Chapter 9 - Royal Resonance.
On the streets of District 7 in Academy City, a modern car, driven by a private chauffeur, came to a halt at a red light.
"The streets are busy today," Misaki said, looking through the window. The city's vibrant energy hummed in the background.
Her spoken words were an attempt to capture the attention of the purple-haired girl seated beside her, who seemed lost in her phone. Receiving no response, Misaki turned her attention to the third girl there, who, like her, was captivated by the sights of the city streets.
"Dolly, try to behave when we arrive."
"Yes, Misaki-chan, you've reminded me of that at least ten times already," replied the brown-haired girl, her tone unusually energetic for someone who was supposedly complaining.
"Hey, look! They're already setting up for the festival," the enthusiastic little girl exclaimed. "We're gonna play all those cool games together, right?"
"That's still three days away, Dolly," Mitori finally spoke up. She'd been so quiet the whole trip.
"But can't we do something fun today?"
"It depends on the level of flirtation that one over there is up to."
"Eh?"
x-2-x
In a cramped single-room student dormitory, a spiky-haired boy had just roused from his makeshift "bed" in the bathroom. He let out a sleepy yawn, stretching his arms high above his head, causing his unruly hair to stand even more defiantly.
The room felt cool against his bare feet as he stood, wincing slightly from the stiffness in his muscles. He glanced at the clock on his phone, squinting to read the time.
"What?!" Kamijou Touma's eyes widened and he practically ran in the direction where he kept his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Late... Damn, I'm so late..."
Touma's "bed" was far from comfortable. Lately, the exhaustion he felt seemed to transcend the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, leading to a pattern of waking up later than usual becoming all too familiar.
"Such misfortune."
"Why are you blaming your misfortune on oversleeping?"
That voice sounded as if another person was standing next to him, but in fact, there was no one there. The boy answered nothing for the moment. He opened the bathroom door and looked towards the bed, finding a silver-haired girl still sleeping peacefully.
"She still leaves a space for you over there," the voice said, using a somewhat dismissive tone.
He closed the bathroom door and hesitated for a moment, his reflection staring back at him in the mirror.
"Why are you still there?" He asked, his gaze fixed on the mirrored surface, searching for anything unusual in his own countenance. Yet, there was nothing, just the usual, ordinary, average face greeted him. "I thought that after yesterday, all of this would finally be over."
"I said your situation with the golden girl would be resolved, I never said I would leave. "
"You bloody bas -"
"Don't shout, dumbass. I'm in your head, which means I can read your thoughts."
This was something he already knew, but for some reason, it felt strange to talk to himself in thought. Not that talking out loud would improve the situation.
The truth was that Touma was already tired of having someone in his head. The last few days had been the worst, but after yesterday at least the boy was a little happy to have made that honey girl smile.
But he still hadn't forgiven that person in his head.
"How much longer do you intend to stay?" asked Touma after a sigh, starting to brush his teeth in front of the mirror.
"You talk as if this is my choice."
"Mm-mpfh, thish-all'sh faul'."
"What? I've already told you to think instead of speaking out loud, or at least wait until you finish brushing your teeth before trying to say something."
His voice sounded rather exasperated now, but honestly, did it even make a difference if he understood what Touma was saying? This whole situation of having someone else in his head was utterly confusing.
'Is this better?'
"Yes," the voice replied. For some reason Touma could see him nodding. "Try talking to me that way, so no one notices. I wonder if a telepath would be able to hear our conversations... it would be weird. Anyway, we should merge completely in a few days, until then, I'll try to be as quiet as possible."
Yesterday's procedure had been a moderate success. Touma had recovered all his memories, not just those of Shokuhou Misaki. It was strange. After spending so much time fixating on reclaiming his former self and eventually deciding to let go and move forward, now the person he used to be had resurfaced.
"Don't think about it too much," the voice said in a sullen tone. "Nothing has changed, you're still the same person."
Apart from a few unpleasant moments, the 'voice' in his head proved quite useful. Touma couldn't help but wonder if the entity he was talking with was the same one he talked to while facing Fiamma of the Right, or perhaps the impostor at Windsor Castle. Most likely the latter, considering that impostor seemed to harbor a deep hatred for him.
