Chapter 19 - Recollections in Sepia Tones

A gentle summer morning was beginning in Academy City. The sun was already high in the sky, bringing a little light through the pure white curtains at the window.

It had been quite a night.

That was the reason Shokuhou Misaki slept like a stone, only waking up now, making her late for class. It wasn't as if she cared about any of this anyway, at the moment she just wanted to enjoy that masculine smell so close to her.

"Hehe... it was fun," she murmured, attempting to run her fingers over the boy's bare chest. Emphasis on 'attempting.' "I suppose the consequences ability were worth it. I'm fully prepared to venture into the afterlife."

Misaki was in her sexy see-through nightgown, clasping the boy she loved, who slept serenely, breathing rhythmically through his mouth. The blame for her current situation fell entirely on that damn monster.

'Seriously, my diaphragm could give out any moment now,' thought Misaki, her little finger twitching slightly, which was a good thing. 'I don't have the strength to speak out loud anymore... this time it's for real, goodbye Touma, I hope I'm reincarnated in a fantasy world.'

With that, she closed her eyes, sensing her breath growing fainter, her fatigued muscles protesting as if she had endured a severe beating.

"Good morning, honey girl."

Until that voice made her open her eyes.

Touma leaned towards her to kiss her tenderly on the forehead, a thin smile drawing across her soft lips. She had been invigorated.

"Good morning," replied Misaki. The difficulty with which she said it made it sound like she was an advanced robot rather than a person. "How was your sleep ability? Did you dream about me?"

"You're right next to me, does it matter?"

"Rude." She tried to make a cute pout.

"Do you have a problem with your face?"

"Eh?"

"Or are you just nervous?" He grabbed her hand to intertwine their fingers, but the girl didn't reciprocate the gesture. "Wait a minute..."

A perplexed yet contemplative expression crossed Kamijou's face. Taking her hand, he gently shook the girl's arm, raising it as high as he could before releasing it. Her hand descended like a limp rag, resting motionless on his chest.

An enigmatic smile played on his lips.

"Misaki-chan—"

"Don't give me that look; it's unsettling!"

She strained to pull away, but her efforts proved futile. Not because the boy was restraining her – he wasn't – but because, in truth, the girl found herself incapable of moving a single muscle.

The price of all last night's madness had to be paid, and that bill was huge. Misaki knew that cheating to make things interesting would come back to bite her, but her estimates weren't so bad. Even breathing was proving difficult.

'I really need to exercise if I don't want to die in a week.'

As if she was going to last that long at this rate.

In any case, the girl was pleased that she had managed to maintain a very active performance. She was a queen after all, it wasn't as if she was going to let him have all the control on her first time. It had been worth it.

"I was beginning to think there was something wrong," said Touma, brushing a lock of hair away from her inexpressive face.

"It's not as if it's difficult, I'm literally immobile. By the way, could you move me? I'm all numb."

"I'm not talking about now." He moved and used his golden and blue arm to push the girl off him. She lay there without resistance, looking like a rag doll. "At that time, you were really out of line."

Misaki could now only stare at the ceiling as her non-functional body prevented her from turning her head. She could only watch out of the corner of her eye as the boy put an arrogant smile on his face.

"But wait," he said with a mocking tone, "I'm sure I didn't touch your head with my right hand back then. Does that mean you're so unathletic that even using all your buffs as if you were going to take on a raid boss on your own still isn't enough?"

"I-I did that on purpose. "

"What do you mean you did it on purpose? You crashed—"

"I did it on purpose!" she exclaimed, her voice resembling that of someone struck by a car.

"You intentionally headbutted me? What the hell?"

"H-headbutts are hot!"

"Hehehe!"

"Don't laugh! I read it in a magazine!"

Clearly, such a magazine doesn't exist. And while headbutts may not be universally considered attractive, there are probably people with unconventional tastes who find them appealing.

'Damn. This is not how I imagined the day after my first time. I can't say I hate the unpredictability of my life but... wait, what's he up to now?'

"I think I have to teach a certain spoiled girl to be more honest." Touma seemed to be feeling brave, pinning the girl to the bed and getting on top of her.

