Rainy Days: A Certain Magical Index Story

Chapter 6: Clear Skies

A long night in the bathtub left Touma with a sore back the next day, yet when he stood up, yawned, and stretched while gazing at his dreary-eyed self in the mirror, he noticed a pleasant aroma in the air—the smell of rice, coffee, and eggs. It behooved him to worry, given how Index had a tendency to cause catastrophe whenever she stepped into the kitchen, and like the world was on fire, his eyes opened wide and he burst out from the bathroom, expecting to find the whole apartment in a state of gut-churning disaster.

And yet there was nothing of the sort.

All he found was peace. Soft, ambient peace.

In the living room, Index lay on her stomach watching tv, swinging her legs back and forth in the air. Sunlight bled through the balcony door in a bright column, a welcomed changed from all the recent storms. And lastly, the sizzling noise of frying food saturated the background, and when Touma peered into the kitchen, he noticed Misaka. She wore an apron over her normal clothes, and bizarrely enough, a chef's hat that was handmade from paper. Judging by the food, she knew how to cook astonishingly well.

"M-Misaka?" he stuttered, concerned with her strange behavior.

She turned around and cocked her head to one side. "'Yes?' inquires Misaka, confused as to why you are gawking at her in that manner."

"Oh, it's nothing, just...are you feeling okay?"

"'Indeed,' reports Misaka. 'As you can see, Misaka is practicing her cooking skills. She once read in a magazine that men find this skill attractive, and because she wishes to be the most attractive woman of them all, she has decided to train daily. She wishes to become 'marriage material', though she is still uncertain what this phrase means.'"

Without waiting for his response, she returns he attention to the eggs and rakes them onto a plate, having no regard for how bizarre the whole scenario is. Cooking is one thing, but training for the potentiality of marriage? And at her age? Touma scratched the back of his head and sighed, knowing there was no point in discussing the matter.

"'You should also know,' says Misaka, leading the conversation into a heavier topic that involves you personally. 'That Misaka has been wondering when the art of baby making will be a topic of conversation between us.'"

Like his muscles were transformed into solid stone, Touma froze, no longer moving, breathing, or even thinking.

Did she ask what I think she just asked?

As if a special sense raised an ear-shattering alarm inside her, Index hopped up from the floor like a rabbit and pounced across the room into Touma's personal space. "What did she just say, Touma? Baby making? What sort of scandalous things have you been up to?" She grabbed him by the collar and began shaking him violently. "Tell me the truth, Touma! Tell me! Your pervert lifestyle has gone too far, hasn't it? You've become a sexual deviant like some dirty old man who chases girls way too young for him!"

"Relax!" he pleaded. "This isn't what you think, I promise!"

"Then tell me what it is!"

Thankfully, Misaka intervened and began explaining herself before he suffered permanent brain damage from all the rattling, though what she had to say was more inflammatory than helpful:

"'Since Misaka now understands the truth of infant creation, she just assumed there would be babies in our future,' says Misaka, recalling the romantic words you said to her last night. 'She is most excited about having a baby. Naming a small child Blackbeard is also quite pleasing to think about, because she specifically wants to raise a pirate.'"