Later that day, Mikoto met up with her friends at Joseph's for dinner. Even though she'd seen them earlier that day, she was looking forward to catching up with them.

While they waited for their food, Uiharu asked, "Misaka-san, how was the rest of your day with Kamijou-san?" She was pretty curious about what had happened between them after lunch, and she knew that both Saten and Kuroko were curious as well, though the latter for different reasons.

Mikoto's cheeks reddened a little as she replied, "I didn't spend the whole day with that idiot! Like he said, we just delivered the items he bought, and soon after that was done, we split up."

Kuroko suspiciously wondered, "Soon after? That sounds like something happened between you and that troglodyte, onee-sama! Did he do anything to you during that extra time?"

Mikoto quickly protested, "No, of course not! Where do these crazy ideas of yours even come from?" Her roommate kept thinking that Touma did perverted things to her whenever they were alone together, and it was tiring to keep refuting the idea each time.

Saten tried to calm the girl down and said, "Yeah Shirai-san, I'm sure not much happened between them. After all, if something did happen, I'm sure Misaka-san would let us know, right?"

Mikoto was unnerved by her friend's question and nervously replied, "Y-yeah, I mean, there wasn't anything major that happened. He thanked me for helping him with the gifts, and we said goodbye." She was a bit reluctant to mention his gift to her, since she knew Kuroko would make a big deal out of it.

Saten was unconvinced, "The way she's acting, I'm pretty sure something did happen. I wonder what it was."

Mikoto was sitting to the left of Kuroko and directly across from Saten, while Uiharu was diagonally across and to her right. As she turned her head slightly to the right, Saten noticed something different about her and asked, "Oh hey, is that a new hair clip?" She pointed to the accessory on the left side of the girl's hair.

Mikoto grimaced, "Darn, I was hoping that maybe they wouldn't notice it. But I do want to keep wearing it, so they'd find out soon anyway." She replied, "Oh yeah, it is." The girl blushed and smiled as she recalled how Touma had gently placed it in her hair, and shyly added, "Actually, T-Touma gave it to me as a present! He bought it with the other gifts when I wasn't looking."

Now that Saten was able to take a closer look, she saw that it was a lightning bolt with the letter M on it. She grinned and said in a teasing tone, "Wow, that's a really personalized present! I guess he did more than just thank you, huh?"

Uiharu then added, "Yeah, you're so lucky to get such a thoughtful gift from him, Misaka-san! He must really like you!"

Mikoto waved her off, "I'm not sure about that. He did tell me that he saw it and thought it suited me, but I don't think it was a big deal for him."

Kuroko had the hardest time seeing the hair clip since she was sitting right next to the girl, but once she finally got a good look, her eyes widened, "I hate to admit it, but that filthy troglodyte has pretty good taste." She then snidely asked, "So, are you going to keep wearing that trinket?"

Her roommate rolled her eyes at her petulance and then smirked, "Of course, after all, it would be rude not to use such a thoughtful gift! I actually really like it, so I think I'll keep wearing it along with my normal one!"

Kuroko pouted and whined, "Onee-sama, how come you never apply that principle to any of my wonderful gifts?"

Mikoto quickly retorted, "That's because all your gifts are perverted." Kuroko's "gifts" tended to be things like lingerie and aphrodisiacs, which she always promptly got rid of.

Kuroko then clung to Mikoto's arm and cried, "Onee-sama, I just wanted to show you the extent of my love!" She proceeded to rub her head against the other girl's shoulder.

Mikoto angrily pushed her away and replied, "Well, I don't want it! Get off of me, you pervert!" Once she managed to stop Kuroko from invading her personal space, she crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation.

The atmosphere was awkward for a few moments as Saten and Uiharu watched the others' usual antics play out. Fortunately, the waitress soon came over to deliver their food, and they were able to begin eating.

Saten then restarted the conversation with a new topic, "Hey Misaka-san, are you going to confess to him soon?"

Mikoto's cheeks reddened, and she nervously played with her fingers while stammering, "C-confess to T-Touma? I don't know if I'm ready for that." It had been hard enough for her to be honest about wanting to spend time with Touma, so the girl could hardly imagine working up the courage to confess her feelings to him.

Uiharu then asked, "But why not? Do you think he'll reject you? You two seemed pretty close at lunch, and he gave you that nice gift!."

Mikoto looked down and frowned, "Yeah, I don't really know. We've gotten a lot closer, but he probably just sees it as becoming close friends." After all, he didn't see any issue with buying necklaces for her sisters. She doubted that Touma even saw playing with her hair or hugging her as anything romantic.

Saten surmised, "Ah, so he's pretty dense, huh? Do you think he noticed how you act shy around him sometimes?"

Mikoto shook her head, "Not really, I mean, he's noticed that I'm sometimes quieter than usual, but I don't think he's figured out why. I don't think he'll get it unless I tell him directly. But honestly, a part of me is glad that he's so dense."

Uiharu asked, "Oh, why's that?" She figured it would be frustrating for Mikoto's romantic hints to go over his head.

