Whoo! That was a close one. For a second there, I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish this before I leave for my family vacation. Yet, here we are, posted the day before I'm set to leave. Then again, that was mostly my fault. For the last few weeks, I've been pouring dozens of hours into Xenoblade Chronicles 2, now my new favorite game of all time, right up there with the original. I just finished the main game yesterday, so all that's left is to complete as many of the quests I can find, roll all of the rare blades (curse you gacha system and your ploy to keep me playing until the Torna Expansion comes out), and develop the rest of the Titan countries in the game to five stars. Yeah, that's going to be a really bad time sink in the future. Then again, I think the game is starting to influence my writing. A lot of the themes from that game are starting to bled into my story. Its minuet now, but it could easily escalate.

I'm happy to see that last chapter was pretty well received. Here's to hoping the closing of the arc goes over just as well. As for future plans, once I get back from my vacation, I'm planning on adding an intermission chapter for Touma and Shizuri's sibling reunion. Can I just say, it is so hard to call her by her first name after getting used to knowing her by her last name. Normally, I would just call her Mugino, but since that's part of an alias in this story, I can't call her that. Afterwards, I'll be covering the Angle Fall Arc, revamped with family feels that will partially be undermined by the magical hijinks. After that, Silent Party Arc and the last of the animated Railgun material.

Also, I'm going to be experimenting in the future with musical accompaniment with certain scenes in the story. They'll be a bit sporadic, and the concept might not even stick. Still, I want to give it a shot. So, before you start this chapter, I suggest you look up "One Last You". It's the ending song of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Is it obvious that the game had a massive impact on me?

For now, let's cover some Q&A.

YokaiAngel: Thank you!

acpeters: You'll have to wait and see. I have a lot planned for them in the future.

felixiglesias8: I'm happy I have inspired you. I wonder what you will create.

icedshadows: Thank you! I've never considered writing a book from scratch. I can't exactly create a totally organic story from scratch. Why do you think I write fanfiction? Have you seen my works list? It's mostly rehashes of previous ideas and CinemaWin parodies.

SoulReaver267: Wow, that is some high praise. Thank you. I never though someone would think I did the fight better than the original writer.

OnePunchPlayer: Angel Fall comes next. Technically, they occur at the same time, but for the purposes of this story, they're happening in sequence. You'll see why later.

Bluejack222: It varies with translation. The dub uses "Third String", a sports reference. It refers to a third set of players in a team that are given the least priority in getting put on the field during a game.

GhostofTime: Yup. You know me. I love me some puns.

Anonymous Noob the 2nd: Thanks for all the praise. Touma and Accelerator will make up, just not right now.

Kim454: Come on man, I already have one guy sinning every single one of my chapters. I don't need another one. Hm... I think I would be a Level 4 Esper Technopath. Given the fact that we live in the technical age, I think that would be an awesome power to have.

mohamadstar94: Eh, I try. That is going to be a long while. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Who knows, maybe a different path will open up by the time I get there.

RyuAssassin: Thank you!

Sergio644: That was always the plan. I'm just showing some favoritism by having Mikoto be the front runner.

Guest (1): Here you go.

guest (Guest): Thanks.

Guest (2): All of that will happen in due time. Just not right now.

Guest (3): I actually have a lot of the story planned out already. Yuri will be avoiding Touma for the time being. Lots of emotional stress to deal with. Angle Fall is next and will be set up with the Kamijou sibiling's reunion. The Three Stories Arc will occur mostly like in canon, just with a few naturally occurring discrepancies. One thing I can confirm is that it will mean big chances for Yuri.

ThinkThisOver (Guest): Don't worry, I've thought this over plenty. The concept was inspired by a set of stories written and posted by a friend of mine, so I already have a good idea of how to meld the two worlds. Honestly, out of everything, the timeline is the easiest to hand-wave since Toaru never gives us a definitive year, just that its happening in the modern day. For me, that means anyting within the last decade or so, plenty of time to work with. Besides, this is only a concept I felt like sharing. There is no guarantee this idea will even take off.

ArmoredCoreNineBall: Glad you liked the chapter. The real question isn't how the sibiling's reunion affects ITEM, but how the reunion affects ITEM's interactions with others. I'll leave that for you to figure out.

