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Chapter Text

Misaka Mikoto was nervous. In fact, she was more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life.
There werr very few things that could cause her to feel this way, and one of them was-

"Sorry I'm late. I just had to deal with a clingy roommate who wouldn't want me to go without her." A male voice snapped her out of her funk. Red flashed through her face as she turned around to meet her date.

Kamijou Touma stood there, wearing casual clothes.

And here Misaka Mikoto was standing, wearing a yellow sundress underneath a blue cardigan, and a pair of white lowheels. Her usual hair was done up in a small ponytail, and she wore slight makeup.

Her mother and friends (sans Kuroko who was firmly against it) dressed her up so much that it didn't look like the woman on the mirror was her.

Her mom, bless her heart, only kissed her on the crown of her head and only assured her, "Trust me Miko-chan, he will definitely love your new look."

It did assure her a bit, and with her newfound confidence she walked up to the spiky-haired boy, who was still standing there waiting for her to say something.

She wanted to make up for all the times she caused trouble for the young boy. Show him her appreciation for all the things he had done for her, and so many others.

Perhaps, maybe this wouldn't change anything between them, and he might consider this some hangout time between the two of them, with no subtext (or just plain regular text, of the romantic kind) underneath.

But it didn't matter one bit.

Today isn't for her.

And so, steeling her nerves, and picking up her confidence, she held his hand, and pulled him over to the first stand.

"I don't mind it one bit, Kamijou-kun. I'm just glad you came here." Mikoto smiled at the dense boy.

The boy's cute blush nearly made her giggle. Which broke into full-on laughter when he pouted in response to her snicker.

XxX

It was... a rather uneventful day, all things considered.

Well, as uneventful as the boy's luck would allow him to have.

Kamijou Touma was currently holding a couple plastic bags holding several stuffed and non-stuffed toys of the amphibious kind. They weren't heavy at all, and she offered to hold some of them but he insisted on keeping then on him, "to atone for the chaos he had wrought upon the poor institute for amusement".

Mikoto could only roll her eyes at his occasional moments of dramatic flair, but she couldn't lie to herself on disliking them; in fact they added to the boy's charm.

"...and that last booth we went to, he blamed me for breaking it! But like how was I supposed to know the gun would hit that part of the tent, and that would make it collapse!? Oh, rotten luck."

"Well, it wasn't all bad. Well, except for the "banned in all future events" part but it was fun."

"I'm sorry Mikoto, if my luck hadn't kicked in throughout our hangout you would've had a great time at the park."

Mikoto furrowed her eyes at the boy's pessimistic words. Here he was again, feeling sorry he ruined her fun date.

Date. This was a date.

Mikoto blinked her eyes, then had an idea.

She drew closer to the boy's side, her hand touching the back of Kamijou's right hand.

"Yeah, you might've had... caused a lot of grief, like, a lot of it, but I would never trade this day for anything in the world if it meant I got to hang out with you at the very least Kamijou-san. Especially with your luck," Mikoto said with a giggle.

Kamijou stopped in his tracks, looking back to Mikoto. "You think so?"

Mikoto turned her head up, seeing Kamijou's uncertain face looking back at him. Mikoto could only sigh to herself, before smiling and grabbing his right hand.

"You are not getting rid of me that easy, you know that right?" Mikoto laid her head next to his shoulder, her left hand wrapped around his. The warmth of his hand felt nice, and she didn't want to let go.

Kamijou, meanwhile, blushed up to his ears as he tried to ignore the faint smell of ozone and hazelnut.

All in all, not a bad day.

Unbeknownst to the both of them a trio of silver, long and short hair had watched over them throughout the day, tagging with them along a certain pigtailed teleporter strung up, mouth and eyes covered. A collar was wrapped around her neck, a small red light blinking periodically.

"How expensive was that ability-supressing choker?"

"Do you want to know Saten-san?"

"Shhh, they might hear us." Index scolded them both.

"Hmmmpph! Mhfhmhfph!?"

Chapter Text

Shoukuhou Misaki stood in the middle of a busy street, her thoughts swimming towards ideas of a deeply personal, and quite painful matter. As apparently, according to that woman, a certain spiky haired boy had suddenly spoken her name, in the middle of class, and wanted to have a talk with her.

He also got dogged on by his classmates, many of them males and some of them female, after his very sudden declaration. But that was par for the course when it came to that boy.

But, the fact remained. He, Kamijou Touma, wanted to talk to her.

She didn't believe it. In fact she didn't want to believe it, at first. But through some miracle, a stroke of good fortune, that boy somehow remembered her.

