Welcome to the weekend!

So, I didn't realize that NT 13 was going to be available so soon, so this story is gonna be obsolete REAL quick. Never fear, though, I shall continue. And I'll do my best to not let what I read there influence my ideas too much, unless it reveals great character development that I would want to incorporate anyway.

Some people have been wondering if this is going to be just M and T: It's not. This first part is, because it is based on the prompt FOR NT 13, but later sections will bring in most of the cast in some fashion or another. This is also going to be a good length: I'd be surprised if my whole story will be less than 100000 words, all things said. Finally, I love people making predictions and guessing. That is the best feeling. If you want know you've made me giggle like an toddler trying to keep a secret, do that. With that.. Enjoy!

Chapter 6:

5:26 P.M., December 23rd: The Dianoid Shopping Centre, 7th floor, Outside a Koshka brand store.

"Who are you?" Trying to keep the rising panic out of his voice, the boy's eyes wandered wildly. Was his mysterious assailant armed? There was no obvious panic in passer-by's developing around him, and he doubted the mall's security would ignore anything but the most subtle conventional weapon. An esper then or a magician. But who? There's nothing going on right now that I know of, so what gives!? It's almost CHRISTMAS damn it! He gave up trying to place the girl's voice, and instead looked around for assistance. Incredibly, the security guard that was standing not 10 feet away was looking aside: it was almost as if she was pointedly ignoring Touma's plight. Has this girl co-opted the guards too? Damn, this is serious…

"Don't worry about that right now. If you just answer my questions, everything is going to be just fine." Touma swallowed a gulp, and steeled himself for the worst. If this person hadn't already attacked him, she clearly wanted something other than his rapid exit from life. I'm not the target then, but how much about me do they know? Maybe I can get the jump on them before they can use an ability…

"I see that you've been hanging around with a certain Railgun lately. Are you perhaps…?" She left her question hanging, prompting her target to finish. If she expected her question to paralyze him, though, she misjudged completely as his resolve crystallized.

"What do you want with Misaka Mikoto?"

"Ahah, first name basis already, I see? Well, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Kamijou Touma. I just need to know what you plan to do if you keep getting… close to her." Touma's right hand involuntarily clenched as recognized the implicit threat to the one he cared about.

"… I don't know what you want, but I will not let you hurt her." He did not know what he expected come follow after that bold response, but the girl behind him sounded shaken.

"W-what?"

"I don't know what group you're with, and I know she has a lot of enemies. But even so, no matter what happens, I'm not going to abandon her or fail to help her." He used this chance to push his advantage, aware he had somehow stolen the initiative from his captor. "I don't care who you are, but I'm not telling you anything about her. And if you threaten her, know that I won't let her face her problems alone again." Even as he spoke, something started to seem off about this whole affair to Touma. She hasn't made any obvious demands yet, and she doesn't sound like she's going to. What is even going on? He took a gamble and quickly pushed off from his seat, turning to face his assailant and launching in a ready pose for fight or flight.

Standing behind the bench, looking equal parts bewildered and out of her depth, was a young girl in oversized sunglasses and a heavy wool coat. A large toque hid most of her long black hair, but something seemed familiar about her.

"Who are you, anyw- Wait a minute. We've met! You're… Aren't you Misaka's friend!? …S-Saten-san, wasn't it?" [1]

"…Busted."

!~~~~~~~~!

Flashback: 5 minutes ago.

A short distance away and hidden behind a potted plant crouched Saten Ruiko. It was hard to see the boy clearly though the thick sunglasses she wore, but after hearing a familiar catch phrase she had finally placed her target.

"I knew it!" Fist pumping in celebration, she quickly glanced around to verify no one had seen her. In fact, she was just then being watched by four different security guards and three separate cameras, as the Dianoid's staff had recognized her clumsy attempts to follow the two other students from the moment she entered the front doors. After observing her sneaking after them from before they got their first drinks up until now, and scrutinizing her through dozens of electronic scanners, they had finally determined with bemusement that Saten was completely harmless. However, what at first was sincere paranoia eventually transformed into a training exercise, and by now a fair number of security staff had been rotated to monitor her actions. Even a number of regular patrons were aware of her efforts, but both her and her quarries were so distracted by themselves that they all remained blissfully unaware.

!~~~~~~~~!

In a nearby sealed room, two security guards followed their monitors anxiously.

"She's got the boy alone now. I'm sure my theory's right, just wait." The first man's hand clenched in anticipation. "Declaration of love, here we come!"

