Frowning, Kuroko inhaled shakily before shaking her head, "It's not."
"Well, there must be something we can do," Saten-san brows furrowed as she leaned forward on the table top, "is there any way we can help? I mean," Saten-san glanced over at Uiharu-san and nudged her a little, "I mean, I may not be able to do much but Uiharu can—"
"The doctors said there was nothing we could do," Mikoto mumbled as she sat rigid in her chair, her eyes trained on the table, "if it could be fixed I would have done something about it already."
"Senpai…"
"This is crazy," Uiharu-san sniffled before wiping at her eyes roughly, "we can't just give up. There has to be something we can do," Uiharu-san glanced over at Kuroko with sad, darkened eyes, "we were supposed to become full Judgment members together," tears slipped down her cheeks as she sniffled once more, "How can we do that if you don't even remember the promise we made to one another?"
A stab of guilt hit Kuroko in the chest and she felt herself draw further in herself. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before looking up and leaning across the table.
What she did next surprised everyone, even herself.
She took Uiharu-san's hands in her own and gazed into her eyes with a conviction they were all familiar with though to varying degrees.
"I may not have my memories anymore but I can say with one hundred percent certainty that you are someone who is very important to me. I will forever cherish the fact that you cared enough about me to cry, Uiharu-san, and I will do everything in my power to make sure our promise is realized."
Uiharu-san's eyes widened at her words and she stared at Kuroko with an expression that quickly morphed from shock to determination. She squeezed Kuroko's hands tightly before giving her a watery smile.
"It's Uiharu. You call me Uiharu."
A look of surprise crossed Kuroko's face before she smirked and nodded, "Alright, Uiharu."
As the two girls giggled softly at one another, Ruiko frowned as she stared at Mikoto, who had grown progressively quieter and gloomier as the minutes passed. She made a note to ask Mikoto how she was coping before she grinned and slung an arm around Uiharu's shoulders.
"On that note, you can just call me 'Ruiko' if you want, Shirai-san. You were always too polite to drop the honorific—"
"I think I'd be more comfortable with 'Saten-san'," Kuroko muttered importantly and giggling when Ruiko made a show of dropping her head on the table before sitting up and placing her cheek on her hand with a grin.
"Shot down completely, huh?"
The corners of Mikoto's lips curled up into a small smile at the banter even as her heart grew heavy. While she was glad everything had worked out but she couldn't lie and say that she was exactly happy now. After all, nothing could change the fact that her best friend was gone.
No, I have to stop thinking like that, Mikoto squeezed her eyes shut as she clenched her jaw, she needs me, I can't keep acting selfishly. With this thought in mind, Mikoto forcefully swallowed back her bitterness and smiled cheerfully at her friends.
"Now that that's all out in the open, how about we get some dinner? I'm starved!"
The girls around the table quickly agreed to her words, picking up their menu's to order and spending the rest of their hour talking and laughing. So focused on acting normal, Mikoto didn't notice twin gazes full of worry watching her throughout the night.