Shokuhou Misaki didn't know whether to feel excited or nervous. Like, what would he think of her after all this time? She had tidied herself up, and ate as few fatty foods as possible. She needed to look perfect for him, at the very least.

But wait, what if she came on too strong? What if she looked as if she was some touch-hungry girl wanting attention, and not the attention she wanted but the attention everyone thinks she wanted.

Looking at her, with her mature figure and looks one would expect all sorts of ideas to pop up in their heads. One particular idea, was that she knew the pleasures of the opposite sex, and her unparalleled experience with these creatures women call men.

But honestly, despite it all she was just a young girl, just as ignorant and foolish as the rest of them albeit with a slight caveat of her occasional involvement with her prince's adventures, and the Dark Side. Then again, most of everyone in this city has had their own encounters with the Dark Side; some profound, and others so insignificant they could not even be considered encounters in the basic sense. She was a part of the former, along with a dozen others, with several of them in the same category of power as she was.

After all you don't grow powerful in an instant, and without making a lot of enemies.

But apart from that, she was just a student of the most prestigious academy ever established in this very city.

"...All this thinking power has made me quite hungry. I wonder if there's any restaurant for me to rest," Misaki wondered aloud to herself.

She was alone, without her faithful right hand woman Junko by her side, and any of her usual clique. She told them to go off and do what they wanted, though she did keep Junko around at a safe distance as a precaution; you never know whether anyone has ill intentions, and with Junko's speed she'll be able to make a quick escape.

But thinking about it, maybe this was all just a fantasy. Maybe she was just dreaming, and she was sound asleep. Maybe Kumokawa was playing a prank on her after all the headaches she has given the damned old hag. Maybe she was dead, and this was a dying dream.

She pinched herself on the cheek. Pain. Alright, that leaves the latter two options.

And there was the fourth possibility.

Certain memories regarding a certain chocolate-haired woman surfaced, and it made her sigh heavily.

Last time she saw her was at a van, on the way to a correctional facility. But on the flip side...

Misaki didn't want to spoil her day with such downer thoughts. She needed to keep up her appearances, all for the sake of that boy.

Dressed in a beige sweater, white tights, her hands covered in the usual white silk gloves, and her long silky golden hair done up in a long Scandinavian braid, Misaki felt like she looked rather out of place in a casual environment like a fast food restaurant. She looked too nice to be seen in here, but she didn't care much about it. She wanted one thing right now, and that was to meet her prince.

"Uh, you came in here early Shokuhou-san?"

Misaki felt her breath hitch, her perception of time slowing down. Her chest tightened, her stomach twisted into itself. She didn't know what to do now, and she wanted nothing more than to get up and embrace him.

She turned her eyes up, seeing him, of all people, looking at her with recognition. She had waited for this moment to happen, and now? Right now, for the first time in her life, she hadn't a clue.

"Uh, Shokuhou-san are you okay? You're crying! C-Can I get you a handkerchief? Uh, h-here it's not much but you can use it to wipe away-"

"No no, it's okay," she assured him. She took the handkerchief, wiping away her tears. "It's just... it's been so long. Too long. I never expected for a miracle to happen, after all these years. Everyday, I wanted nothing more than for you to remember me. If not everything, then at least something. Do you... remember everything about us?"

Kamijou only nodded. His eyes spoke of a deeper story, but she decided that was for another time.

"Time flies, hasn't it? You could've called every once in a while. I could barely remember the last time we spoke to each other," she joked a bit, to ease the tension. Granted, it opened several wounds but the first step to recovery was discussion, wasn't it?

The boy let out a sad yet hopeful smile. He sat down at the other side of the table.

"Sounds like we've got a lot to catch up on. Sorry it took you so long for you to wait for me."

"It's okay," Shokuhou assured him, blinking away her unshed tears. "We've all the time in the world to catch up on."

Perhaps this was all a dream, Shokuhou thought to herself. But if it was, she wanted to stay in this dream a lot longer.

If only so she could spend even 5 seconds of her time with her beloved prince.

Chapter Text

"That's actually quite impressive. You play baseball before Saten-san?" Kamijou Touma asked as he watched his date perform cool tricks with the aluminum bat.

"A little bit, with my old man. I'm a bit rusty with it, my dad's a lot better at doing bat tricks," Saten Ruiko said, still doing her bat tricks as she spoke. She had always wanted to show off her sick skills to her friends Mikoto, Kuroko and Uiharu but because of their busy schedules she hasn't had a chance to. She understood it, but it really bummed her out. Mako, Muu and Akemi were around but were always off to wherever, and they probably wouldn't care much about baseball the way she did.