TeotakuFantasia: You have a lot to look forward to. I'll try my best to deliver.

fencer29: Guess its just a force of habit. You know how anime and manga otaku are, implementing Japanese into their daily lives when they really don't need to. I'll probably change that in future chapters. While it is true that ODD is an ever evolving tool, it is unlikely to reach Sonic Screwdriver levels of utility, at least within the current decade. There is only so much you can fit in a solid, metal rod. If it was just a container for nanomachines, then that would be a different story, but that's years ahead of where I have the story set. Touma's use of ODD will be limited to a few reasonable utilities for a member of Judgement and the weapon modes he has now. What makes fights interesting will be how Touma improvises strategies with ODD, much like how he used it as a distraction against Accelerator in the last chapter.

drunkenlullabies90: Butterfly Effect, my friend. The changes are small now, but they will lead to much larger changes in the future. Take the last chapter for instance. The original fight was just about stopping the experiment, but my version also added the layer of Touma trying to reach out to his lost friend, even revamping the choreography. Most of the changes rely heavily on character's personalities and relationships.

RedSS: Yeah, those sins actually feel a bit deserved. Actually, Touma constantly calling Accelerator Yuri was supposed to convay that, to Touma, there is no difference between the two of them. All he sees is Yuri Suzushina, his dear friend that has been dragged into a personal hell.

Generation Zero: Happy you liked the chapter. For me, the writing the fight was less about the physical struggle and more about the emotional struggle between two lost friends, with one trying to save the other while said other is trying to keep that past buried. Of course, I added quite a few changes in the fight itself, implementing parts of both anime versions and adding some new maneuvers. I know a lot of people wanted the other girls involved and helping, but the main crux of the conflict was that the basic premise of the experiment, Accelerator is the strongest, needed to be disproved by having him beaten by a Level 0 alone. Having a Level 4 like Kuroko or the Level 5 Mikoto too involved would put the fight closer to the margin of error. I do have plans for the girls to learn about the project in the future, so sit tight.

Guest (4): Not even close. She wasn't actually watching the fights themselves. You're supposed to interpret that line as he watching the progress of the experiment itself and all of the ways that Mikoto struggles to put a stop to it. Things like staying up to date on which of the hundred plus facilities she tries to destroy in a fruitless attempt to stop it. She will, however, be miffed that the experiment was ended because of some Level 0 that she doesn't realize is her younger brother.

And that's all of them. Let's not dilly-dally any longer. Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.

Chapter 37: Who We Fight For

The next morning, Mikoto stood in front of an all too familiar hospital room. Room 1028 in Heaven Canceller's hospital, the room specially reserved for regular patient, Touma Kamijou. She had a back of store bought cookies in her hand, the most expensive brand she could find at Seventh Mist. Despite coming to the room so many times before, she still had nerves. Granted, this was the first time she came to visit by herself. Regardless, this was something she needed to do in private.

Slapping her cheeks a few times to psyche herself out, Mikoto steeled her nerves and opened the door, excusing herself for her intrusion. Upon entering, she noticed Touma was asleep in his bed. He was bandaged up from head to toe, understandable considering his condition listed among his top five visits to the hospital. Trying not to bother him, she quietly approached the bed, looking over his injured form from the side. However, she was caught off guard when Touma suddenly but calmly woke up.

"Sorry," Mikoto apologized, taking a step back, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Not at all," Touma insisted, sitting up, "Good to see you."

"Same," Mikoto replied, holding out her bag, "Here, a get-well gift. Your journal is in there, as well as the most expensive cookies I could find. I figured you would have preferred homemade, but I was a bit short on time."

"Really? I would have thought you would have baked some yourself, only to second guess your decision and just opt for store bought," Touma teased with a cheeky grin.

"Idiot," Mikoto said playfully, lightly jabbing him in the in the shoulder, "It's the thought that counts."

"Hey, watch it, I'm injured here!" Touma laughed, rubbing his shoulder.

After calming down, Mikoto pulled up a chair next to Touma's bed. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Touma decided to cut to the chase.

"Your sister came to visit me last night. Caught me a bit by surprise, really," Touma admitted, "She told me the Project was stopped."

This was a very good thing. At long last, Project Level 6 Shift had been put to a stop. Mikoto should have been happy about it. However, she couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy about the situation. He hung her head down in shame, avoiding Touma's gaze.

