Hello, everyone! Mikoto's friends have just met her sisters, and in this chapter, they will finally learn about the Level 6 Shift experiment.

Isokage: You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Drunkenlullabies90: Yeah, that's one of the issues with Kuroko as a character. But it seems she's decided to stop harassing Mikoto, so that's a good sign for the future.

Guest10032: That's great that you were able to get the update so quickly! I've also read through ACIP, it's a really amazing fic with a lot of funny slice-of-life moments! Mikoto and Touma will indeed have some saucy scenes in the not-too-far future. It'll be interesting to see what you expected from the Acqua Arc, I'm planning some really nice KaMikoto scenes. I really like your Truth or Dare suggestion, as well as Mikoto obtaining a Neko Maid costume, that would be a nice scene for them sometime after WW3. Yes, Kuroko has been shut down, and Mikoto is about to tell her friends about the full story behind her sisters.

Blankow: Yeah, Mikoto can be pretty impulsive sometimes, which can end up embarrassing her later. I really did want to show the sisterly bonds between the Misakas, so I'm glad that's succeeding. Blau is probably the bigger pervert, since he has perverted thoughts about more than one girl. Indeed, Kuroko got a reality check, just like Index. Saten and Uiharu definitely feel uncomfortable sometimes when Kuroko harasses Mikoto. Kuroko will definitely have the chance to improve her image to the Misaka Sisters and learn more about them, though it might be unlikely for any of them to fall for Kuroko. There will indeed be quite a bit of pain in this chapter, but also a lot of comforting. I'm glad you're enjoying Mikoto and Touma being in an actual relationship.

The One who saw All: Yes, Kuroko certainly had it coming, and I'm glad you enjoyed her reaction to Mikoto and Touma kissing. They've been introduced to the sisters, and now they'll learn the full story. You do have a point about Misaka 9982, though I think from the Sisters' point of view, Mikoto did treat Misaka 9982 pretty well, even when she was annoyed with the clone.

GG Vegito: You do have a point about Saten and Uiharu's reactions, though they had entertained the idea of clones before, and Saten knew about the urban legend regarding Level 5 clones. They will definitely have stronger reactions when they learn about the Level 6 Shift experiment.

Aminadab Brulle: Yep, it's going to be a painful but eye-opening revelation. Thanks for pointing me to the correct fic.

MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Sentient Mop: Thanks! I'm glad the characters feel realistic and the story feels well-paced.

BlueJack22: Yeah, Mikoto finally reached the end of her patience with Kuroko.

Surayo: Yes, Kuroko got a reality check. Mikoto will tell her friends about the Level 6 Shift experiment in this chapter.

memento mori unus annus: Yeah, I sort of get how you feel. You know what happened in the Sisters Arc, but how Mikoto's friends will react is unknown.

Iysner: Thanks, I'm really happy you enjoy this fic so much! I'm looking forward to continuing it through more of the series.

Fencer29: Yes, though hopefully the non-lethal bullets won't be necessary now that Kuroko has decided to rein in her behavior. It's interesting, pretty much every fic I've read involving the Sisters has them calling Touma "the Savior," but that never happened in the light novels, so I guess it's just something everyone decided to use. I kept it as "the boy," mainly so that it wouldn't be awkward for Touma, since he probably wouldn't like that nickname.

DBZLEGEND154: Yeah, Kuroko getting roasted by everyone was painful for her. This chapter will indeed have Mikoto's friends learn the full, traumatizing story.

Shwae: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I have in fact read the Shopping Mall Demonstration SS. It's some really interesting backstory for Mikoto and Lessar, but it's also the first time Mikoto heard about magic. So if she does run into Lessar in Russia or elsewhere, Mikoto will definitely look back to the events of that novel. The WW3 arc is still a few chapters away, but that's definitely something for me to consider.

Stryper88: Yeah, the Sisters absolutely savaged Kuroko. Touma will definitely be having more perverted thoughts about Mikoto, especially if he ever sees her in a Neko Maid uniform, and Mikoto's dreams are certainly not always innocent either. I don't remember Mikoto trying to ask Touma to the Tokiwadai Ball, which light novel was that mentioned in? It happened in the fanfic "The Things Misaka Mikoto Sees," which is really good, but I don't think there's enough time between the Acqua arc and the British Royal Family arc for that to happen here.