In terms of interest, Saten had an healthy amount of love towards the sport of baseball. As aforementioned she and her dad used to play baseball back home, usually when he came home from work. She remembered her first bat, her first pitch, her dad teaching her the basics. She sighed to herself, feeling melancholic.

"Uh Saten-san are you okay? You feel under the weather right now?"

"AAAAHHH!" Saten jumped, swinging her bat around with reckless abandon. She felt it hit something, and she looked down to see Kamijou lying on the ground face-down.

"Kamijou-kun? Kamijou-kun!? Please, oh pleasd don't be dead! I am so sorry, I didn't know you were there, and I struck you with the bat! Please wake up-"

Kamijou groaned as he got up the ground. Saten fretted over her date as he arose from his tenporary unconsciousness. "S-Saten-san please stop touching my head it's a bit sore."

"Oh sorry about that- wait we need to deal with the bleeding like I mean you took a real good hit from the bat and I think you might have a hairline fracture and concussion, maybe at the same time, I mean it stands to reason that they both follow each other especially with a strong strike from a bat-"

"Saten-san stop talking, my head is ringing. Please get someone for the blood."

XxX

"Again Saten-san I'm fine. I got a thick skull, I don't think I got a hairline from that."

"Are you sure like I think I might've cracked it a bit with the bat like are you sure you're OK? Like, OK-OK? Like, very OK-"

"Saten-san please refrain from asking me too much questions. My head still hurt like hell, but nothing much to worry about. I am fine. Let's just keep playing."

"...Okay. If you say so," Saten cautiously said. She looked at the boy's bandage, stil feeling guilty at what she did to him while mentally preoccupied with unimportant stuff.

"I'm not a baseball guy, but I think you're supposed to grab the bat first before heading to the base."

"What," Saten asked, and found herself at the base, in front of the machine. "Oh. Yeah, I kinda trailed off, sorry about that. Can you get me the bat?"

"Sure thing, I'll go get it," Kamijou went off to grab one on the bat rack, grabbed one aluminum bat, and walked to where Saten was. He was about to give the metal club to the girl when she saw him narrow his eyes. Then, he suddenly looked at the direction of the baseball machine, and her eyes followed his gaze looking at the machine-

Time slowed to a halt, as she saw the green baseball quickly approaching her. She raised her hands, closed her eyes and braced for impact. But instead of what she thought might happen she felt someone embrace her, followed by a loud sound, and another sound like a twig snapping.

She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Kamijou Touma, an arm around her small frame, right arm outstretched. She looked at his hand, and saw a baseball in his hand. She quickly realised in horror what had happened.

"Are you okay?"

"Wha-" she was deeply shocked. His wrist was probably broken and the first thing in his mind was to ask her if she was okay?

"Are you okay?"

"Oh? Oh, uh, y-yeah."

"Good. Because I am currently in incredible pain. Please get help immediately."

Saten quickly left the arena, and winced as she heard the boy's bloodcurdling screams.

XxX

"Man, that was a bust in the end. I mean the first couple hours were fine, but then... well, at least we had fun."

"..."

"Saten are you alright? I mean I know it's rather scary to have something like that happen to you but you what they say, you can't keep-"

"No it's not that, it's just... this is all my fault. I told you about the date, then lots of stupid things kept happening to you for some reason. I shouldn't have offered you the chance to go batting with me-"

"Saten-san," she looked up to see his assuring smile. "I've had a good day. Sure, there were some hiccups along the way," he raised a hand to silence Saten's retort, "and yeah I got hurt. But, I have endured worse than this.

"What matters is, you had a great time, and that's all that matters to me."

Saten looked down, still unsure with his words. She knows he was trying to calm her down, reassure her. She looked up again to Kamijou's smile. Despite herself, she smiled too.

"Alright then. But you better make sure to tell me if something's bothering you a lot. I care about you, you know."

"I care about you too."

With both teens' spirits uplifted, they decided to continue on with the date.

After all, some bad luck shouldn't keep a good day down.

Up next: KUROKO

Chapter Text

It started with simple curiosity, regarding the boy with the spiky hair, Shirai Kuroko thought. He always was around her Sissy whenever she often sees her lovely senior around.

It stumped her beyond reason. Surely Misaka-kun would find anyone nicer than this... gentleman. He looked rather homely, with his spiked hair, messy-looking clothes, and rather plain-looking face; not ugly nor handsome, just average in every way she could find.

Then, the incident happened. She thought she could handle this esper, who just so happened to have the same power as her, albeit far more powerful. What happened later was the most intense battle of her life, which ended with her wounded, bruised, bloodied and about to be crushed by the building you were lying on, while your suspect escaped. She thought that would be it, she would die.