For now, Touma set his doubts aside and focused on getting dressed. He wished he had bought something more stylish to wear, but he had to make do with a plain yellow shirt paired with a thick, cheap winter coat he had acquired in a certain awkward situation with a wicked woman.
"You can materialize clothes with your powers if you want," the voice suggested, its tone carefree and casual.
'Like that time in England? Better not, there's a chance my Imagine Breaker will destroy this and I'll end up dying of embarrassment. And I don't want to just go abusing those powers either. That sure isn't something convenient like that.'
"The decision is yours, but just to warn you, now that you're a level 5, things might get tougher."
People were treated differently in this city depending on their level. Some would admire someone of high level, others would despise level 0 or be indifferent. Some madmen would try to challenge stronger espers to try to prove themselves, but most would try to stay out of the way of someone dangerous who reached the coveted level 5.
What would be people's reaction to him now?
Not only that, but as a new level 5, it was expected that tests would be done on him. If he wanted to receive proper payment, he should be willing to let scientists analyze his powers.
"I can help you do some things that don't break your rules," the voice sounded in his head once again.
"What exactly?" This time he spoke aloud once more.
"Let's start with something simple. Try shaping your draconic fiber into something else."
"Draconic fiber?"
"We have to give this thing growing out of your arm some kind of name, don't we?" If he had a physical body, the voice would be rolling its eyes right now. "Come on, think of something to shape. It's good to start with something small."
There was doubt in him if he could do something like that. It was true that this "draconic fiber" could wrap around him, forming a sturdy armor that resembled a dragon, but could he control it and shape it into something else like this voice said? It seemed unlikely.
"Counting from 1 to 10 seems pretty easy," Touma said, extending his bizarre hand toward the sink. "Why would I have trouble counting from 1 to 5?"
"1 to 3 is more than enough," the voice encouraged.
The psychedelic blue arm emitted a faint golden glow, which made the surrounding fibers spin and focus on a point in front of him. The thing was a lot harder than it looked, it was like being in a tug-of-war against his own mind, but he at least managed to keep the arm from suddenly enveloping his entire body.
"That's a good start," said the satisfied voice.
"Really? That seems impossible to me."
"Keep practicing. It's like I said, your power isn't just this colorful shell. And honestly, creating something is a power that suits you better than that mass of violence."
Touma could agree with that. Even though Othinus had approved and said he had to trust that power, he still felt uncomfortable using his Dragon Shell. Perhaps being able to use it differently or at least control it better would give him peace of mind.
'Okay, let's try one more time," he thought, putting his hand in his pocket, where an object he intended to take with him today was. "And I already know what I want to create."
x-3-x
'Where is he?'
Misaki kept looking around, standing on the bustling sidewalk in front of a crowded shopping mall. Her eyes darted through the sea of people, eagerly searching for any glimpse of the boy she had feelings for.
'That's a huge amount of delay ability'
This was to be expected, but almost two hours late was a bit much.
"That guy totally stood you up," Mitori commented, casually straightening her classic feminine suit. "You should choose your flirts better, Misaki-chan."
"Don't start." She didn't seem too keen on being teased today.
For a few more minutes, Shokuhou Misaki continued to scan her surroundings, her foot tapping impatiently. She stole a glance at her watch. It was nearly lunchtime already, implying that her original plans needed to be extended into the afternoon. While she understood that delays could happen, the anticipation for their meeting made the passing time feel excruciatingly long.
"Misaki-chan, where is Dolly?"
That question made the golden girl grimace awkwardly. She was already a nervous wreck, so the anxious tone in Mitori's voice nearly caused her to stumble backward.
"What do you mean where is Dolly?! Taking care of her was your responsibility, that's why I brought you here."
"Hey, hey... calm down a bit." Mitori waved her hands a little embarrassed. "Why did you bring the two of us in the first place? Wasn't this supposed to be a date or something?"
"I won't waste time explaining my strategy ability to you. Better concentrate on finding Dolly, she's consumed enough sugar to run all over Academy City today."
x-4-x
"Damn, damn, damn... such misfortune!"