Xellos540: Haha, yeah, that would certainly be an apt title. It was very harsh for Kuroko, but hopefully she can grow from this. Saten and Uiharu were pretty calm, though they'd discussed the idea of clones before, and there was that urban legend about Level 5 clones. They will definitely be pretty shocked when they learn about the Level 6 Shift experiment in this chapter. Mikoto's friends actually already know about Touma beating Accelerator, which they learned in Chapter 8, but they haven't yet learned why he fought against Accelerator. It will definitely be shocking for Uiharu in particular when she learns that the guy who saved her from Kakine is a mass murderer.

Guest (Feb 1): Yeah, Kuroko got quite a harsh reality check. I've seen that story listed on AO3, but I haven't actually read it. There was another fic, whose name I don't remember, where Mikoto shocks Kuroko a bit too hard and Tokiwadai investigates whether Mikoto is guilty of domestic violence, even though they know that Mikoto regularly has to shock Kuroko to defend herself against sexual harassment. That was pretty appalling to me. Yeah, once Kuroko learns the full truth in this chapter about how Touma saved Mikoto and her sisters, her view of him might change.

Stewart54: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Guest (Feb 2): Yeah, Academy City is a really screwed up place, and the reactions of Mikoto's friends to this fact will be sobering. As for the parameter list, Mikoto still hasn't learned about it in GT3, so she definitely doesn't know about it at this point in the fic either. If they did all learn about it at some point, Saten would probably feel betrayed, though hopefully she'd feel more betrayed by the city than by Mikoto, since Mikoto didn't know about it either.

Everyone in the room took their seats as Mikoto prepared to begin her story. Mikoto sat on the couch between Touma and Misaka 10032, who in turn sat next to the other three Sisters, while Mikoto's friends sat in chairs.

Mikoto then began, "So I guess this all started when I started hearing people talk about someone who looked like me appearing around Academy City. At first, I thought that it was just them seeing things, but like Saten-san said, there were also those rumors of Level 5 clones."

Saten nodded, "Yeah, and around that time, I'm pretty sure I saw someone who looked like you, Misaka-san."

Mikoto then continued, "Anyway, I was a bit concerned about those rumors. I remembered how I gave my DNA map to a research group to help cure muscular dystrophy. That project was shut down, so at first, I just figured that nothing came of it."

Uiharu wondered, "What happened next? Did something happen that caused you to look into it?"

Mikoto replied, "Yeah, remember all those money cards that people were finding in alleyways? I overheard some thugs talk about finding the person behind them, so I followed them and met that person. She was pretty vague about why she was doing it, but she said she was using those cash cards to lure people into the alleyways, which would prevent experiments from taking place in them."

Saten's eyes widened, "Woah, that's why she was giving away so much money? I guess those experiments she was trying to stop involved your sisters?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, her outfit had a Nagatenjouki Academy logo, so afterwards, I hacked into their database to look her up. It turned out that she was a talented biopsychologist, and she worked at the research facility I gave my DNA map to."

Kuroko then deduced, "So then she was probably involved in the experiment that created your sisters?"

Mikoto said, "Yes, she was, and she confirmed it to me later. Anyway, I then broke into that research facility and found out about the Radio Noise project. Like 1357-chan said before, the plan was to create Level 5 clones for the military. But apparently the Tree Diagram calculated that they would end up as Level 2 or 3 instead, so the project was suspended."

Kuroko's eyes widened, "Onee-sama, you broke into a research facility? Is that why you were gone every night?" She was very shocked to hear Mikoto admit to breaking the law so casually.

Mikoto nervously laughed, "Yeah, sort of. So the next day I was back to normal, thinking that nothing had ended up happening with my DNA map. But late that afternoon, after I finished playing with some kids, I sensed something that was very similar to my own ability. I turned around, and it was like I was looking into a mirror! I saw a girl who looked exactly like me!"

"Ah yes, that was when you met Misaka 9982, recalls Misaka 10032 as she thinks back to that fateful night."