Mikoto continued, "I'm pretty sure there are a lot of other girls who like him, so if he weren't so dense, he probably would've gotten together with one of them already." She knew that Misaka 10032 had tried making a move on him, and she guessed that the nun he was often with did too, but figured that Touma had never really gotten the message.

Saten nodded, "Yeah, you have a point there. But if there are a bunch of girls who also like him, then you should confess soon, or you might lose to someone who's not as shy as you."

Kuroko then suddenly began maliciously laughing and muttered, "Yes, when that clueless troglodyte insensitively breaks onee-sama's heart, I will be in the perfect position to cheer her up and claim her for myself!"

Mikoto had heard her, so she gave her roommate a quick chop to the head and said, "Shut up, Kuroko!" As the other girl groaned and held her head in pain, she turned back to Saten and said, "Yeah, you have a point there. I don't want to lose to another girl just because they confessed first. But I still don't know whether he actually likes me back."

Saten replied, "Yeah, you can't know for sure beforehand, but I think you have a really good chance! From where I was sitting, he seemed very fond of you, Misaka-san! He might not realize it yet, but I bet that once you confess, he'll think back about all the fun times you've had together and at least give you a chance! Just tell him honestly how much he means to you!"

Mikoto mused, "Well, he has been really sweet to me all weekend. It's possible he's started to see me in a different light." The girl blushed furiously as she imagined herself confessing to Touma and him agreeing to be her boyfriend. "Maybe I do have a chance after all!"

She then smiled and exclaimed, "You're right, Saten-san! It'll be really hard for me, but I'll try to confess to that idiot soon!"

Uiharu replied, "That's the spirit, Misaka-san! You guys will make such an adorable couple!"

Kuroko had been silent since being shut down by Mikoto, and she had conflicting feelings about the idea of her confessing to Touma. On the one hand, if the boy accepted her confession, then they would become a couple and Kuroko would no longer have any chance of hooking up with Mikoto. On the other hand, she figured that, since he was such a dense idiot, he might inadvertently stomp on Mikoto's heart. "Then onee-sama will finally understand that that troglodyte, no, that all guys, are completely unsuitable for her! And I will finally get my chance!"

Mikoto saw that her roommate had a creepy grin on her face, but decided to just ignore her. By this time, they had finished eating, so the four of them were soon ready to leave.

Since it was almost curfew, Mikoto and Kuroko split up from Saten and Uiharu to return to their Tokiwadai dorm. While Kuroko was still muttering crazy things to herself, Mikoto began to think of how to confess to the boy she had fallen for. Saten had given her some pretty good advice, and she hoped she would be able to put it to use.

The following day, Touma and his classmates were eating at their desks during lunch break. Fukiyose had noticed that the boy had been in a relatively good mood that morning, not complaining too much about his misfortune. She was curious about the cause, so she said to him, "Hey, Kamijou, you seem to be in a pretty good mood today!"

The boy was a bit confused and asked, "Huh, what do you mean, Fukiyose?" Although he wasn't as tired and resigned as he usually was, Touma didn't think he was in a particularly positive mood either.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Come on Kamijou, you've hardly blamed your luck at all today, and you don't look like you've given up on life. Have you finally figured out that it's better to have a more positive attitude?"

Touma sighed, "There she goes again." She had never really believed that Touma had bad luck, and instead thought that he just used it as a way of evading responsibility. Nevertheless, this time, she was correct in her observations. After a moment of thought, he replied, "Well, I had a pretty good weekend, I guess? Not too much bad luck!"

Himegami then asked, "Oh, what did you do this weekend?" She'd been silently paying attention to the conversation, but she was now curious about what the boy had been up to the previous days.

Touma was a bit startled by her voice, "Oh hey, Himegami, I didn't realize you were here too."

The girl sighed despondently, "What else is new." She replied, "I've been here the whole time, Kamijou."

The boy nervously rubbed his head, "Sorry, Himegami. Anyway, I had a pretty relaxing weekend hanging out with Biri-Biri."

Fukiyose was confused, since she had no idea what he meant by "Biri-Biri." She asked, "Biri-Biri? Is that someone's name?"

Touma chuckled, "Oh no, sorry, that's just a nickname I call a friend of mine, since she's an Electromaster."

Himegami observed, "A girl? I see you've collected another one. Your life really is like a galge game." She had no doubt that his friend was yet another girl who'd fallen for him.

Fukiyose's eyes narrowed, and she questioned, "Who exactly is this Electromaster friend of yours? I don't think I've ever seen you with someone like that." Their high school did have a few Electromasters, but none in their class, and she rarely saw the boy interact with anyone outside their class.

Touma was a bit fearful of his classmate's expression. "For some reason, I feel like I'll get in trouble if I reveal that I'm friends with Mikoto." As a result, he answered, "Oh, she goes to another school, so I don't think you know her."

Fukiyose remained a bit suspicious, but figured he was probably right, since she didn't really know any students outside of her school. She then said, "Oh, okay. So what did you guys do?"