Our hapless "hero" was now running through the streets of District 7, deftly dodging the crowd of people on the sidewalk. It seems the whole city was conspiring against him considering how hectic the streets were.
"Wait, which way did I have to go anyway?"
"You damn fool!" complained the voice in his head.
"Shut up! It's your fault for distracting me while I was running."
Touma's shouts seemed to catch some people's attention, so he scratched his head and smiled in a nervous way. Maybe he really should use the strategy of thinking instead of talking.
"Hmm... was it in that direction?"
Another person also seemed lost. Normally, he wouldn't suddenly stop to pay attention to someone random, but this girl had a face well known to him.
'Misaka? No, her hair can't have grown that long in such a short time.'
"The age is a bit different too," the voice added.
"Hey, are you lost?"
The boy's gentle tone of voice made the familiar-faced little girl stop and look around, finding him standing there with his hands in his pockets. She took a few steps back as if she was suspicious.
"No, I'm fine. Misaki-chan told me not to talk to strangers."
'Smart girl. This one sure won't get caught up in some clichéd scenarios from those weird stories... wait, did she say Misaki?'
"I think I came from that direction," the girl said, and then she navigated her way through the crowd.
"Wait, wait." Touma reached out to stop the little girl and then bent down to be closer to her. "I know Misaki so -"
"Do you know Misaki-chan?!"
For some reason the girl's face lit up when she said that in an energetic tone. But Touma had to pull away when the little girl grabbed both his hands, which made him frown. Things weren't supposed to go from zero to one hundred that fast, so that must be a problem among kids these days.
"She told me to behave, but waiting is so boring," she began, doing a few jumps that were a little too energetic for his taste. "I was so happy when I found out that I can walk around without any problems now with that person's decision, so walking around looking for adventure is the right thing to do instead of waiting for someone who might not even arrive, isn't it? I mean, it's been months and I still haven't ridden a decent rollercoaster, or even seen the sea, or the Northern Lights or -"
"Easy, easy," the boy had to break free from the grip of her hands and clap his own hands in front of the girl's face to get her to stop talking. "We'd better focus on getting you back to her."
"I think she will be fine, Mii-chan is with her and there is also a mysterious person she invited. Now that I stop to think, I should have held Mii-chan's hand and brought her with me. Going out and adventuring is no fun without friends."
"I have to agree with you there, although I wouldn't recommend the adventures two of my friends got me into."
The little girl smiled and bowed her head slightly in a respectful manner.
"I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Dolly, and yours?"
"Huh? Not exactly a normal name, but I was hoping for a weirder one." He shrugged and rose from his kneeling position. "I'm Kamijou Touma, nice to -"
"There she is!" A female voice shouted before the boy could finish introducing himself.
"A guy is hitting on her, shame on him. Attack him girls."
"Wait, what - Eek!?"
He could not finish. Acting on pure instinct, he casually sidestepped, and in the blink of an eye, what appeared to be a gleaming blade sliced through the very spot where he had stood. Considering that no one in the busy place was hurt, that girl was a real monster when it came to precision.
"Stand still and accept your punishment!"
Several female screams followed in unison, and the poor boy could only sigh as he was attacked by several girls wearing Tokiwadai uniforms.
x-5-x
"What do you mean you lost sight of her?" Misaki almost shouted when she answered the phone.
"Sorry, Queen, but the person who kidnapped her is incredibly skilled," the voice on the phone replied breathlessly, probably running while talking. "None of our skills seemed to have any effect, and it seems the wasp unit wasn't able to stop him either. That guy is a monster."
"Continue the search, reinforcements should be heading your way."
She hung up the phone somewhat annoyed. Adjusting her light blue blouse that was a little too tight, Misaki tried to ignore Mitori's teasing, who smiled nervously from time to time.
"It seems things are getting out of hand for the 'perfect queen'."
"Can you be quiet, please?" Misaki couldn't stand it and sighed. "This day was a complete disaster. And here I thought operating a miracle had been difficult. This must be some kind of Karma ability."