Then, he appeared, out of nowhere. And saved her by... punching the mass of concrete and rebar that was about to crush them both and the floor they were on. She could've laughed at his attempt, but to her surprise it stopped everything, and it saved her.

She was saved, by this gentleman.

It... stirred something in her heart, a childhood dream she recalled.

'A Knight in shining armor...'

That was a couple months ago. And now Kuroko was on her desk, looking at her phone, thinking about whether to call him or not.

They encountered each other several times after that, and through her observations she came to one conclusion regarding Kamijou-kun.

He wa actually a really good guy.

Apart from the fact that bad things seem to happen to him on a daily basis he wasn't a troublemaker or anything; he just happened to look like one. She did ask why he looked the way he did, and he only said that "he saw his hairstyle in a magazine once."

She could recall just how much she laughed at that, much to the boy's chagrin.

It did strike her odd how gradually she grew fond of him after a couple months; she figured back then she'd never like him for as long as she lived because of her perceived notions about the boy. And now that she knew him quite well, she didn't know what to do.

Here was Judgement's best junior officer, the Teleporter, sitting down squirming in her seat trying to call a guy.

She took a deep breath, and grabbed her phone as she opened the scroll-like device and pressed on the Contacts-

Her phone vibrated, the caller ID shown in text as "Kamijou Touma".

Kuroko internally panicked, but she quickly kept her head on tight, and pressed the Answer button as she brought it to her ear. She was glad she didn't have to call him herself. She opened her mouth to speak but then she heard panting and footsteps, then metal clanging and a female voice yelping at the background.

"Uiharu point in and triangulate Kamijou's position with this call right now. He's with Saten, and they're in trouble."

Uiharu took only a couple seconds until she got the place, and Kuroko Shirai wasted no time as she shifted out of space as she went after Kamijou and Saten.

XxX

"Seriously, what am I going to do with the two of you?"

"Continue to cherish us as good friends?" Kamijou spoke up, cheekily smiling. Saten facepalmed but smiled anyway.

Kuroko glared at Kamijou which made the older boy jumped at the younger girl's stern face, and sighed as he saw her walk over to the unconscious delinquents lying on thr floor, together with Mikoto.

"You just had to say it," Saten said. "Now she'll never give you any time of day."

"Yeah, maybe. At least I still got my gift here in my pocke-" Kamijou said putting his hand into his pocket, only to find nothing. He went to his other pocket; still nothing. He quickly patted himself looking for any pockets he hasn't checked. "...I dropped it."

"...you've got to be kidding me. After all that effort, and you lost it," Saten half-shouted.

"Rotten luck," Kamijou cursed out.

Over at Kuroko's side she quickly pocketed a small box.

She would tell him she has it, but only after day.

She did need to punish the idiot.

Hard.

"...Kuroko why are you drooling?"

Mikoto was confused when Kuroko only winked at her senior.

Up next: UIHARU

Chapter Text

Kamijou Touma.

On its own, it was just a name. A name with a rather scary meaning, but a name nevertheless.

Uiharu Kazari was acquainted with the owner of that name for some time now. How they met, where did they meet, and what was the big moment that decided the day they would be together was something she was unwilling to share to others, for the boy held a special place in her heart.

She was a selfish girl, but she couldn't help it.

"So, ready for this whole challenge thing Uiharu-san?"

He sat across the table, dressed so casually he could blend in with the crowd with none the wiser. If you got rid of the hair which made him quite distinctive if not wild-looking you wouldn't pick him out in the crowd easily.

But it didn't matter to Uiharu.

"I was born ready for this. Besides I don't think I should be the one you should be worrying about," Uiharu slyly remarked.

Kamijou could only gulp. "P-Please be gentle with my m-money?"

Uiharu only giggled. "Only if you don't stop at the 50th sundae. I can't possibly eat all those delectable and diabetic monsters all by myself."

Kamijou knew she was joking but went and decided to play along. "Not to worry my dear princess, for I, shall aid you in your quest to conquer the Ultra-Pentadeluxe Caramel Sundae Challenge, and forever grant you glory and honor in the eyes of this graceful establishment and mark your deed in the history of this institution. So says I, Kamijou Touma!"

Cheers erupted from everywhere as everyone whistled, clapped and whooped so hard it felt like the whole place shook. Kamijou only smiled nervously rubbing the back of his head, while a blushing Uiharu shrunk onto herself, clearly regretting the fact she placed attention onto herself.

"I'm welling up with tears. Now get down from there before I throw you out," the waitress spoke up which silenced the entire shop. Kamijou quickly tried to get down only to stumble and crash onto a nearby table. "...I don't get paid enough for this."