The boy shrugged, "Well, on Saturday, we had lunch and just relaxed in a park for a while. And yesterday, I went shopping with her, and we had lunch with her friends." Touma carefully avoided referencing Mikoto's sisters, but otherwise gave an accurate recounting of his weekend with her.

At this point, Tsuchimikado entered the conversation, "Wow, looks like Kami-yan added another member to his harem!" In fact, he knew by the nickname that Touma was talking about Mikoto, and he had pretty extensive knowledge about the relationship between the two of them. He didn't want to reveal this though, so he pretended not to know who the boy was talking about.

Touma glared at his friend and protested, "For the last time, Tsuchimikado, I don't have a harem!"

Aogami began to chime in as well, "Yeah right, Kami-yan. So what type of girl is she? Perhaps a kuudere military girl? Or maybe a tsundere middle school girl? Or even a cute deredere loli?"

"What's with those suspiciously specific guesses? He's pretty close with the second one, though." Touma was becoming increasingly exasperated with his friends misinterpreting everything, and replied, "Not you too, Aogami! You guys are taking this way out of proportion! And she's not a loli!"

Fukiyose then said, "Well, these two idiots are being as perverted as usual, but it sounds like you're pretty close to this girl if you spent the whole weekend with her." She knew that Touma didn't hang out with his classmates that often outside of school, so it seemed a bit strange that he spent so much time hanging out with a friend from another school.

The boy nervously chuckled, "Well, it wasn't the whole weekend, but you're right about us being pretty close. We've been though a lot together." If he was being honest, Mikoto was probably one of his closest friends.

Fukiyose hadn't expected the boy to just openly admit it. She began to wonder whether there was something going on between Touma and this friend of his. "That would be unfortunate for Himegami, since she really likes Kamijou." Wanting some more information, she decided to directly ask him, "Hey Kamijou, are you going out with this girl?"

Touma's eyes widened, and he immediately replied, "No no, we're just friends! Honestly, she'd probably get pretty mad if you suggested that in front of her."

Aogami nodded sagely, "I see, so she's a tsundere who denies her true feelings for you! Congratulations, Kami-yan!"

Touma rolled his eyes, "Stop kidding around, Aogami. There's no way that's true, she's way out of my league."

Tsuchimikado smirked and countered, "Don't be silly, there's no way this friend of yours could resist the Kami-yan disease!"

The boy placed his head in his hands and loudly groaned. His friends Tsuchimikado and Aogami thought he had some sort of "disease" that attracted girls to him, but pretty much all the girls in his life saw him as an irresponsible idiot, so that made absolutely no sense.

Touma had gotten tired of countering all his classmates' assumptions, so he decided to just finish his lunch without engaging any further. Fortunately, he was soon saved from further annoying conversations by the end of the lunch period.

As Touma was walking home from school, he thought about his conversation with his classmates from earlier. "I can't believe they thought that Biri-Biri and I were dating. What a crazy idea!" Like he told his classmates, the boy was sure that Mikoto would get mad at anyone who suggested the idea, even as a joke.

He chuckled to himself, "Besides, she's not really my type anyways. She's definitely cute, but I'm not that into younger girls, and she can be pretty hot-tempered at times." Touma hadn't ever really thought of Mikoto in a romantic light, even when they went on their fake date just over a month ago. However, his classmates' teasing was now causing him to think about her in a new light.

Touma then thought about his weekend with her and frowned, "I guess I'm being a little unfair to her. Mikoto definitely has a sweet and caring side to her too! She's very kind and devoted to her little sisters. Her hugs are really warm and cozy, and she even gives really good lap pillows! She'd actually be a pretty good girlfriend for some lucky guy." Mikoto was certainly capable of being affectionate, despite her tomboyish personality. And if she was already this affectionate with him and her sisters, he bet that she'd be even more so with an actual boyfriend.

The boy thought again about her temper, "And it's not like she gets angry for no reason, I've just sometimes been too stupid to realize why she's mad. She's started to get better at controlling her temper too, though she definitely wouldn't let anyone push her around."

Touma started blushing a little as he mused about what it would be like to have Mikoto as his girlfriend. "It would be pretty fun cuddling and doing other things with her. She'd probably have some unusual ideas for dates, though with my luck, we'd get interrupted by trouble pretty often." He figured that they'd probably have to cut a lot of their dates short to get into fights.

He continued fantasizing, "Maybe she'd even cook for me once in a while. It would be really nice if I could get homemade meals from a girl. Apparently she did bake me those homemade cookies, I really wish I could've gotten to try them. They might have been a little burnt, but she worked hard on them, and I'm sure they would have tasted good anyway. Plus, I bet it would've made her really happy!"

Touma was smiling while having these thoughts, but he then tried to pull himself out of his fantasies, "Yeah right, like any of that's going to happen. There's no way that a great girl like Biri-Biri would ever go out with a misfortunate boy like me. I'm already lucky enough to have her as a close friend!" The boy continued walking home, pretty sure that his idle musings would end up coming to nothing.