"Look -"
"I told you to be quiet."
"Okay... so I won't warn you that a strange guy with a familiar face is coming towards us carrying Dolly in princess style."
"What?"
The Queen followed Mitori's gaze and found a familiar figure running at full speed towards her, which made her almost scream with happiness. Her day was finally getting better.
"Tooooumaaaa-chaaaaan!"
Stunned by the reception, the boy smiled nervously while still holding the little girl in princess style. Misaki didn't even bother to ask what was going on, she knew the boy found himself in all sorts of strange situations usually involving girls and her happiness at seeing him completely clouded her judgment.
"Hey, Misaki!" he said, putting Dolly down. "Sorry, I'm late. A lot of stuff happened. "
"A lot of fun stuff happened!" exclaimed the energetic little girl, shaking her fists with excitement. "Touma-chan here ran with me in his arms for over two kilometers and -"
"Dolly, thank God!" Misaki interrupted, pulling her into a tender embrace. "I was so worried. I'm relieved Touma-chan found you and... wait..."
Stopping to think for a moment, the Queen of Tokiwadai had a sudden realization of something rather crucial. As she gazed upwards, a sight caught her eye. There was a massive horde of girls, all dressed in identical outfits, charging relentlessly. Oh, yes, these girls were no strangers to her. They had a fierce determination in their eyes and were headed her way, or more precisely, toward the boy who had been the subject of her alternating glances.
"There he is!" shouted one of the girls.
"Damn, looks like he's got the Queen hostage now."
"Don't hold back, we have to protect our Queen!"
A giant sigh escaped the lips of the person who was the leader of those girls.
x-6-x
After countless explanations and apologies, the girls finally bowed their heads formally and dispersed. Truth be told, the fault lay somewhat with her, and she couldn't help but acknowledge it deep down.
"Kobayashi, do as agreed and keep a line of defense between us and her," Misaki said, receiving a nod from the short brown-haired girl. "Hokaze should be doing her part right now, which means she'll be offering support ability soon."
"Understood, queen." The girl turned to the group and began speaking in an authoritative manner. "Honey bee unit, all with me. The others make a perimeter around the site and maintain standard procedure. Do a telepathic connection test beforehand and..."
As the girl continued talking, Misaki found her attention drifting away until someone gently touched her shoulder with the tip of their finger, trying to grab her attention. That simple, subtle gesture unexpectedly made her heart skip a beat.
"Y-yes, Touma-chan?"
'Damn, why do I always get nervous when he suddenly approaches? Come on, get a grip and stick to the plan. Smile on your face... smile on your face.'
"What's going on here?" asked the confused boy. "Why are all these girls acting like they're on a military mission?"
A nervous smile graced Misaki's face. This was a conversation she definitely didn't want to have. After all, explaining to him that she had gathered so many members of her clique just to ensure a certain person didn't interfere with their interactions felt a bit embarrassing.
"Hey, Touma-chan, give me your hand," Dolly intervened, coming to her friend's rescue just in time.
Touma seemed a bit puzzled but extended his bandaged right hand nonetheless.
"The bandages seem pretty worn out," she remarked, carefully examining them. "It was those girls' doing, right? Misaki-chan, your friends attacked him out of nowhere. That wasn't your idea, was it?"
The level 5 girl's shoulders suddenly stiffened, which meant Dolly had hit the nail on the head. While it wasn't as if Misaki had specifically wanted them to target Touma, it had been an emergency situation, and she had given the command for the girls to act swiftly without wasting time on questions.
But before Misaki could answer the second question that put her on the ropes, her other friend interrupted.
"You seem like someone very powerful, to be able to get rid of those girls like that," Mitori commented, her arms crossed under the breasts slightly exposed by the formal suit she wore.
"Not really," Touma replied clumsily, "this Kamijou-san is just a mere level 0."
"Level 0?!"
The reason for the girl's surprise was the fact that this was not the first time she had seen the boy do something amazing. Nobody fights a level 5 out of control and comes out relatively unscathed being a "mere level 0".
Shokuhou Misaki straightened her posture before speaking in a firm voice.