Uiharu called out to Kamijou to see he's okay, but he quickly got up, assuring that he's fine.

"Here's the waivers. Frozen Delights Shop & Cafe is not liable for any accidents and incidents that occur within the challenge. No time limit, just eat all 50 sundaes. If you can't, pay the whole tab. You wouldn't want to know what happens when you don't pay the tab, do ya?"

Kamijou and Uiharu shook their heads vigorously. After the waitress grumbled away, both teens looked at the monster that was the Ultra-Pentadeluxe Caramel Sundae, with so many nuts, sprinkles and choco chip toppings.

Kamijou looked over to the other side of the table, and saw Uiharu's smile and giddiness radiating off her. Kamijou had no clue how much love Uiharu possessed for desserts before this moment, and now that he got here he only had one thought in his mind.

'She's scarier than Mikoto, Othinus and Index combined.'

"Everybody ready," the manager of the shop approached the table, wearing a white polo shirt, black pencil skirt which reached to her knees, and black stockings with low heels underneath her green apron. "On my mark, ready, get set, and GO!"

50 bowls, 5 rainbow incidents, 3 food wall moments and 1 unlucky scene later, they succeeded.

XxX

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Define 'fun'," Kamijou look sick to his stomach while Uiharu looked no worse for wear, in fact she looked rather happy. "I'll be fine, but don't let that stop you alright?"

Uiharu giggled. "But in all seriousness thanks for coming with me. I always wanted to do something like that but because of my work I couldn't find time for it. Thank goodness Konori-senpai gave me a day off after all that trouble with the Gekota Incident."

"Yeah, that was kinda wild," Kamijou wanted to forget all that chaos, especially when it involved an acquaintance of his. They had hair of a cerulean shade, just something to add-

"Hey buddy you're cutting in line! Go back in there and wait like the rest of us!"

"I don't have to listen to your drivel, not when my time's far more inportant than yours?"

"What did you say you punk? You may look so fancy but I don't give a shit who you are! You can't talk down to us like we're peasants to you-"

"Actually that is what I think of you all, especially you in particular. By the way, what Level are you?"

"Oh no, that's not good. Stay here Kamijou-san, I'll handle this," Uiharu said to Kamijou as she grabbed her armband and ran over to the food shack where the fight was.

"...Yeah, not happening," Kamijou muttered as he followed her.

XxX

"You think you're some hot shot just 'cause you're high Level huh? Someone ought to teach you some manners." The man in the beige shirt yelled out to the Esper.

"You can try. Lesser men have failed." The esper's smug aura was too much for Beige Shirt to handle, and he moved to throw the first strike.

However he was stopped by a young girl with a green armband, an armband he quickly recognized as the Judgement armband. "Halt, this is Judgement. Please sir, I would like to know what happened here, and maybe we can settle this peacefully."

Mr. Beige Shirt explained everything to the girl with the flower headband (are they related to her powers?). Afterwards she turned around to talk to the esper.

"Please sir, just go around and wait for everyone else. They've been waiting for hours and it would be unfair if you cut in line and go in without regard for others-"

"You don't get to tell me what I should do," the esper grabbed Uiharu's collar, "especially a pipsqueak pretender like you. I decide what I want to do."

Uiharu was thrown back, which angered Beige Shirt. He moved to avenge the poor girl but stopped in his tracks when the esper rose a hand, and light shone from his palm. "This should ought to teach you your place in the hierarchy of power between us you impotent weakling." Uiharu got up only to see the Esper about to attack Beige Shirt, raising her hand in an futile attempt to stop the violence.

Then a firm hand clamped down on the esper's shoulder.

"Sir, I would advise you to think carefully about your next decision; it might just save you a trip to the hospital."

Even though he wasn't the guy the spiky haired boy was talking to, Beige Shirt still shivered at his killer intent.

Uiharu only felt relief.

XxX

"Thank you for dealing with him Kamijou-san, as much as I didn't want you to."

"No problem Uiharu-san. But are you sure you're OK? That was quite the shove he did to you."

"And it was quite the headbutt you gave to him, so it's all evened out."

"He made his choice."

Uiharu and Kamijou then walked on, looking forward for more things to do.

She has the entire day to herself, with the man she likes.

Uiharu Kazari smiled.

Chapter Text

Fukiyose Seiri yawned as she walked along the lively hallways of her high school, eyes droopy and her stance leaning forward.
After performing her duties as her class' unofficial representative she had been hankering for something to consume in the cafeteria; some Greek yogurt, with a fresh apple and Musashino milk.