Mikoto nodded, "That was the first time I met one of my sisters. At first, I was a little scared that she was part of a sinister plot to replace me or something, like in all those sci-fi movies. But she turned out to be really silly. She made me help her get a kitten down from a tree, she kept snickering about how 'kitty kitty' sounds almost the same backwards, and she ate my ice cream when I wasn't looking. But I'm pretty sure she was doing those things to distract me, since it always happened when I tried asking her about who created her and why she was created."

"You're correct in your hunch. Misaka 9982 did not want you to get involved in the experiment, Big Sister, explains Misaka 10039."

Mikoto agreed, "Yeah, I figured as much. And when she did actually answer me, she said it was classified information and asked about a password."

Uiharu remembered that night when her friend had called her, "Wait, is that the password you asked me about when you called me? The one for high-level information"

Mikoto answered, "Yeah, that's right. So anyway, it started to get dark, and I was trying to follow her back to her lab so I could meet her creators. But she told me she was going to an experiment that night instead. So as I was about to leave, a Gekota pin fell out of my pocket. I put it on her vest to see how it would look on me. She said it was lame but still wanted to keep it since it was a gift from me."

Saten cooed at this piece of information, "Aww, that's really sweet! She wanted to keep a present from her Big Sister."

Mikoto then had a bittersweet smile on her face, "Yeah, you know, we hung out for quite some time. And even though she got on my nerves a lot, it really felt like we were sisters. After that, she said farewell to me, and I left." Thinking back on that moment, the girl now realized that Misaka 9982's farewell had had a tone of finality to it. Mikoto felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as she internally berated herself for not noticing the obvious signs.

Kuroko sensed from the girl's tone that something major had occurred afterwards. She asked with a bit of worry, "What happened then, onee-sama?"

Mikoto frowned and continued, "I called Uiharu-san, who told me that the password was for high-level information." At this point, she started tensing up a bit, due to what was coming up next. "So I hacked into Academy City's systems and found what kind of experiment she was really doing. I then headed towards the location as fast as I could."

Touma noticed that Mikoto was starting to shake. He knew the fate that befell Misaka 9982, and that his girlfriend would have a tough time saying it out loud. He grabbed onto her hand and gently squeezed it. When she looked up at him, he smiled at her and said, "I'm here, Biri-Biri."

The girl smiled back at him, touched that he was trying to comfort her. But she had to continue. "When I got to the location, an abandoned railway yard, I saw…" She started choking up, "...I saw her on the ground, with her leg torn off, desperately crawling away from Accelerator."

Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu were all horrified by this revelation, and its obvious implication. Uiharu was perhaps the most affected, questioning how the guy who had saved her could be capable of such a thing. She replied, "Misaka-san, do you mean...?"

Mikoto could no longer hold back her tears, "And then, he...he dropped a railway carriage on top of her!"

This statement, as well as her reaction, left absolutely no room for doubt. Accelerator had murdered Misaka 9982. Mikoto's friends were all deeply affected, and they all felt like throwing up. Even though Kuroko and Uiharu were Judgement officers, they'd never seen someone die in front of them. But their friend had to see the brutal killing of someone who looked exactly like her. They had previously speculated on what Mikoto could have been dealing with in late August, but they could never have imagined something like this.

"By the way, Misaka 9982 wasn't crawling to get away from Accelerator, reports Misaka 13577. The present you gave her had fallen off, so she was trying to retrieve it before she died. She did succeed in doing that, adds Misaka 13577, hoping to make you feel a little better."

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. Mikoto started sobbing as she realized that Misaka 9982's last thoughts were not about trying to save her own life, but about retrieving a present from her older sister, the older sister who had failed to save her.

Touma wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. He rubbed circles on her shoulder and softly said to her, "Hey, do you want to maybe take a break? You don't need to push yourself too hard." He was worried that she would break down by retelling those traumatizing events.

Mikoto shook her head and began to wipe her tears, "No, it's okay. I can continue." She took some time to dry her face before resuming, "Anyway, when I saw that, I just went berserk. I threw every attack I had, including my railgun, directly at him. But he just reflected all of them. There was absolutely nothing I could do. He was about to counterattack, but then hundreds of Misakas showed up and told him not to attack me, since it could interfere with the experiment."