"My honesty ability is quite impeccable, thank you very much. I don't need anyone instructing me—wait, wait... where's that hand going? No, I'm not ready!"

"Why do you seem more sensitive than usual? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I know. Does the fact that you're completely still and helpless make things more interesting for you? I think I've got some tape somewhere; maybe I should tie it up like this to add another layer of vulnerability."

"What? No, it's nothing like that. What do you think— Am I dating a barbarian? Hey, don't squeeze my wrists like that, my whole body hurts!"

The girl finally managed to twist slightly, but that was the extent of her movement. She was in so much pain that it felt like her entire body had swollen, with lingering numbness in her arms and toes. Considering her already low strength, resisting normally seemed an impossible feat, imagine in this situation.

'I really am totally at his mercy. The queen has been tamed by this heartless barbarian... such misfortune. There will be a comeback. Wait, isn't it already? My competitive side never goes away.'

"My God," said Touma, touching her face with one hand, "look at that completely expressionless face. Can you really not move a single muscle? It doesn't even make sense."

"Do you believe my ability can transform me into a superhuman without any repercussions? A person's limits exist for a reason, removing them like this is a bad idea."

"So your non-athletic ass is in a state of cooling, huh?"

"I wish you wouldn't put it so vulgarly."

"I can't even say if I call it luck or not."

Misaki narrowed her eyes (not really, she just tried, how could she?). That comment wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Hey, Touma, on a satisfaction scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate our relationship?"

"Eh?" He scratched his head, momentarily losing interest and looking away. "Why are you asking that now? I mean, if you're worried about your performance yesterday, I'd say it was exemplary. Top marks."

'I was hoping for a more general answer, but that's fine. Maybe this would be a good time to tell him what his mother asked me that day.'

"I wanted to play with you a bit more," he said, touching her inexpressive face gently, "but I'm a bit bothered by the fact that you can't even move. I'd end up crossing the line, especially looking at that cute face... something's stirring inside me, damn it." He hurried away and held his right wrist with his other hand as if fighting against himself. "Bad boy, Kamijou-san. Get those impure thoughts out of your head."

"I'm really getting scared here." Misaki actually managed to smile even though she could barely move a muscle. "But you have your queen's consent, so go ahead."

"Wait... you can move your face now. It's not fair, you've ruined all the magic."

"Something tells me you're making up excuses to stop yourself."

Misaki moved her fingertips and then worked from there. In all honesty, she would rather have been able to lie in bed and not get up for another week. She was betting that Touma would look after her throughout this "nightmare", but she had a reputation to uphold.

"Looks like the paralysis effect is wearing off," said Touma, getting out of bed. "And here I thought I'd found the perfect trophy girlfriend."

"Could you not make those kind of bad jokes, Touma?" She reached for the remote control on the bedside table and cocked her head. "I think your Queen is going to have to teach you another lesson like last night."

"Wait Misa-"

He stopped talking when the girl advanced towards him like a rampaging bull. All the energy left in her body was used at once, but used in the wrong way as she missed her target, tripped over the untidy covers of the bed, spun on her head and then did an accidental somersault, falling face-first onto the floor. It's better that her position on the floor isn't described, but let's just say that all this confusion caused by the clumsy queen could easily fuel three or four scenes of fan service.

"I-I'm perfectly fine!" she shouted when she noticed Touma's judgmental gaze.

"One of these days, you're going to kill yourself by accident."

"S-s-shut up!"

x-2-x

Kamijou Touma opted for a rejuvenating bath to kickstart his day with renewed vigor. Following a few minutes in the bathtub, which was no longer serving as an improvised bed, he settled onto a wooden stool, clad only in a towel around his waist. It became apparent that the boy was now warming up his body in an alternative manner, evident by the blush that painted his face a rosy hue.

"Why are you so embarrassed?" asked Misaki. He could see her grinning through the mirror.

The girl had become impatient and simply invaded the boy's bath. She even got into the bath with him, who couldn't hold a casual conversation even if he tried. It was even strange to see this reaction after all the madness of last night, but the girl had decided to invest all her skill points in the offensive. Seriously, she had completely lost her mind in that bathtub. Poor Kamijou-san was flabbergasted.