"I don't know. She doesn't seem the envious type. Usually they're more… confrontational? I just don't know." The second man repeated his doubt, but remained just as glued to the display as his co-worker. "I still bet she's just looking out for her friend."

"It couldn't be! Look at the intensity of her expression! This is life and death to her!"

"Yeah, but then why is she constantly texting someone? She's clearly acting solo, but relaying information."

"I don't know, maybe it's a love tri- No, a love quadrangle! Man, this is better than a soap opera!"

!~~~~~~~~!

Saten quickly glanced up to confirm the boy was alone before continuing her text to Kuroko.

-Mikoto entered Koshka but just browsing no updates-

She grinned as she returned the phone to her purse. 15 minutes is what Mikoto said, hmm? That's plenty of time to go ask some pointed questions… Gotta be discreet though, I don't want him to recognize me or run off. Let's see, his name was… Touma? Kamijou Touma, I think. Yeah, that's what he said at the Daihasesisai…

Sauntering in what she imagined was a casual manner Saten stole up on the unaware boy, as multiple security workers tensed in anticipation. She lingered behind the bench for a moment before leaning down next to his right ear.

!~~~~~~~~!

"Hey hey hey! Here she goes! See?"

"No way, I'm still not buying it…"

"Wait, she's just standing… What, a whisper?"

"Wow, he just stiffened! There IS something between them!"

"Oh man oh man, here we go! Hey, radio that guard nearby, give her the heads up. I want a warning if that other girl comes back!"

"What are you going to do, have her give a signal? Why are you helping this random girl?

"True love, man! You can't stand in the way of that!"

The two guards waited for a moment, transfixed by the drama before them.

"Man, I wish we had microphones. What is she saying to him?"

"…Either way, it's still just whispering. If it's really a love confession, why hasn't either moved for a full minute? She's not even getting in front of him!"

"Oh! Look! Look at his hand! He's getting ready to stand up! HERE WE GO!"

As the climax was reached, each could only stare as the boy shouted something in shock before falling to the ground in a stupor, clutching his chest. The girl looked panicked, before rushing around the bench to his side. The security guard posted outside the store looked up at the camera observing and gave a sincerely confused shrug.

"…So… I think you owe me 500 yen."

"…Damn it."

!~~~~~~~~!

5:34 P.M., December 23rd: The Dianoid Shopping Centre, 7th floor, Outside a Koshka brand store.

Once the boy had recovered, Saten Ruiko helped him to his feet and deposited him back on his bench. Her shoulders slumped in utter defeat, while Touma began to unwind as he finally grasped that no one was in danger.

"Thank goodness… You really had me going there for a second. Seriously, what were you thinking, threatening a guy like that? I have enough bad luck as it is!"

"Heheh, I'm sorry… I guess I went a little too serious there, huh?"

"I'll say. I understand you're worried about your friend, but that was like something out of a spy movie!" Or the rest of my life.

"Sorry, sorry…" Saten's apology seemed sincere enough to Touma, but her bubbly personality quickly resurfaced. "I have to ask, though: you had to tell I was a young girl. Did you really think I was threatening you? I thought for a second you were putting on an act! Being so cool and all."

"Frankly, I've been involved in enough trouble that I don't judge it based on its cover." Touma shrugged, leaning back against the bench. "Besides, we both know at least two "young girls" who are alone scarier than a roomful of super spies." Saten's easy laugh at his humour brought a smile to the boy's face, and he relaxed further. He remembered the girl hung around Mikoto a great deal, and was completely willing to accept her quickly explained story. It did seem like the best way to prevent Mikoto's roommate from killing him or worse, and would likely not offend Mikoto too much in end.

"I guess you're right. So, who're you scared of more then?" Saten asked teasingly, but was shocked by his fast response.

"Biri-biri, no question." When he saw the look of surprise on Saten's face, he quickly explained. "Oh, I know she won't kill me: well, probably not. But at the same time, if she heard I let Shirai scare me off from hanging around her, I get the feeling there would be more than one person charred to a crisp." The undeniable logic made sense to his listener, but Touma went on. "And it's not even her reactions, or the fact she's the stronger one of the two, or is the more determined, or anything like that. It's more that she worries me all the time. She's too damn stubborn, and likes to do things to help me and others that just puts her in danger. Plus, as a level 5, she's a big target in this city for a lot of bad people. Even if she's incredibly strong and skilled, all it takes is one bad day. So in that sense? Yeah, she terrifies me."