"Their over, but because of me," Mikoto whispered, clutching her fists, "So many…"

"Well, you know, if you hadn't offered them your DNA map, none of those girls would have ever existed," Touma offered, looking out the window of his room, "That experiment was messed up in a lot of ways, but at least something good came out of it, your sisters. You can take pride in that. Think of it like this. If you had never given them you DNA map, none of your sisters would have had a chance at life whatsoever. What's the point in moping? I don't think would want to see you like this, beating yourself up."

Hearing another one of Touma's improvised speeches, Mikoto couldn't help but smile. There was just something about the way he put words together that always stirred something up in her. He was the kind of person whose words take a direct route to your heart and make you reconsider everything you thought you knew. Its just a part of his natural charisma.

"It's all thanks to you," Mikoto noted, "If it weren't for you and your stupidly unyielding desire to give everyone a happy ending, I would be dead right now."

"Well, you know me. I can't stand to see someone unhappy," Touma shrugged.

"Sorry about Yuri though."

"What are you talking about?" Touma asked, confused.

"Well, you weren't able to save him," Mikoto explained, "I saw everything after that explosion. From what I could tell, he didn't recognize you at all. He didn't even call you your name. Up until the very end, he didn't act like the friend you been searching for all these years. Despite everything you've tried to do for him, you were still unable to reach him."

"Is that what you think?" Touma asked, skeptically.

"Huh?"

"From what I saw, I think I did manage to reach him," Touma said, wistfully, "Just before I knocked him out, I must have stirred something in him that made him remember. It was quiet, but I heard him call me by name just before he hit the ground. In that moment, I was able to bring out the old Yuri. Given his condition and status, he was probably sent to this hospital to get patched up. After all, that was the first time he has ever been physically hurt."

"Are you going to visit him?" Mikoto asked.

"No, not yet," Touma sighed, "He's probably going through a lot right now. He has a lot to think about. I'm going to give him a bit of space for now. When the time is right, I'll see him again. Maybe then, we'll be able to continue our friendship where we left off."

"And what if you can't?" Mikoto proposed, "What if your friendship from the past is so strained by you've both gone through that you can't pick up where you left off?"

Touma simply gave her a small smile.

"Then we'll just have to start from scratch," Touma answered, "I'm not stupid. We haven't seen each other in a decade. In that time, I've gotten amnesia and he's been twisted on a psychological level. To think we can pick up where we left off is wishful thinking. However, I'm not giving up on him. If there's even the slightest chance that we can be friends again, even if it means starting over, I have to take it. I've left him alone for ten years. I'm not abandoning him again."

There it was, Touma's unyielding optimism. It was what got him through his daily misfortune. It was what pushed him to give people a happy ending. But most importantly, it was what made him so likeable. No matter how dire the situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem, he was always that beacon of hope that people could turn to.

"You really are amazing, you know that?" Mikoto mused.

"Part of the reason you love me, right?" Touma teased.

"Oh, you remembered that?" Mikoto asked, embarrassed.

"I may have a history with memory loss, but I'm not that bad with remembering things, especially something as important as that," Touma defended, "Honestly, I expected you to desperately try to deny it and chalk it up to a head injury I got in the fight."

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Mikoto denied.

"Sure you aren't," Touma snarked, "But, given the fact that you're not trying to deny it, I take it you want an answer. I did promise I would give you one."

"…Yeah, an answer would be nice," Mikoto blushed.

"Wow, thanks for putting me on the spot like that," Touma lamented, "Truth be told, I'm not sure I have an answer for you, at least not right now. As far as I can remember, this is the first time any girl has ever confessed to me. Though, now that I'm saying it out loud, I think that might have been a poor choice of words."

"You think?"

"Point is, I have no idea how to deal with the situation," Touma admitted, "If you're willing to give me the time, I might be able to give you an answer eventually, though there's not telling how long it will be before I give you that answer."

"…Sure, I think I'd like that," Mikoto replied, "Take your time. I've waited this long. I can wait a bit longer."

"Tha-"

"However," Mikoto cut Touma off, "From now on, this is a declaration of war! Until you give me an answer, I'm going to throw everything I've got at you to get you to say 'yes', so you better prepare yourself! I'm not holding back."