Uiharu trembled as she asked, "Wh-what sort of experiment was this?"

Mikoto grimly replied, "That's exactly what I found out when I hacked into that database, and why I rushed over as quickly as I could. It was called the Level 6 Shift Experiment."

Saten's eyes widened, and she said, "L-Level 6 Shift? What, were they trying to make Accelerator a Level 6? Is that even possible?" After all, Level 5 was the highest level any esper reached, and a hypothetical Level 6 esper would potentially have godlike powers.

Mikoto nodded, "That was the plan. They used the Tree Diagram to calculate what it would take. If Accelerator engaged in combat with and killed Railgun 128 times, that would apparently be enough for him to reach Level 6."

Her friends all felt chills down their spines as she so casually talked about herself being killed multiple times. They also noticed the detached way she used her epithet to refer to herself.

Saten asked, "How...how could anyone even come up with such a monstrous idea? And how could a bunch of scientists all go along with it?"

Mikoto grimly told her, "Unfortunately, a lot of the scientists of Academy City don't seem to have any morals."

Her friends all knew how true that was. After all, there were all those Child Errors who were put into a coma during an experiment. That was just one example, so in retrospect, it wasn't too surprising that there were many others.

Kuroko then made a key observation, "Wait, but there aren't 128 of you. So they had to create clones of you?"

Mikoto answered, "That's right, but since they aren't Level 5, the Tree Diagram calculated that exactly 20,000 of them would be needed."

Uiharu then said, "So if that was Misaka 9982, does that mean that...that he had already killed 9981 of them before then?"

Mikoto looked down and said, "That's right. I couldn't understand why he was even going through with that insane plan when he was already untouchable. But most of all, I didn't get why my sisters were willingly going through with it."

"We're really sorry that we caused you so much distress, Big Sister. From the moment we were created, our only purpose was to die in the experiments, and we didn't yet realize that our lives had any value, recounts Misaka 10032."

Mikoto then replied, "It's okay, 10032-chan. Anyway, after that night, I knew I couldn't take Accelerator head-on, so I tried to find another way to stop the experiments. Thanks to my hacking, I had a list of labs that were involved in the experiment. So, I started shutting them down, first by hacking them remotely, and then by physically attacking them when they locked me out electronically."

Kuroko's eyes widened as she realized, "So that's why you were gone every night! You never told me what was going on, and I was so worried about you, onee-sama. To think you were committing acts of terrorism."

Mikoto rolled her eyes, "Please, I didn't even lay a finger on any of the monsters who were running that cruel experiment. I only destroyed equipment and data. I did this every single night, barely eating or sleeping. At one of the last facilities, there was this mercenary group I had to fight, and I barely escaped alive! There was a blonde girl who rigged the entire place with explosives and was really good at close-quarters combat. I was barely able to stop her, especially since I was so physically and mentally exhausted. And then I had to take on the 4th Ranked Level 5, Meltdowner, and I was only able to get away from her by using a bunch of bombs that her teammate had left behind."

Kuroko then recalled a past encounter, "Wait, were those the two girls you were arguing with at Joseph's? The blonde one, I think her name was Frenda, kept saying that her friend Mugino would beat you in a fight."

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, that was them. We were lucky that they didn't decide to attack us."

Saten's eyes widened, "Wait, the blonde girl's name was Frenda? Was she a short girl who wore a beret?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, have you met her before, Saten-san?" It seemed that her friend was familiar with Frenda, which immediately worried her.

Saten replied, "Yeah, I actually met her a couple of weeks ago. She'd wanted the mackerel I had bought, which were the last cans in the store. We became friends, and she even saved me when I got kidnapped. But I haven't seen her since that time in the mall, when we were running away from someone who was shooting at her."

Mikoto was really surprised, "Wait, that's the new friend you told us about?" She and the rest of Saten's friends were familiar with Saten's ordeal at the mall, but Saten had never gone into detail about her new friend.

Saten nodded, "Yeah, I could tell that she lived in a different world than me, but I didn't know that she was a mercenary or that she'd tried to kill you!" She now felt a bit conflicted about having been friends with Frenda.