"Touma-chan, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Eh?" The boy tilted his head, which Misaki found quite cute. He realized something too late. "Oh! That's right. I'm sorry, I'm actually a level 5, 'the eighth' as they're calling me now."
"Level 5?!" Now it was Dolly's turn to exclaim, her face glowing with excitement. "Wow, you're just like Misaki-chan then. Can you do something amazing like her? Show me." She started tugging on his sleeve persistently, like a pushy child asking her mother for candy. "Show me, pretty please."
"I don't know if I can show it here, it would be weird."
A few more tugs and urges later, Touma gave up and pulled off the bandage he was wearing to hide his psychedelic sky-blue arm. The little girl's eyes widened and her mouth seemed to form a perfect triangle at the sight of those strange colors.
With a hint of hesitation, Touma turned away from everyone and clenched his fist, causing those vibrant colors to burst forth from his arm and completely envelop him. Steadying himself on the ground, he now used all four limbs and spread his wings in a somewhat menacing manner.
"Wooow!" The little girl was stunned as she looked at that mythological creature. "That's... that's..." She went over to where Touma was and reached out to where his chin would be. "That's so cute!"
"What?!"
One could feel the surprise and a hint of disappointment in the boy's voice as he said it.
"What do you mean cute? " He looked indignant now. "What's the matter with you girls? I'm a freaking dragon, not a giant blue dog. Hey, don't stroke my chin -"
"Calm down, Touma-chan," Misaki said joining in the banter, grabbing his head and leaning her cheek against his.
"Not that again." He shook his head slightly. "This joke is no longer funny Misaki. I know you must have your heart racing actually, this is all pretend."
"My heart is racing because of something else, Touma-chan."
x-7-x
Far away, some girls from the queen's clique looked at the scene without knowing how to react.
"Dragons go with a queen, so I've heard," Kobayashi commented, watching the queen try to climb the dragon, probably trying to ride it but he wasn't willing to let her.
"Yeah, that makes perfect sense," several girls seemed to agree. "Queens shouldn't be afraid of something like that, and a perfect Queen like ours should be able to ride such a big dragon without any problems."
"Watch your mouth, girl," complained Kobayashi.
"Huh?" almost everyone there replied in confusion.
Their response was met with a nice facepalm and a defeated sigh.
x-8-x
'Hehehe... I'll definitely be practicing my riding ability soon... hehehe... wait what the hell am I thinking?'
Shokuhou Misaki pushed away the strange thoughts forming in her head as she tried to keep up her walking pace alongside Touma. She had asked Mitori to enter their destination earlier along with Dolly, so the two had a short moment alone.
The place she chose for this "date" was a huge mall in District 7, but they weren't there to shop. Forcing that boy to carry bags full of fashionable clothes didn't sound very romantic, so she discarded the idea for the moment.
"An 'escape room'?" the boy asked, stopping in front of their destination.
In this case, the queen had chosen something a little above on the "romance scale". Not too far above, but how would she know? Perhaps deep down, that girl was surprisingly pure.
"What is it, Touma-chan?" she asked with a not-so-pure smile. "Isn't being locked up for hours in a room with a girl as attractive as me every teenager's dream?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied embarrassed, since he knew very well what she was talking about. "But come to think of it, we've never done anything like this in the past, have we?"
As he noticed the girl gazing at him with bright eyes, he slipped his hand into his pocket and seemed to clench something tightly in his fist.
What he referred to were likely their 'pretend dates.' They used to meet occasionally and engage in activities together, even without agreeing on anything, as if fate itself conspired to unite them. The conclusion of that tale had been undeniably tragic, and it would often cast a shadow upon her countenance when she remembered it.
But now, that wasn't the emotion she experienced.
"Sometimes I still can't believe it's real," she said, looking away, lost in thought. "But you truly remember now. You have no idea how long I've waited for this miracle."
"Of course I know. It's been almost two years."
His "joke" earned a cute eyebrow raise as if the queen had turned into a spoiled brat. That boy had the worst timing to say something silly. She even contemplated complaining about him spoiling such a moment, but before she could, Touma pulled something from his pocket.