Seeing Mikoto's determination, Touma couldn't help but smile. Thinking back, he had once been fooled into thinking she was his girlfriend after he woke up with amnesia. Initially, he only agreed because he wanted to maintain the façade he gave Index, but now he was thinking there was some truth to his lie. Mikoto had her own brand of cute, and her relationship with her sisters was definitely a plus. He definitely had a lot to think of.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Touma replied with a smile, "So, are you planning to tell the others about all this? About your sisters and the experiments, that is."

"I think I'll keep it on the down low for now," Mikoto admitted, "With everything happening pretty recently, I don't think it would be best to drop it all on top of them at once like that. Until the time is right, I'll keep it a secret. Maybe then I'll tell them."

"I take it you want the rest of this to be kept a secret too," Touma observed.

"Please do," Mikoto begged, "I don't think I could handle Saten's teasing, Uiharu's fantasies, or Kuroko's increased attempts to join in."

"Yeah, I get it," Touma laughed, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed.

The two students simply sat there in quiet, enjoying each others company. The danger had passed, all the issues have been resolved, and their personal peace had been restored. Unfortunately, that peace and quiet didn't last very long.

"Touma!" Index yelled as she burst through the door.

"Index, quiet," Saten reprimanded, as she followed suit, "You can go yelling in a hospital."

"Good grief, you'd think she'd learn that by now considering how often Kamijou ends up in the hospital, "Kuroko complained as she walked in.

"Sorry to intrude," Uiharu apologized, following Kuroko, "Are you doing okay, Kamijou?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Touma laughed softly, "Nothing the good doctor couldn't fix. I'll be up and about in a day or two."

"Hey guys," Mikoto greeted from her seat.

"Oh! Sissy, I didn't expect to see you here so early," Kuroko noted.

"Trying to get a little private time with Kamijou, are you," Saten smirked.

"Hey, it's not like that!" Mikoto denied, blushing.

"Come on, guys, there's nothing wrong with Mikoto visiting first, right?" Touma asked, "She just heard about my accident first and came to visit. That's all."

All Touma got in response was a blank stare from everyone else in the room.

…What's wrong?" Touma asked obliviously.

"Since when were you two on a first name basis?" Kuroko asked suspiciously.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story…" Touma trailed, trying to think of some sort of excuse.

However, he didn't have to come up with one as something else interrupted the topic. To everyone's surprise, Index climbed up on the bed and on Touma's lap, glaring at him right in the eye.

"Index?" Touma asked confused.

"So, Touma," Index asked in a fake complacency, "Have anything to say for yourself?"

"Uh… nice to see you?" Touma replied lamely.

The result was as expected. In the blink of an eye, Touma's head was firmly clamped in Index's jaw. The other girls found themselves struggling to pry her off while Touma bemoaned his own misfortune.

"Hey, lay off! I'm seriously hurt here! I can't take this kind of abuse! I'm super fragile! I just managed to get through a conversation with Zapper without her zapping me!" Touma cried, "Come on, show a little concern for my health, would you?!"

"I was concerned!" Index yelled, stopping her assault, "Very much so, in fact. Kuroko told us about how you visited her and Mikoto's dorm last night and jumped out their window. We figured you were trying to deal with something big on your own. We were all worried about you."

"Is that true?" Mikoto asked the rest of the girls.

"Yeah, Shirai called all of us after Kamijoy fled," Uiharu confirmed.

"We tried to call you, too, but you wouldn't answer," Saten added, "Index was especially worried. Kamijou is technically her guardian in Academy City. If something happened to him, she might have been taken away by the church of forced on the run again."

"I'm sorry," Touma apologized, "I shouldn't have made you all worry like that."

"Silly boy," Index said, giving her surrogate older brother a hug, "We just got over a whole ordeal with Mikoto going in alone instead of getting help. You should have known better. You can be a real hypocrite sometimes."

"Well, you know me," Touma laughed, "A law enforcer that bends the rules. Just about as hypocritical as you can get."

"Well, no point in worrying about it now," Saten mused, "You're already in the hospital."

"By the way, Kamijou," Uiharu asked, "What were you fighting for this time, anyway?"

"It's simple really," Touma replied, looking out the window, "I was fighting for myself."

