuroko was brought back to awareness, she was sitting at a long table at what looked like a fancy, upscale restaurant, with the entire Shokuhou Clique sat around her. Junko Hokaze and Komaki were on either side of Kuroko, while Misaki herself sat directly across from her.
Kuroko blinked rapidly, trying to come to terms with her changed surroundings, when the sound of several loud pops startled her. She couldn't help but jump, noticing that several members of Misaki's clique had set off party poppers, while the others were all clapping and smiling at her.
"Welcome to the clique!" Hokaze happily said beside her, an angelic smile on her lips. "We're so happy to have you, Shirai!"
"I…" Kuroko shook her head slightly, and looked back at Shokuhou with a puzzled glance.
Misaki simply stared back at her with a smug smile.
"I'm happy to be here," she finally said, giving her most practiced, polite smile. "Thank you all for having me."
Okay, so Misaki had taken control over her to bring her to a surprise welcome party? That was…a little unexpected, but something she could adjust to easily enough. Maybe Misaki didn't have any sore feelings about their training that afternoon after all?
"We're happy to have you here," Misaki practically purred, drawing Kuroko's attention back onto her. "I hope you enjoy your dinner! I thought you'd enjoy the food offered here quite a bit. I, myself, can't imagine eating a dish like the one you ordered…but hey, you do you!"
Kuroko narrowed her eyes in response, though she hardly had any time to dwell on Shokuhou's cryptic words. Her attention was quickly taken up by the other clique members, the group formally introducing themselves one by one. She found it a little trying to memorize their names and faces all at once, but she did her best. Honestly, looking at everyone assembled here, it struck her again just how big Misaki's clique was. It made her wonder just what they saw in the 'Queen' of Tokiwadai…
Well, maybe they saw in her what she knew of Shokuhou herself.
As Kuroko mused over the thought, the steady sound of idle conversation became omnipresent, as the rest of the clique started chatting among themselves. Kuroko herself engaged in some chatter here and there, politely talking with Hokaze and any other clique members that struck up a conversation with her.
Komaki was one such person, remarking with a relieved smile, "I'm glad you're feeling better Shirai! Shokuhou really had me worried when she said you got sick last night. I was worried you might have to go back to the hospital."
"Oh, I'm fine now, don't worry," Kuroko assured her. "I'm just…thankful Shokuhou let me stay with her last night."
Komaki nodded, though any other response from her failed to emerge as she started to pale. Kuroko furrowed her brow at the sudden, odd reaction, but something else drew her attention, as she glanced over the rest of the table.
All other conversation had died out entirely, with the entire clique now focusing their attention directly on her.
Kuroko blinked in quick succession, caught off guard by the sudden attention. She glanced back over to Misaki, as if to get an answer from her, but for some odd reason she was avoiding her eyes entirely.
"So," Satori Kobayashi, a girl with short brown hair sitting beside Shokuhou, drew Kuroko's attention as she broke the silence that had fallen upon them. "You stayed over with Shokuhou last night?"
"Well…yes. I wasn't…feeling well, and Shokuhou offered to let me spend the night at her place, so I didn't have to go all the way back to my dorm," Kuroko confirmed, nodding her head. That was the story Misaki had come up with, and she wasn't about to contradict it now.
Kobayashi narrowed her eyes slightly, and shot a quick glance at Misaki, before turning her attention back to Kuroko. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that! Well, I'm glad you're feeling better now. Still, sleeping on Shokuhou's spare futon can't have been too comfortable…"
"Oh, no, we slept together," Kuroko corrected her, failing to notice the sharp look Misaki shot at her. "Her bed was actually quite comfortable, I'll admit."
A chorus of whispers broke out amongst the clique at that, much to Kuroko's own confusion. At the same time, Kuroko felt Misaki kick her under the table, which made her give her a sharp, albeit confused, glare. Just what was her problem now?
"Oh, how nice of her!" Junko gushed happily, shooting Misaki an admiring look. "I'm glad our Queen was able to take care of you during your time of need."
"Oh yes, how very sweet of her," Kobayashi agreed, though her tone was far more venomous in comparison. She shot Misaki another look, before turning her attention back onto Kuroko herself. "I do hope our Queen wasn't too overbearing, though."
"Well…" Kuroko gave a small shrug, thinking it over before adding, "I guess the cuddling wasn't too bad? It made it easier to sleep."