The girl's face turned pale, and then she almost burst into tears.
"That's..." her voice came out weak.
"You gave me this for Christmas, if I remember correctly." Touma held a silver whistle between his fingers, looking fondly at the insignificant piece of plastic that had suddenly gained meaning to him. "I almost threw it away a few times, thinking it was just some trash, but for some reason, I couldn't." He brought his hand to his chest and then gestured with his thumb to his heart. "It was like something right here was telling me that this was something important, not just to me, but to someone else. I guess I was right."
"Damn it," Misaki said, turning her face away and rubbing her eyes. "Are you trying to make me smudge my makeup, Touma?"
The queen felt dizzy after those simple but so sweet words addressed to her, so much so that she barely felt stuck to the ground at that moment.
'Calm down, Shokuhou Misaki, haven't you cried enough already?' She slapped her own cheeks with her palms as hard as she could.
"I'm sorry," he said, searching the eyes of the girl who was avoiding his gaze.
"Don't worry about it. That was a joke. I'm not even wearing makeup."
"I'm not apologizing about that."
That was all he said. Then, he casually stowed the whistle and straightened his posture, setting off towards the place she had selected for their amusement.
"Are you coming?" he asked, turning to look at the girl trying to keep her face from becoming a mess.
"Of course, Touma-chan." She brimmed with renewed energy. Positioning herself beside him, she flashed a mischievous smile. "After all, what would a king be without his queen at his side?"
"Huh?"
"Don't make that confused face." She wagged her index finger in denial. "I was just wondering, you don't have an esper name yet, do you?"
"No. But I think if I had to choose it would be Imagine Breaker or Dragon Shell."
"Booooring," she said, making an 'X' with her arms. "You're too slow, Touma-chan. You have another try."
With another almost devilish grin, the girl waited for him to understand what she wanted, which didn't take long.
"Hmm... maybe... Dragon King?" he asked in doubt. "Isn't that too presumptuous?"
"Too late, I've already chosen for you."
"What do you mean you've already chosen? Are these things actually official, or is it just something you Espers make up to appear more intimidating? And shouldn't I have the final say in this?"
"I've already chosen, I've already chosen," she said, like a child excited in a game of jump rope. "We're Queen and King now, no complaints allowed."
There was nothing the boy could do but accept his new title and step into that closed room where the two would spend a good amount of time together. And the Queen had already prepared some extra surprises to amuse her King.
Hey, welcome to the end-of-chapter notes. I got back quickly this time, didn't I?
Nothing too big happening in this chapter, I'm going to focus a bit on "rebuilding" their relationship so things might get a bit "slower".
Anyway, time to answer the reviews:
SuddenBetrayal: Thank you. Yeah, I don't plan on any elaborate action scenes or anything like that, the focus is going to be on slice of life and romance.
Markoz89: Glad you liked it. Maybe Misaki will learn a bit more about NT9 in the future.
FinFangFoom100: I liked the excitement. We will have scenes of them reminiscing about the past and I intend to move the relationship forward at a good pace. Yeah, Mikoto is not going to be happy at all LOL.
Cainabel201X: Yeeeey!
Guest: Thank you for liking it so much. I was focused on two things at once, I plan to update more often.
Guest (2): Thank you very much, I hope I do not disappoint.
Jose Blas: Thanks!
Mrui2002: I'm the one who thanks you for reading. Seeing you excited puts a smile on my face. *Practicing my Portuguese: Valeu!
Misaka Phenex: Othinus will appear again at some point, but the focus is Misaki here.
Cainabel201X: Grateful for the support.
INFINITYKAPP97: I chose an underrated person to help them, didn't I? Their merger won't really change much, only memories will come back and a few small things here and there.
Onilink500 : It would be another interesting option. Thank you for your suggestion.
Gur40goku: LOL. KnT doing what he does best here.
5queso: Hello! Glad to hear you are finding it interesting. I don't intend to abandon this fic, I will focus on it until the end. Thank you very much for your appreciation.
An escape room is an odd choice for a "first date". But at least it's a good option for not being interrupted. I have nothing more to say today. NioMoon leaving.