"I don't want to change in front of you, it's weird," he complained, making a grumpy face and crossing his arms.

"This is the person who doesn't even bother to turn off the light before starting—"

"S-shut up!"

With a sardonic smile playing on her lips, the girl pivoted to face him, delicately touching her lip with her index finger. Adorned with a towel wrapped around her body and another draped over her head, she swiftly discarded the latter, tossing it into the sink and revealing her vibrant golden hair.

"No way then," said Misaki. "I'll take the initiative ability on this if it makes you feel better."

"Initiative?"

"Yes, watch me."

Now it was the turn of the other towel on her body to be suddenly and unceremoniously removed. Touma's eyes widened before she turned his face and frantically waved his hands in front of his body, his blood circulation now racing.

"Hehehe... why are you looking in the other direction? You're missing the whole show."

It's all down to the rating of the story. But at least the boy managed to catch a glimpse of a wonderful scene, even if only for a moment. Let's just say that the color "pink" was now stuck in his mind at that moment.

He waited a few seconds before plucking up his courage and starting to get dressed too. Every now and then he cast a sneaky glance in the direction of the girl, who apparently didn't seem bothered at all.

Misaki winked at him as she buttoned the buttons of her white blouse, and then began to put on her socks, one at a time, slowly, as if she were really putting on a show.

"Did you practice that or something?" asked Touma, pretending to be bored.

"Yes. And you should do the same; the stimulation ability is leaving a lot to be desired." She approached him, planting a quick kiss, and ran her gloved hand up until she reached the nape of his neck. "And you're terrible at reading signs too."

"Are you referring to that moment in the bathtub? I'm not stupid. With my bad luck, it's better not to risk something like that."

"By the way, I forgot to mention that my powers actually serve as a 100 percent effective contraceptive." She leaned over, whispering in his ear. "Know what I mean?"

Touma gulped, then regarded her with the most innocent look a healthy high school boy could muster.

"Does that mean... does that mean..." He hesitated, trying to keep his concentration as he smelled that subtle scent of honey so close. "No, that can't be true. My misfortune wouldn't allow me to have such an easy way out."

"Well, your luck has changed a lot since we started this whole quest for a miracle. This is just an extra perk given to you by your girlfriend, the perfect queen, Shokuhou Misaki-chan."

"Hmm... maybe my luck has changed, but just a little bit."

"Just a little bit? Hehe." She licked her lips and put a teasing smile on her cute face. She struck an eye-catching pose, making a peace gesture with two fingers. "Face it, tiger... you just hit the jackpot!"

x-3-x

A delicious smell of freshly prepared food suddenly invaded the kitchen. Touma had prepared a full breakfast for the two of them, and considering Index wasn't there, there was plenty of food.

The couple were sitting at a small table near the balcony, enjoying the clear day outside.

"Say aaaah," said Touma, offering a shokupan to his girlfriend.

"Have you finally decided to fulfill your role and serve your queen?" She brushed a lock of hair away from her face before accepting the food. Her face lit up as she tasted it. "You really have a talent for this. It's like you're improving exponentially every day. You should open a restaurant, you'd be rich."

"This Kamijou-san? Rich? Funny."

"Just a reminder that you're a level 5, so you're already technically rich."

"Not really. I haven't been getting much." He continued feeding his girlfriend as they talked. "I got a notice that I have to periodically go to the research facility so they can try to understand my powers, but honestly, I don't know if I want to go through with it. Do you have to go through the same thing?"

"Not exactly. Tokiwadai already has enough, so a specialized facility has become unnecessary over time. If you were from a better school, the situation would be the same as mine."

"You grew up in one of those research facilities, didn't you?"

"Yes... but I'd rather not remember that." She looked away suddenly, a shadow appearing on her face. "Even today, I feel uncomfortable wearing hospital clothes. I wonder if I'll ever be able to leave it all behind."

The atmosphere had suddenly become heavy, so much so that they stopped talking momentarily and just listened to the sound of the turbulent city, but the boy still insisted on feeding his girlfriend, even gently wiping her mouth with a napkin, as if he were a good servant of the perfect queen.