She had already eaten her lunch so this afterwork snack was a blessing to her tired muscles, and plus it won't be heavy for her stomach so she can do a lot of afterschool work whenever she finished.

Fukiyose, as many people know her, was a creature of action. As much as she remembered from her middle school days she was studious, disciplined and responsible, hence her duties as a member of the student council years back. After she graduated to high school she offered her name as class representative of her class, which didn't go well. For some odd, unexplained reason, as if some sort of twisted cruel joke, she was passed over by that blue-haired degenerate, who barely does anything around the school doing his duties as class representative, like paperwork and classroom maintenance.

She had been doing those things herself, with some assistance by her fellow classmates, but most times she'd do them at discretion.

She enjoyed doing stuff like this. Which made it all the more infuriating that that bastard was chosen over her-

A KER-CRASH! came from the classroom, followed by a loud thud and a groan.

Fukiyose sighed, already knowing the culprit of that noise, and went over the classroom to see Kamijou Touma collapsed on the floor, holding his head with his right hand. Fukiyose saw some of the class going over and trying to help him only to be gently rebuffed by the boy.

Fukiyose sighed, and went over to Kamijou's seat.

"Oh hey Fukiyose what's-oh you're dragging me now. Where to?"

"The nurse's office so if you don't want your butt get hurt as we go downstairs, you better get up right now."

Kamijou did as she suggested, and followed her to the nurse's office, head still on the sore spot on his head.

Apparently it was a good call, as Kamijou struck the desk behind him as his chair he sat on broke. Aside from a mild concussion and a bump on his head he was fine.

Fukiyose sighed in relief.

"Are you okay Fukiyose?"

"Yeah, just tired from all the stuff I've doing all day, helping Komoe-sensei with their paperwork, preparing for future Ichiharansais and Daihaseisais, the usual stuff," Fukiyose replied sipping her electrolyte drink pouch.

"Sounds rough. I mean, I know it's tough work but..."

"I love the work though, beats sitting down on your ass doing nothing. By the way is your head still hurting?"

"A little bit but the ice is making it a lot more easy to bear with. Thanks for bringing me in here even though you had some other important stuff to do."

"You are just as important as my duties you know, don't try selling yourself short," Fukiyose absentmindedly let out, still sipping on her pouch.

Again with the casual pessimism, Fukiyose thought. He really needed to value himself a lot more. He wasn't a bother, much as he was a constant troublemaker. Even those two idiots he hangs out with; for all their constant tomfoolery she also has seen them to be quite capable when the chips are down, and Kamijou was no exception.
She thought that there was more Kamijou Touma could offer to the world, and she was fighting to make sure he'd realize it too as his classmate and friend.

"Oh," she turned to see Kamijou, looking at her with a slightly flushed face.

Fukiyose was bemused by his expression, only to realize in horror what she had just said earlier.

"...y-you know what I mean," Fukiyose looked away sipping on her empty drink pouch.

"R-Right," Kamijou did the same.

This scene was... awkward, for the both of them. Fukiyose was silent, a hard look on her face, but internally she was freaking out.

Before she could freak out internally Kamijou cleared his throat, then began coughing. "Sorry, I haven't drunk something in a while," Kamijou said in mid-coughing.

Fukiyose took out a pouch from her pocket, and was about to give it to him when she stopped. She then realized what she was about to do, and her face flushed.
However she swallowed her embarrassment, reminding herself that he needed her drink.

'Relax Seiri, it's just a pouch, not that he'll take it anyway other than that,' she assured herself.

"Here. I've some on me so don't worry about drinking it all up. After leaving the office go get some water. The sugar in that drink will ruin your throat."

"Thanks," he graciously accepted the drink.

It was just the both of them there.

"Hey," Fukiyose piped up, bringing his attention to her. "I'm... free by tomorrow, so if you like... you could..."

Kamijou tilted his head, confused but listening.

"...help me out with the preparations for next year's Daihaseisai?"

Kamijou blinked, a moment of silence passed. Fukiyose looked away, waiting for an answer but not wanting to look at him.

"Um, sure. I don't have anything to do anyway tomorrow. I guess I'll go check-"

"Seventh Mist, 10am. Don't be late OK?" Fukiyose hurriedly went to leave the room, leaving Kamijou alone.

"What was that about?" Kamijou wondered to himself while sipping his drink. "Well, I gotta thank her for the drink next time I see her."

Behind the door, Fukiyose let out a small smile.

He didn't see her throughout the day, much to his chagrin.

Chapter Text

College is a fucking bitch.

Sincerely,
Komigakuo.

Index kicked her feet happily as she waited for Touma with the food, the ambience of the lively restaurant perfectly reflecting her great mood.