There were more than a few gasps at the table, and the present murmurs grew all the more excited and heated. Kuroko even saw a few members of the clique shoot her envious looks, which only made her more confused.
Kobayashi, meanwhile, was staring right at Misaki with a pointed look and a fixed smile that looked anything but friendly. Misaki, for her part, was facing away from her whilst taking a very long sip from her drink.
Kuroko was left with more questions than answers at this bizarre interaction, but such thoughts were soon put to the wayside as their food started to arrive. Misaki herself looked quite relieved at that, and any further tensions at the table dissipated as their meals were plated before them. Pleasant chatter resumed soon thereafter, as everyone else started to partake of their chosen dish.
Kuroko, meanwhile, could only stare at her offered meal blankly, before slowly staring back up at Shokuhou.
She stared back at her with a vicious grin, her starry eyes gleaming with intense satisfaction.
Kuroko turned her attention back to her food a few seconds later, contemplating it. She idly wondered how much of a scandal she'd cause by throwing it at Shokuhou's face…though she discarded the idea after a few moments of thought. Tempting as the idea was, she didn't want to make a poor impression on the rest of the clique. Plus, she didn't want to waste any good food.
It was actually a delicious looking meal: a curry dish to be specific, and Kuroko Shirai had had plenty of experience eating curry. That really wasn't the problem here. So what was the problem? Well, this particular dish was a different sort of curry: it was, in fact, a Phall curry, one of the hottest curry dishes in the known world. And neither in her old life, nor in this life, had Kuroko ever taken that well to spicy food.
Kuroko drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for the pain that was to come. If Misaki expected her to try and order a replacement dish, then she had another thing coming. Both the person she had been, and Kuroko Shirai, weren't ones to admit defeat easily. And for that matter, she was not about to back down from a challenge thrown down by Misaki Shokuhou herself.
So, she grabbed her silverware, and began to sample her dish.
As her eyes began to water and her mouth burned with the spicy flavor, Kuroko started to contemplate how she'd get her revenge on Shokuhou. She wasn't about to take this one lying down: if Misaki Shokuhou wanted a war, then she was going to get one.
Aside from the intense agony her food gave her, the welcoming dinner with Shokuhou's Clique was actually fun. Kuroko had a fairly positive impression of the clique as a whole by the end of it, and had gotten more than a few new numbers and contact info from the other girls.
Once it was all over, she and Komaki left the gathering and made their way back over to their dorm. The Dorm Supervisor intercepted them on their way back inside, briskly taking the doctor's note Kuroko had gotten from Heaven Canceller. Kuroko nervously sweated the entire time the Dorm Supervisor poured over the contents of the letter, and took long enough to make her wonder if the Dorm Supervisor was about to accuse her of trying to pass off a fake doctor's note.
Thankfully, that did not come to pass. Instead, she accepted the note with a crisp nod, and finally let them pass on. She and Komaki quickly scurried away thereafter, walking as fast as they could through the dormitory halls.
Once they were safely back in their room, Kuroko collapsed onto her bed with a groan. "Honestly, that woman is going to be the death of me. I just know it…"
"Yeah, she can be pretty scary. But, she cares in her own special way," Komaki pointed out, taking a seat on her own bed.
Kuroko rolled her eyes, but said nothing else in reply. She knew Komaki was right there, however much she might want to say otherwise.
Her memories of the world that could have been did show that the Dorm Supervisor was an earnest, caring woman, albeit overly strict at times. Outside of the dorms, she seemed to be a fairly normal and caring young woman. Certainly, she'd been a good caretaker at that Child Error orphanage. Still, it was the times that the woman was zealously firm that made her supremely wary and cautious of her in the first place.
Really, would it kill her to relax a little sometimes? And honestly, did she need to enforce the rules with such an iron-fisted grip? Kuroko really didn't want to get her neck snapped over every little offense and fraction.
"So," Komaki spoke up, bringing Kuroko's attention back over to her.
Her roommate was lying on her side, pointedly looking down at the floor between them as she continued to speak. "Shokuhou was telling me you wanted to switch dorm rooms."
Kuroko grimaced, looking away as an awkward silence fell between them. She didn't say anything in response, not at first, her mind instead racing for a proper way to explain herself.
She…really should have seen this coming. Focused as she had been on the goal of becoming Mikoto Misaka's roommate, she had forgotten to take Makigami's feelings into account. A fact that made her feel even worse, as feelings of regret started to swell inside of her.