"I don't know if it's the same thing," said Touma, "but after my memories came back, I feel like my past has started to haunt me too." He instinctively put his hand on his back, more precisely on an area where there should have been a large scar caused by a blade. "That day, back at the artificial lake when we first met, you were about to erase your memories, weren't you?"

As a non-verbal response, she just nodded, a mixture of shame and guilt on her face.

"I'm glad you made the right choice," Touma continued, playing with his food. "We both have to carry this burden. Running away would get us nowhere."

"If it weren't for you, I would have left this burden behind by now," she sounded serious, then to lighten the mood she put a sincere smile on the corner of her lips. "Thank you."

"Thank you too." He pointed to his own head. "Because of your miracle, I feel complete now." The boy also smiled slightly and went back to eating. "By the way, while we're on the subject of the past, I wonder if Mitsuari-san is doing any good. You said you were protecting her from the dark side, didn't you?"

"Yes. But I don't know if it's necessary, the dark side of this city practically doesn't exist anymore after all."

"How long does she have to stay in jail? Maybe I should visit her."

"Do you really want to break her heart?"

"Huh?" He thought for a second until he had the realization. "Oh... yeah, in the end I ended up dating her rival. She'll find out one way or another."

After they finished their meal, Touma took the opportunity to organize his new room. There were boxes scattered around the room, full of manga and video games he had bought. He cursed himself for getting rid of his collection for no apparent reason. In the end, his past self and his present self wouldn't get along very well if they met, which is a strange thing to think about. Maybe that's why the situation at Windsor Castle happened.

"It wasn't like that."

Suddenly, another boy's voice sounded in his head. Scanning the room, Touma pinpointed Misaki, lying on his bed, swinging her legs while attempting to read a manga. Apparently, she wasn't enjoying her reading that much, but at least she was distracted enough not to notice the boy's inner conflict.

'So you're still there?' thought Touma, almost grumbling. 'And here I thought I'd got rid of you for good.'

"I'm your ability, there's no getting rid of me permanently. It's your fault that I've gained sentience, now bear with it."

Touma looked in Misaki's direction once more. It was strange, but it seemed that he was being influenced, as if that boy in his head had subtly asked for it. Misaki noticed and smiled at him.

"Don't make excuses,' said the voice in his head. 'You just wanted to look at her, more than look from what I can tell, you horny teenager."

'Hey... come to think of it, if you're in my head that means...'

"Yeah, I saw everything." Something like a muffled laugh sounded in his head. "Impressive, by the way. But you lack technique. You're welcome, though."

'Huh?'

"Touma, is something wrong?" Misaki asked from the bed, tilting her head in a cute way.

"N-no, nothing."

Touma quickly turned his face away and began to pretend he was going through the boxes, disguising the internal conversation he was having.

"I'm going back into hibernation soon," said the voice.

'Hibernation?

"It's the word I chose. We're fused now, so you don't need me to access your powers. This is kind of goodbye, but if you feel lonely, you know what to do."

'Wait, do you have a name in case I need to call you?

"I think 'Dragon King' is fine."

'That's my title'

"Dream on, you scum."

And with that, Touma felt that voice sink deep into his mind. Something was pulsing in his sky-blue right hand. Carefully removing the bandage, he discovered that his body had changed once again.

"Hey, Misaki, look at this."

"What?" The girl got up from the bed and walked over to him, seeing him raising his right hand. "Oh, it's back to being a human hand again. Can you change it whenever you want now?"

"Even if I could, why would I?"

"I was kind of starting to like it. The icy touch ability is an interesting contrast."

"I know exactly what you're talking about, so could you be a little less perverted?"

"Teehee."

Tiredness slid through Touma's body, and although it was more mental than physical, he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, letting his body relax on that soft mattress. He'd never had this kind of luxury, but just like when his good luck was at its highest when he lost the Imagine Breaker, getting used to something like this is very easy.

With his eyes still closed, he felt something soft against his arm. Misaki had latched onto him and was playing, drumming her gloved fingers on his cheek.

"You really woke up wanting to tease me today," he complained, glaring at the girl.

"Consider it revenge ability for treating me like a rag doll an hour ago."

"To be honest, you're a lot more dominant than I thought."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"I'd say good... it has its moments."