Apparently, according to Touma, he got a part-time job. As to what kind of job he didn't say, but Index could care less. It was one of the very few times she saw him very happy, so she was happy as well. It paid him enough to last them 2 months apparently, if he added the monthly allowance to his salary.

And today was a great day, hence the current place being Joseph's Diner, which was predictable but still welcomed by the nun.

Last time they went in here she ordered a Large Beef Steak with Wellington sauce, mashed potatoes and large bacon strips, with a large cup of cherry-apple soda as an add-on while he ordered a regular meal of beef steak and a can of his favorite coffee. She suggested something a lot more extravagant but Touma declined, much to her chagrin; she wanted him to enjoy his payday, and having him eat just a simple meal wouldn't cut it.

"Yeah yeah, I got it sir. Yeah I-I cleaned the whole floor before I left. Okay then, no problems then. Okay. Alright, thanks," Touma finished his call as he walked back to the table. "Sorry about that. Long aisle, grouchy boss, the usual. So how's your day been going while I was gone Index?"

"Same old same old, feeding Sphinx, eating lunch, going outside to meet up with Maika. Though I really need to, apparently, find a new hobby."

"What made her say that?"

"I don't know. Like, maybe I haven't continued with those games I played on the computer you bought a month ago. Maybe that was she was talking about," Index wondered.

"Well, she can say whatever she likes. But you found something to do right? How about those... challenges you did, with the cash rewards stuff? That's pretty cool."

"Touma you will not make me into your money bin, you know that? Besides I'm saving that money for special occasions."

"Like food?"

Index opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly stopped "...N-No not just that."

"Name one example as to how you'd use that money."

Index kept silent. Touma was not amused, but he let it go.
Much as he knew he shouldn't, he trusted her enough not to splurge the money. Believe it or not she has gone a long way from being the wasteful glutton from 2 years ago.

"OK then, you win," Kamijou said. Then later he saw their trays come in. His meal, and hers. Then he saw her whisper something in the waitress' ear.

"What was that?" Kamijou asked as he watched the waitress leave for the kitchen.

"Oh, you'll see." Index only smiled.

Kamijou shrugged. He grabbed his burger and-

"No wait!" Index placed her hands atop Kamijou's, pushing his hands down. "Please, just wait a bit."

"But I'm hungry-"

"Pleaseeeeeeeee..."

Kamijou grimaced. "Oh right fine, I'll wait."

Index smiled, and both teens sat on the table, waiting for the 'surprise'. She really wanted him to have the best 'surprise' ever, having had to talk to the staff of the diner to "surprise her friend". To the point that she had to suppress the never-ending hunger for her burger to make him take it seriously. She was fidgeting, her stomach regularly growling out for food, but she stayed resolute. She didn't spend the last 2 years in England for nothing, and there was nothing that can force her to break her will-

"You can go on before me, I'll just wait it out."

"...N-No I can wait."

"Are you sure? I mean you're already pale in the face, and the sounds your stomach's been making for the past 5 minutes are already worrying me like-"

"I. Can. Wait. It. Out. Touma. Don't. Mind. Me. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Kamijou sat up straight not wanting to get into an argument with the nun, of worse be the victim of a biting fit.

Index felt her phone vibrate, and when she read the message it took all of her willpower not to squee in front of Touma, trying hard not to ruin the surprise.

She watched as the staff behind Touma's back sneakily approach the young couple, holding a large birthday cake on their arms. She paid a lot of money for that cake, she was pulling all the stops for this very moment-

One of the staff stumbled, sending the rest of try and keep the cake from falling off the plate, to no avail. The worker who stumbled had also unintentionally kicked the cake into the air, sending it into parabolic flight, aimed directly at Touma's head.

Index wasted no time, and lunged at Touma, not wanting another episode like last month happening. "Touma, look out for that flying cakeeeeeeeeeee!"

"What-"

BONK! SPLAT! CRASH! THUD! CRUNCH!

X

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"I do."

"No you don't," Kamijou said out from within the bathroom, with Index sitting on the bed with a forlorn expression on her face. "Like I get it, you wanted to have a surprise party for me, and I really appreciate the effort but, you don't have to do all that for me-"

"But I do!" Index ran to the bathroom door. "Everyday you go out there, and I don't know where you've been. You even died one time, and I wasn't even informed of that until the helicopter! I just wanted to do something nice for you because you deserve every single good thing and.... and because I love you. I love you so much it hurts, and it pains me that I've been nothing but a pain in your butt for so long. I just want to show how much I appreciate you and-"

Index found herself in an embrace by her roommate, who was newly clothed thankfully. "You don't have to. I also love you, and I don't want you to strain you trying to prove it. No matter what you do, and how much you drive me crazy oftentimes -some of that is my fault- the only thing I care about, is you safe, sound, and hopefully tidying up the house."