"Wow. That's… I guess I understand, then, why that'd bother you so much." Saten had no real way to respond to his depth of concern. He had not seemed like the type to be that introspective. He did seem to have Mikoto's character nailed, however, since her frequent vigilante actions were a constant irritation to their judgement friends. Her own ruminations prompted Touma to quickly explain himself further.

"Oh, don't think I regret it. She's worth every bit of stress she gives me, because... Well, because she deserves to be happy. So I'll fight for that smile however I can. Even if it comes at the strangest times. Really, I don't know how much she'd want me to tell you about her past, but she really is someone to look up to."

Saying something like that in such an easy and honest manner stirred a little something like envy in Saten's heart. Don't think like that, silly girl! Does he have this effect on all the girls he meets? Now I get why Misaka-san gets so worked up over his personality… "I see. Well, I guess you gave all the right answers, Kamijou-sempai. You sure convinced me you care about her! You have my blessing!" Saten nodded her head knowingly to the boy, who grinned in response.

"Oh, that's good to hear." A moment's pause. "Blessing for what?"

"…Uhm… You two continuing to secretly date?" Touma practically flew from the bench at her words, grabbing a startled Saten by the shoulders.

"WHOA whoa whoa, h-hold on there! N-no, we're only friends! Us? Dating? Are you kidding!? Seriously, who told you that!? If Biri-biri finds out someone is spreading rumours, she'll flip! We've got to warn them!" Touma looked around the hallway frantically, half expecting his bad luck to summon Mikoto instantly at the worst possible time. Poor Saten managed to recover from his outburst, but remained surprised.

"Only friends? But after all those things you said-" With her confused words, Touma calmed down considerably.

"Oh, is that it? I'd do that for anyone, really, for my own reasons. But I do care about her, and not just because she's done a lot for me in turn." He had fallen back a little from his earlier pounce forward, but his face remained close to Saten's. He began to chuckle as he released his hold on her. "H-heh, us two dating… man, as if. Even if she didn't spend most of her time trying to kill me, it's not like I've got anything going on she wants. You've seen the way she flares up at me."

Yeah, and now I REALLY get why she gets so fired up! Is he actually this oblivious? He's as bad as she is! Despite this initial impression, Saten couldn't help looking more closely at this boy of surprising depth. She thought perhaps she saw something hidden in his face that even he was only dimly aware of. Though he was clearly attempting to hide it with humour, the girl was too good at reading emotions to be fooled by Touma's misdirection. No, it's not really just that, is it Kamijou-sempai? Maybe in part, but you don't feel that inferior to her… what is it? You say you're afraid, but you don't seem to be…Yet I see hesitation? Do you not know how she feels? How you feel? Or is it something else…? [2]

Touma was too lost in his own ruminations to notice Saten's pondering. Eventually a gear clicked in place in brain, and his face brightened with relief. "Wait a minute… What she wants… YES! I, Kamijou Touma, have a brilliant plan! You can help me with my little problem!"

"I-I can?"

"Yes! Please, this means a lot to me, and it's for Mikoto! I know you have no obligation to trust me, but it's important!"

"W-well, when you put it like that, of course I'll help!" Wow, he didn't even use the fact I tormented him into pressuring me! What a guy!

"Allright, now, here's what I'm thinking…"

!~~~~~~~~!

Mikoto practically sprinted down the escalator within Koshka, dodging past slower shoppers. That took too long, damn it! Now I don't have time to grab that Gekota pin! Oh well, I guess I can wait until after Christmas. At least the jacket is taken care of: now I can finally relax a little. She rounded the last aisle leading to the hallway where she had left a certain spiky haired idiot, but found him crouched over and whispering into the ears of a shorter person. A shorter person with long, black hair and decidedly feminine coat.

"YOU DAMNED IDIOT!" Stray licks of lightning cracked from her brow as Mikoto accelerated towards a soon-to-be-regretful boy when a strong gloved hand slid in front of her path. "WHAT-HEY!" The arm was attached to the same security guard from earlier from outside the store, but she had somehow intercepted Mikoto before she could exit.

"Leave those two- I-I mean, stop right there, shoplifter!" Her accusatory tone stopped Mikoto in her tracks, blinking blankly in surprise.

"Wha-wha-what? Me!? No, I- I didn't-"

"A likely story! Why are you in such a hurry then? And yelling, to an accomplice maybe?!" The guard seemed oddly dramatic for the circumstances, but Mikoto was too busy trying to peek around her shoulders at her quarry in the hallway.