"Know that I'm a versatile person with limitless creativity. You haven't seen my full potential yet."

"I'd better not see it then, there's a chance it'll be the first and last time considering the state you've woken up in."

"Don't start." She poked his ear with her slender finger, making him shiver from the sudden discomfort.

"Hey, don't do that again. Isn't it enough with Othinus and that tiny doll's arm?"

"Why do I have the impression that I've missed several first times of yours for so many different people? Well, at least I have the first time that matters, hehe."

Misaki rolled over in bed and ended up hugging him, resting her head on his chest. She seemed to be checking his heart, which suddenly accelerated.

That smell always had a calming effect on him, yet paradoxically, it also stirred agitation within. He wouldn't mind encountering that scent before drifting into sleep and upon waking up. A smile graced his face as he contemplated that this would likely be the norm moving forward.

But one question snapped him out of this state of pure happiness.

"By the way, Touma, you never told me the whole story between you two."

"Hmm?"

"You know." Misaki raised her head to look him in the eye. "You and Othinus."

The way he swallowed was uncomfortable, almost as if his throat had suddenly gone dry.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Touma. He instinctively wanted to move away from her, but the girl's gentle touch on his cheek stopped him.

"No, not really."

She said no more.

Once again, her head found its resting place on him, her breathing steady, in stark contrast to his sudden loss of rhythm. This marked the second instance she broached the subject, and, like before, she swiftly let it go. It seemed that she held his opinion in such high regard that she promptly set aside her own priorities.

Touma didn't want it to be like this forever.

"Misaki."

He really couldn't let it be like that. So he made a sudden decision, without thinking twice.

"I want you to know something."

Seated on the bed and reclining against the headboard, he waited patiently for the confused and serious-looking girl to approach. As her hand intertwined with his, he couldn't help but wish that the glove wasn't there, yearning to feel a bit more of that warmth.

"Use your powers on me," he requested, initially looking away but gathering courage to meet her gaze.

"What are you planning?" She tilted her head in his direction, still confused, yet retrieving the remote control from her golden handbag.

"Just talking wouldn't be enough."

Touma turned towards her, leaning the rest of the way over the girl, bringing their foreheads into contact. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look at these specific memories I'm thinking of now. But be careful."

"Be careful? Touma, what—"

"Be quick, before I change my mind."

The girl hesitated for a moment, as if sensing what awaited her.

"There goes nothing."

x-4-x

Shokuhou Misaki's face paled. That icy sensation sliding down her spine like cold hands gripping her bones wouldn't go away. She knew something was wrong, that what had happened between these two was unnatural. But nothing prepared her for what she saw.

With moist eyes, she forced herself to delve into those memories, those repressed memories of a boy lost in a cruel world.

She had discovered the truth about the Goddess and the Human in that dark and empty world, and also about the hells that had arisen in it.

Hey, welcome to the end-of-chapter notes.

Here I focus on the aftermath of this unique event in their lives. I tried to keep the mood light for as long as possible before ending on this total change of tone. We all knew it would happen eventually.

Let me check your reviews:

Mrui2002: Thank you for reading. I'm glad you found the story interesting enough to re-read. Misaki explained it here. It's canonical, by the way, lol. She's sure to take the first opportunity to spread the news. I appreciate the enthusiasm.

Amad0: Yep, that's exactly what happened. They really are more comfortable with each other, but I still try to balance that with a few more awkward moments for comic effect. Thank you for your support.

Dimz: XD I played with it a bit here in this chapter. It would be nice if it happened more often from now on.

Teloz: Glad you liked it. And here they both went on the offensive. We'll still have more story, but yes, we're naturally getting to that point.

Darkwarrior41: Thank you very much. We'll see if we get more of that.

5queso: I've really reached the limit of the rating. I even thought about pushing it a bit more, but I gave up. Thanks.

Cainabel201X: Sorry for the delay and I'm glad you liked it. Eventually, we'll get to that point, but for now, let's enjoy it.

See you next time!

In the next chapter, we'll find out what kind of conversation Shiina had with our queen. And also her reaction to finding out what Touma went through. But that's all for now. Moon leaving.