Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:GT Volume2 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

“So.” Kamijou Touma was wearing pajamas now and he still had Index’s jaws latched onto the back of his head. “What’s going on here? Is everyone in the world trying to kill me now???”

They were in the restaurant at the entrance of the hospital.

The swarm of clones was apparently satisfied, so they had returned to the research sector where normal patients were not allowed. Although he still had to keep his guard up since they could reappear at any moment.

“Touma, I brought this apple cake, so let’s eat it!”

“And where did you find the money for that!? I bet you used the funding I had hidden away to cover the end-of-year period where we can’t use the ATMs. Index, did you find that envelope I had taped to the back of the washing machine!? Was all the bleeding and electricity not enough!? Is the world intent on killing me through indirect financial routes as well!?”

Kamijou Touma would probably be restricted to hospital food during his stay here, but there were loopholes. Visitors could bring him food and he could visit this restaurant to speak with visitors.

Of course, the hospital would discover he had been sneaking food as soon as they ran any tests, but since he was here for cuts and contusions, not an internal illness, he did not really have to worry about the dietary restrictions all that much. And he was a growing high school boy, so he wanted to eat meat, meat, carbs, meat, salt, fat, and meat. He was not going to spend his Christmas with only slimy porridge to eat.

He grabbed the menu from the round table.

“Th-the prices will be reasonable since this is a hospital, right?”

“What, are you short on money? Since it’s an emergency, I could always lend you some.”

“I am not turning into a high schooler who owes money to a middle schooler!! It’s not happening! I’d be trading my dignity for money!”

“Are you trying to piss us off?” asked both middle school girls while pinching his cheeks.

Kamijou Touma was intent on having a feast since it was Christmas, so he ordered the fried chicken meal. Mikoto and Shokuhou could not see the connection between his intentions and his actions at first, but it eventually dawned on them as their imagination slowly caught up. Imagination speed had a way of slowing for the generations that could look anything up on their phones at any time.

“The fried chicken meal…is your idea of a feast???” The nearly-dumbfounded honey-blonde girl finally asked. “U-umm. I don’t mean to pry, but surely you aren’t thinking that qualifies as that one standard item of the Christmas meal, are you?”

“No, it’s not meant to be the turkey. They have a special Christmas fried chicken sale at the convenience stores, right? And if I want some fried chicken, this is my only option! Everything else would be too expensive!!”

“I, but, wait, really?”

The professional high-class girl waved her hands in a fluster and her thoughts seemed to have ground to a halt. She must have been hoping very dearly that she had misinterpreted what he had said, but her attempt to clear up the misunderstanding had instead planted her foot on the landmine.

Mikoto, a high-class girl who contradictorily had a better understanding of the commoner life, joined the conversation with exasperation in her voice.

“This is Japanese-style, so it’s not even on the bone. Christmas fried chicken is normally the Western-style, you know?”

“Don’t be absurd!! I couldn’t eat that kind right now if I had it! Besides, there’s no way I can afford anything as fancy as meat on the bone!!!!!!”

When he was that upfront about it, even Mikoto could only stammer without finding the words.

A high schooler was simply too much for middle schoolers to handle.

As mentioned earlier, hospitals paid careful attention to seasonal events. The menu had a lot of special Christmas items available, but Kamijou Touma’s mind had apparently skipped right past them. He seemed physically unable to see any single item on the menu that cost more than 1000 yen.

Index alone remained cheerful.

“All that matters is that it’s edible!! Because you need food to stay alive!!”

“Exactly right, Index. Someone has taught you well.”

“So I want the extra-large three-meat grill combo that comes with ginger pork, fried shrimp, and a hamburger steak!!”

“Why do they even offer something so unhealthy at a hospital? And ''you'' are stuck with that apple cake you bought with our precious money. That thing has to have enough sugar to keep you alive if you got lost on a snowy mountain.”

The other two girls could only sigh as they watched Kamijou and Index divide up their prizes on small paper plates to share.

They exchanged a glance and then silently communicated by reading each other’s lips.

“(Looks like there aren’t any lasting effects.)”

“(I could have sworn that black pill was meant as an attack on him, though. What purpose ability did it even have?)”

Just as they arrived at that conclusion, some sticky red blood dripped from Kamijou Touma’s nose.

Two small triangles appeared.

They were created by the mouths of the two Level 5 girls.

A voice seemed to crawl up from the pit of hell.

“Hold it. Are you putting mayo on your chicken, Mr. High Calorie?”

“Eh? What else would you put on it? Please don’t say something like ‘matcha salt’! And you’re gonna act like you’re better than me for it when all you’re doing is adding a pinch of some fancy salt to your food!!”

Kamijou Touma took offense, but that was not the real reason Mikoto had spoken up.

“I don’t really care about your topping choice – and I prefer lemon juice, for the record. Now, what was going through your head just now? Were you thinking about that kiss? That romantic smooch you had on Christmas Eve!?”

“And why didn’t you tell me you were okay with some random person walking up and kissing you!?” cut in Shokuhou. “Argh, ''I'' could have been the mysterious and sexy stranger who swept you off your feet on Christmas Eve!”