Honestly, she had no idea how the original Kuroko Shirai would have handled things, given the lack of clarity from Canon as to how the whole roommate affair had played out to begin with. With no proper guide to fall back on, Kuroko would just have to do this on her own and hope for the best.
"Sorry, Makigami. It's not that I don't enjoy hanging out with you, or being roommates. But…" she trailed off, struggling to find a way to explain herself.
How could she explain the complex moving parts here that required her to become close friends with Mikoto Misaka? Or at least, how could she explain that without coming off as a crazy person or something?
"I know, Shokuhou told me everything. You want to be roommates with the Railgun herself," Makigami said, finally looking over at her. With a small smile she added, "Honestly, I don't blame you. She is pretty cool. And you seemed rather taken with her."
Kuroko felt a blush break out over her cheeks, though she did her best not to let that embarrassment affect her tone. "I, I suppose you could say that. But, I really am sorry, Makigami. I just…need to be roommates with Misaka. I…sorry. It's just, really hard to explain…"
Komaki gave her a pained smile at that, and that in turn sent a shard of remorse straight into Kuroko's heart. She trailed off, trying to find a way to properly elaborate her position, to try and make peace with Makigami…
But, her roommate beat her to the punch.
"Hey, listen, it's fine! Really, Shirai. I get it. You want to be close to your crush, and it's totally fine."
Kuroko froze for a few moments, her flush getting even more heated as she started shaking her head rapidly. "N-No, wait, you've got it wrong! I don't have a c-crush on Misaka!"
Komaki shot her an amused grin, a mischievous chuckle escaping her throat soon thereafter. "Oh come on Shirai. You don't have to lie to me! Shokuhou explained everything to me. And I mean everything. Really, I do get it. You wanna get close with your crush! Like I said, that's totally understandable. And hey, I'll be rooting for you too, you know!"
Kuroko was fairly certain her face was as red as a tomato at this point; but all the same, she couldn't help but look over at Komaki, making sure she was really fine with all of this. After a few seconds of silence, she tentatively asked, "Really? You're…okay with it?"
"I am, don't worry. I mean, we'll still be friends, and fellow officers of Judgment and all, right?" Makigami pointed out with a genuine smile on her face. "I mean, I will miss being your roommate. But really, it's not a problem at all. I just want you to be happy."
A sense of relief flooded her system at those simple words, and all of her prior worries and anxieties started to fade away. Kuroko sighed, and gave Komaki a thankful smile.
"Thanks. I…really appreciate it, you know. You're a good friend, Makigami."
Komaki smiled sweetly in response, and Kuroko couldn't help but be a little captivated by that smile.
With the tension eased between the two of them, Kuroko found it easy to switch to lighter, more friendly topics with Komaki. The two of them continued to chatter the night away, talking about everything and nothing, until the late hour grew to be too much to ignore.
From there, the two of them settled in for their nightly routine, going about their business until they were ready to sleep. All too soon Kuroko found herself tucked in bed, her restless mind thinking back over not just on this day's events, but that of the past week.
Her first full week since her Awakening had passed, and she'd made a great deal of progress since then. She'd recruited both Misaki Shokuhou and Heaven Canceller into her inner circle, and told Uiharu about her past life. She'd also joined the Shokuhou Clique, and made plenty of new friends both in and out of Tokiwadai. She'd also gotten the address of Kamijou's school, which would make meeting up with him all the easier.
All in all, it was a good start in her plans to change Academy City, but she was far from done. There were still so many things she needed to do: track down and recruit Touma Kamijou, meet with Harumi Kiyama, figure out a way to halt the Level Six Shift Project early, save as many Sisters as she could, figure out a way to potentially intervene against DA early, prepare for Index's arrival into Academy City, so on and so forth. So many things that needed her attention, that she needed to set into motion…but, it wasn't a bad start, overall.
Now, she just needed to keep moving forward. And hopefully from here, things would continue looking up for her.
With that thought in mind, Kuroko Shirai closed her eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note:
So comes an end to Sadrai's first week since her arrival. And what an eventful week it has been! From here, the Introductory/first main arc of the story isn't far off from being finished. I foresee maybe one to three more chapters left, then an Interlude chapter will follow. And once that is done, the second arc begins! The pacing should pick up in earnest from there, I hope. Interesting times abound!