A Certain Retrospect

Chapter 1

Kamijou Touma, the wielder of Imagine Breaker, walked away from the unconscious Anna Sprengel after landing the final blow on her. Unfortunately for him, however, he did not receive a cure for the infection magic and is slowly dying now.

"This is the end," the voice of the legendary figure, St. Germain, spoke out in his head. "I... know that..." Touma couldn't finish his sentence as he started coughing up blood and fell to his knees.

"Esper... there's no time left," St. Germain spoke once again, informing Touma that his time had run out and that in mere minutes, even seconds, he would die.

Touma couldn't reply, with blood still in his throat as he leaned up against a wall. All he could do was look in front of him, seeing a familiar form of Misaka Mikoto running towards him with a broken look on her face. Mustering up all the strength he had left, Touma spoke his last words. "Goodbye, Misaka...," he smiled as his head dropped soon after, with the light in his eyes fading away. That was when Touma Kamijou, the savior of the world and friend to many, died. If he had stayed for even a minute longer, he would have heard the heartbreaking screams and sobs of Misaka Mikoto.

(Scene Change)

Inside a dorm room lay a sleeping boy, covered by his blanket. The morning sun shone through the window as the boy woke up with a scream. His breathing was erratic, and his hand clutched his chest, tears streaming from his eyes as he began coughing, as if trying to vomit out something. It took some time, but eventually, he calmed down and looked around at the surroundings, realizing that it was indeed his dorm room.

"How am I here? I was dead," he said, putting an end to his musing when his head began to feel like it would soon explode. His brain felt like it was about to burst as his urge to vomit returned. The boy went into his bathroom and vomited into the toilet, but soon afterward, he passed out from the pain.

Hours passed as the boy began to awaken. His head still hurt, but that didn't matter; he wanted to get off the floor. The boy slowly stood up, grasping the sink for support. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, the identity of the boy was finally revealed.

It was Touma Kamijou, seemingly alive again, but something had changed about him. He seemed taller than before, and his hair had grown longer; his features were sharper now. He was still wearing his hospital patient's clothes he had been wearing when he died.

"I don't know what happened, but I think Imagine Breaker somehow has a hand in this," Touma said as he looked at his right hand with a suspicious gaze. He then sighed before walking out of the bathroom and seeing that it was now midday.

Touma saw that his phone on the table and picked it up as he looked at the screen. He soon dropped it as he was shocked. The date was the 17th of June, a year before he died. "How- Ahh!" Touma's head started hurting again, but it went away very quickly as he started getting flashes of memories. Memories before he met Index.

The sudden flash of his memories blinded Touma as he stumbled and fell to the ground. However, he quickly recovered, getting back on his feet as his energy returned and he felt rejuvenated.

"My memories are back!" Touma yelled out in happiness as he got his memories back, making him feel whole and not just a replacement for the Touma Kamijou who had "died" on July 27th.

Unfortunately, Touma also remembered that he had classes today, which were starting very soon. With no time to re-dress or eat, Touma grabbed his school bag and left his dorm, starting to run towards his school.