Index giggled. "I can't promise you the last one. But I'll try."

"Maika's been helping out with that?"

"She said I'm doing well for a first-timer."

"...That's good to hear, I think."

"But still," Index was the first to break off of their hug, "there must be something I can do to help out."

"Index, you being here to greet me back home is all the help I need."

Index sighed, but she let it go.
She'll try again, this time without his annoying bad luck to deal with (as impossible as it is). But if he is truly content to just... have her around...

Then, maybe Index shouldn't try so hard for the man she loves.

Chapter Text

Himegami Aisa sighed as she walked along the noisy hallways of the three story building that was a certain high school. She was having a... quite uneventful day, or as uneventful as it can be when having a quartet of peculiar classmates around the room.

While on the surface this school seemed to look, move and operate like any other school within District 7, there were some... unique quirks the school had that made it quite infamous outside it. There was her close friend the iron wall amazonian Fukiyose, repeat voyeur Aogami and siscon sargeant Tsuchimikado, school idol and unparalleled genius Kumokawa-senpai, and perhaps the legendary Kamijou Touma (though ask people around her why he was given that title, and they'd give you several conflicting accounts as to the reason why).

And then, there was her. Plain old her. Plain old, boring, uninteresting, her, who aside from her origins, her abilities, and the circumstances prior to her transferral to a certain high school was just a regular student here. She had barely made a stir within the populace, her thunder having been stolen by that nun, and then the spotlight being given to others aside from her. That headband girl was noticed a lot more than she was, and she could scarcely remember her name.

Himegami sighed, feeling a headache coming as she quickened her pace, not wanting to be late at the cafeteria at this time of day. However her brisk walking would prove to be a mistake when she bumped into someone walking at the same direction as she was. Both her and the man fell to the floor, but quickly recovered. Himegami gathered her lunch box, which was fortunately unscathed by the collision. She propped her hands unto the floor as she slowly stood up, ready to scold the careless man, only to sigh wearily when she came face to face with her fellow collidee.

"Himegami-san!? I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there! I didn't hear someone come around from the corner you came in, so I thought there wasn't anyone going around so I quickened the pace of my walk leading me to bumping into you and I'm probably just making excuses at the this, so anyway are you right!?"

"Yes, I am fine. Although, it seems that my presence was weak enough that even someone as earnest as you would ignore so casually, it makes me kind of... irritated... hehehehe..."

"Uh, H-Himegami-san are you okay- oh is that a lunch box? Were you going to the cafeteria too?"

"Huh? Oh, uh just for a little bit, but I was planning to eat at the classroom, as usual."

"Oh okay, actually I was doing something for Oyafune-sensei, she left her record book back on Room 1-F or some other room. When I'm done I'll eat with you as an apology."

"H-Huh? I don't mean to be a drag though but-"

"It'll be okay, I promise I'll be quick! See ya at the classroom!"

And with that short conversation Kamijou Touma went off on his task, leaving the young girl with the hime cut, who looked good in a miko outfit, alone.

Himegami Aisa lightly sighed, and walked on the opposite side, going off to the classroom.

X

Himegami sighed to herself, looking around the half-empty classroom as her classmates chatted away, leaving her by her own. Usually Fukiyose would come in and chat with her, but she was busy with (unofficial) class representative duties so she took a rain check and texted her that they would meet up some other time. Aogami and Tsuchimikado were in the middle of their trademark arguments, about which type of monster girl was the best at... something she would like to forget forever, but there was no Kamijou in sight.

Despite this, Himegami wasn't disappointed. Well, she was, a bit actually, but she accepted it.

When the boy you liked is always involved in so many crazy situations you tend to develop apathy at his chronic absenteeism, whether be school or just the occasional social meetup. Fukiyose and Komoe-senseu are the only ones who avert this, and would be regularly seen looking over his regularly empty seat, checking over the room at certain class times, and texting/calling to see if he wasn't hospitalized for the nth time already.

And knowing him, he's probably out there doing Kamachi-knows-what-

"Himegami-san, sorry I'm late! Got held up by a duo of bastards who wouldn't shut up about dinomaids and foxgirl android ninjas... You've eaten yet?"

"...Uh, no. I was actually waiting for you."

"Really? Well, in that case glad that I managed to catch up with you. What's on the menu?"

Himegami Aisa, for the first time in this long, tedious day, on her long, monotone life, truly smiled.

At least she got a couple minutes with the guy she liked.