"I'm not, I swear, I didn't, I-I just need to-"

"You're going to need to let me do a scan, little miss, before I let you through!" Pulling out a handheld scanner, the guard began passing it front of Mikoto, who could think of no reasonable means of escape. Just when she was about to consider administering a minor shock to short out the device, the guard stiffened suddenly and stepped aside. "All right, you're free to go. No more yelling, and- HEY, STOP RUNNING!" It was effectively too late to stop the girl, as Mikoto bounded out from the store. An extremely suspicious Touma was rubbing the back of his head and failing despite every effort to look nonchalant.

"O-oh, hey Bi-Misaka –san, did you find anything go-"

"Where is she? Who was that girl!?" Mikoto whipped her head around in every direction, but the miscreant was missing: the guard had stalled her for too long.

"Wha- Oh, you mean that middle-schooler? Uh…I was giving her directions!" TECHNICALLY true, so I don't have to feel bad about lying!

"Is that so, huh!? Why'd she run off then in such a HURRY?"

"Uhm… Well, you might have scared her, you know, with the all the yelling?" Man, I've gotten better at misdirection lately. Touma thought to himself with perverse pride. "A-and besides, why are you so upset? I mean, it's not like you have any reason to be jeal… AH! I-I MEAN, concerned about me, right?" Wow, that was close! Never mind, no more trying to be sneaky again for Kamijou Touma! I could have died! Miraculously, his words seemed to be having a positive effect on Mikoto's wrath. She actually paused a second before continuing her tirade, now blushing furiously.

"Ah-h, mmm… W-well, whenever I've left you alone before in the past, you've managed to run off and escape on some stupid adventure or something! You still owe me, so I can't let that happen again, you hear!?" OOOH, I leave for 15 minutes, and he's already hitting on someone! GAH! I need a damn leash, or a shock collar, or- NO, no, I don't care! I really don't care. I don't. Calm down, Mikoto, i-it's not like he's y-y-y-yours, or anything…

"I see, I see… Fair point. Eheheh…" That actually is a fair point. I really need to get better about explaining things, at least to those people who should know… Glancing at her hands, he noticed she wasn't carrying anything, and let out a relieved sigh. So she didn't buy it! I didn't see her pick one up, but I was distracted for a bit. Thank goodness, I've still got a chance then! "Anyway, if you're done in there, shouldn't we be heading down to dinner? They recommend arriving early."

"O-oh, right! Yes, and it's a few floors down, we should go! Come on, don't dawdle!" The harshness with which she yanked his arm illustrated that Mikoto hadn't fully forgiven Touma for his misunderstood indiscretion, but he was just happy to be moving away from the store.

They darted into an elevator, and just as the doors closed a certain sneaky Saten peeked out from behind her hiding bush. Sighing heavily, she straightened her sunglasses and strolled up to the Koshka she had fled from a moment before.

"Allright… time to get to work!" I feel like some sort of secret agent match-maker! Gosh, this is awesome! Like, secret-Saten or something… Wait. I'm their secret Saten, AND their secret Santa! Eeeheeheehee! Unaware her glee was audible, Saten giggled her way into the store, skipping lightly as she fully embraced the holiday spirit.

!~~~~~~~~!

"And that, my friend, is how you protect true love! They'd thank me if they knew."

"You fancy yourself some sort of cupid, Mr. Mall Cop?"

"Hey, someone's got to look out for young lovers! Who says we can't secure happiness as well as safety?"

"I think our contracts. Somewhere under 'doing our jobs'…"

"Quiet you. Now, let's get back to work. And by work, I mean watching them."

!~~~~~~~~!

[1] I think at least one person guessed this fake out. If you're surprised Touma knows who Saten is that well, you might have a fair point. However, the railgun manga provides a few meetings and interactions. I feel Touma is smart enough, especially in times of perceived danger, to connect the dots between various random sightings of her with Mikoto and now, especially considering her silly disguise. I think at least one in the light novels supports this interpretation of his knowledge of her as well. Either way, take it or leave it. Perhaps sometime between now and Christmas all the girls and him were formally introduced? Could be a potential other fic…

[2] Some people might not agree with both Saten's ability to perceive these things, or Touma's confused feelings. Obviously I disagree, but I feel like given that she is the most grounded of the 4 girls, she probably has a pretty good grasp on more mundane, every day life things. And Touma, however oblivious he is, probably lies to himself on a regular basis about his experiences, even if it's more humility and avoidance than anything else. Let's be frank, with all the stress he lives through, it'd be hard not to! Some people have noticed before his issues, it's just usually you can't peer into their minds like I do here.