A little while later, the girls left the hospital to give Touma some time to rest. As the left, Mikoto sensed the presence of an Electromaster identical to her within the area, a clear sign that one of her sisters was nearby. Excusing herself from the rest of the group, she followed the electrical signal until she found herself at the edge of a playground. Not to far way was Misaka 10032, her wounds covered and her cat in her arms. The two sisters accompanied each other with a walk through the park, catching up after the end of the experiments.

"How are your injuries doing?" Mikoto asked as they walked.

"They really are nothing serious, compared to what happened to that boy," her sister answered.

"Good, I'm glad," Mikoto replied.

As they walked, Mikoto couldn't help but contemplate the Sisters' existence. They were born from machines and given a purpose for their existence the moment the come out. Being born under those conditions, it's no surprise when they accept such conditions. However, if they were given a chance to experience the world for themselves, to live their own lives and come to their own conclusions, surely, they could change their perspective. Surely, they could change their fate.

Mikoto knew what she wanted to do. It was her duty as the older sister. Having reached her conclusion, she turned around to talk to her sister directly, only to find that said sister was no longer following her. Instead, she was off in the playground, showing some little girls the stand-and-swing swing set technique.

Mikoto could hardly believe what she was looking at. Right before her eyes, her little sister was acting even more like a little girl than the girls she was playing with. Not only that, but she was actively trying to brainwash the older of the two girls she was playing with into believing it was normal for the older sister to indulge the younger sister's desires. Unfortunately for Misaka 10032, her self-narrating speech patterns make lying difficult, so Mikoto quickly caught on to her plan.

To make matters worse, Mikoto was eventually dragged into the situation and had to play along with the younger girls as well, not that she was against it. However, the bad part was when the younger of the two girls tried to guess which of the Misaka sisters was older. Based on the Gekota cell phone, the girl incorrectly deduced that Mikoto was the younger one. This prompted the Sister to fail at holding in a laugh and list off a multitude of Mikoto's flaws, including her childish tastes, her rude attitude, her temper, and her belligerent behavior. But at the same time, Misaka 10032's description of her older sister was sweet, pointing out how Mikoto had risked her own life for that of her sister's.

Excusing themselves from the younger girls, the Misaka sisters sat down at a nearby bench. They sat there in silence, simply watching the younger girls continue to play.

"It is strange," the younger of the girls mused, "After last night's experiment, Misaka was supposed to be dead. It was supposed to play out as it always had over ten thousand times before, the same course of events. And yet, here I am. Misaka is still alive. Still walking and talking. The Misakas were disposable. We were created in order to be killed. That was all our lives meant back then. It was why we exist. Yet, thanks to you and the boy, we have lost our purpose. We are unemployed, lost and adrift in a world that makes little sense. So please, help Misaka. Stay with her while she goes on her search. While she looks for her place in life, says Misaka, asking her big sister for a world of indulgence."

"…Yes… I'd love to," Mikoto replied simply with a smile, "Actually, I think I know the perfect way to start."

"What do you mean? Asks Misaka, confused by her big sister's words."

"Before that idiot intervened, he told me about your kitten here," Mikoto explained, petting the kitten's head, "He told me you still haven't come up with a name for him and said the first thing I should do for you is help you with is giving him a name."

"But Misaka already has a name for the kitten. It is Dog, explains Misaka with a straight face, barely holding in her laugher," the younger sister said with a lopsided smile.

"…Wow, if that's what you came up with, I can see why that idiot wanted me to help you," Mikoto said in disbelief, "Can't you come up with anything more dignified?"

"The boy said the same thing, Misaka muses, enviously noting her big sister's closeness to the boy."

"For someone with an artificial and limited emotional spectrum, you sure wear your heart on your sleeve," Mikoto signed, "My relationship to that idiot aside, don't you have any other ideas for a name?"

"All of my other suggestions were shot down by the boy, Misaka explains. Perhaps it is best if big sister gives Misaka somewhere to start."

"Let's see," Mikoto mused, holding her chin, "How about naming him after someone else?"

"Misaka tried that. She suggested the names King Henry VIII and Schrödinger, but the boy rejected those names as well."

"You see, your going about this all wrong," Mikoto explained, "You should choose someone you care about or respect. That way, a little part of them are always with you in the kitten. And you shouldn't name them the exact same thing verbdom.

The younger girl eyed her kitten in thought for what felt like forever. Think about her older sister's words, she tried to think of someone she knew personally and would want the kitten to remind her of. Being so young with such little outside exposure, she didn't have many people to consider. Even with twenty thousand short lives worth of memory, she had a very small pool of people to chose from. She then smiled to herself, looking up to her older sister with a never before seen fire in her eyes.

"Miko, says Misaka. The kitten's name will be Miko, named after big sister."

"Y-you want to name him after me?" Mikoto stuttered.

"Is that not okay?" the Sister asked, picking up her kitten in her arms"What do you think, Miko? Do you like that name?"

The kitten meowed in a satisfied tone. Seeing this, Mikoto couldn't help but smile at pet the kitten's head again.

"No. It's perfect. I would be honor for him to be named after me," Mikoto admitted, "Nice to meet you, Miko."

A/N: AT this point, I would suggest you start playing "One Last You". I think it fits pretty well. I was listening to it while writing this scene.

The next day, Mikoto once again returned to Touma's hospital room. In her hand was a paper bag of homemade cookies. She knew she would never have been able to bake them in peace at her dorm's kitchen, or at one of her friend's kitchens. Still, she chose the lesser of two evils and baked the cookies at Saten's place. At the very least, she got some semblance of privacy to bake them. Surprisingly, Saten kept the teasing to a minimum, already knowing who the cookies were for. At least she was able to make them.

Knocking on the door, Mikoto waited patiently for Touma to answer.

"Come in," Touma called out from the other side of the door.

"Sorry to intrude," Mikoto greeted, "How are you doing?"

"Better than yesterday, that's for sure," Touma said reassuringly, "Though, there is a bit of a stinging pain in my skull that wasn't there before."

"I'd bet. Here," Mikoto laughed softly, offering the bag, "Homemade cookies. I actually had some time to make them today."

"Thanks," Touma replied as he took the bag.

As Touma opened the bag, Mikoto pulled up a chair next to his bed. Taking out a cookie, he was surprised to find that it was shaped like a little bear's face, most likely the result of Mikoto's choice of cookie cutters. He then took a bite, taking in the flavor. There was something familiar about the taste, It tasted like a specific sugar cookie recipe he knew, but there was a little something extra to it. The entire time he tasted the cookie, Mikoto watched expectantly.

"Is this a modified version of my sugar cookie recipe?" Touma asked.

"Y-yeah," Mikoto stuttered, "I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon on them once they were done baking."

"They're great," Touma complimented, "I can't believe I didn't think to try that before."

"I figured you would have been bored with the same old flavor since you made the recipe," Mikoto explained, "so I added something to spice it up."

"I appreciate it," Touma replied, "So, what did you want to take about? Surely, you didn't just visit me to have me taste your cooking."

"That transparent, huh?"

"Don't feel bad, I'm just as guilty of being dense," Touma laughed softly.

"Yeah, there's something that's been bothering me since yesterday," Mikoto admitted, "Why did you call me by my first name? Normally, you either call me that stupid nickname or my last name. Why the sudden change?"

"Oh, that," Touma said, scratching the back of his head, "It's just that is going to get confusing to call you Misaka with all of your sisters, so I decided to use your first name. Besides, we've known each other for a while and you confessed. It's not a problem, is it?"

"N-no. No problem," Mikoto stuttered, "Does that mean 'Zapper' is finally going to be put to rest,"

"I wouldn't count on it," Touma chuckled, "If anything, that name's been upgraded to pet name."

"Idiot," Mikoto pouted, "Fine! In that case, I get to call you 'Touma' and 'Idiot' interchangeably. It's only fair."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Touma smiled, "I'm glad to have met you, Mikoto."

Despite herself, Mikoto couldn't help but smile in return.

"Same, Touma."

And that's it. That's the end of the Sisters Arc. What did you all think? Did you like the name I gave Mikoto's sister's cat? What about the scenes between Touma and Mikoto? Did I close this off in a satisfying way? Tell me in the reviews.

Well, that's all from me for at least a week. Starting Saturday, I'll be on a cruise ship with questionable connectivity. But hey, family time, trip to the Caribbean, and unlimited food. Can't say I can complain. I'll see all of you in a week or two. Until then!