Mikoto replied, "It's okay, you didn't know, and it's not like she wanted to kill me for personal reasons. She saved you from a kidnapper, so I guess she's not completely heartless."

Saten then frowned, "Yeah, I guess so. You know, I haven't heard from her in a while. She was supposed to come over for dinner a few days ago, but she never showed up, and she hasn't messaged me since then. I've been worried about what happened to her."

Mikoto grimly replied, "I'm sorry, Saten-san, but it's possible she might be dead. She has a very dangerous line of work, after all." Mikoto had been too nice to kill Frenda for withholding information, but other enemies of her were probably not as merciful.

Saten looked down, "Yeah, I though that might be true as well. I just wish I knew what happened to her." She sighed and then said, "Anyway, what happened after your nighttime raids on the labs, Misaka-san?"

Mikoto continued her story, "Yeah, so after that night, I had destroyed all the labs on the list, so I figured the experiment would be stopped. I ran into Touma the next day by the vending machine. Kuroko showed up for a bit and left, and then Misaka 10031 showed up in front of me and him."

Touma nodded, remembering that encounter quite well, "Oh yeah, you looked pretty frustrated when you saw her, and then you took her away to have a private talk. What happened after that?"

Mikoto's eyes became watery again, "She told me that the experiments were continuing, even after I destroyed all those labs! I later found out that they had transferred the data to over a hundred other labs. I had wasted all that time and effort, and 48 more of my sisters had died. I was so mad at myself for letting that happen, and I...I even started to get mad at my sisters for willingly going to their deaths. She even asked if I was okay, but I snapped and told her to go away. And after she left, I just completely broke down."

Her friends were astounded that all her effort had apparently been for nought, and they could feel the pain she had gone through in that moment.

"Misaka 10031 regretted that you were in such distress, and she wanted to cheer you up by pointing out a cute kitty hiding in the bushes, reports Misaka 10032, adding some information."

Mikoto sniffled, desperately trying to hold back her tears. "All of you cared so much about me, I'm so sorry I couldn't have done more for you."

Touma squeezed her shoulder and softly said, "Don't say that, Mikoto, you have done a lot for them!" It broke his heart so much to see his girlfriend blame herself. He watched as she wiped the tears out of her eyes, waiting a bit for her to recover.

He then smiled and continued, "But you're right about one thing. Even though your sisters were programmed for the experiment, they were always kind to others. I ran into 10032-chan soon after that, and she helped me carry home all those cans you gave me from the vending machine and even got rid of the fleas on my cat."

"Misaka was taught how to be polite, explains Misaka 10032. You were struggling with those cans, and those two girls were suggesting dangerous methods to remove the fleas, recalls Misaka 10032, justifying her actions."

Mikoto wondered, "Two girls? I guess Index and one of her friends?" Not wanting to derail the conversation, she said, "Anyway, once I found out that they were transferring data to a bunch of new labs, I realized something big. There was no way Academy City, with all its surveillance, was not aware of the experiment. And since it still kept going on, that meant that the experiment must have been approved by the higher ups of the city."

Kuroko's eyes widened, "So that's why you asked me what I'd do if you ever attacked Academy City. But how could the city possibly be supportive of something like this?" As a Judgement Officer, she was supposed to uphold the laws of the city. There was no way that the city could be allowing these sorts of experiments. But she couldn't refute Mikoto's reasoning. That fact that the destruction of all those facilities hadn't been reported, not even to Judgement, could only mean that Academy City was covering it up.

Uiharu was similarly conflicted, though she noted, "Well, we already knew that there's a darker side to Academy City. All those Child Errors were used as subjects for experiments too. But this is something on a whole other level of magnitude!"

Mikoto added, "Yeah, from what I can tell, the higher-ups here treat all the espers as lab rats. I thought I would have to fight against all of Academy City, but they didn't seem to react much to me destroying those facilities. Anyway, since that hadn't worked, there was one last idea I came up with. I figured I could hack into the Tree Diagram to make it seem like the experiment wouldn't lead to a Level 6 after all. Then, they would've had no choice but to cancel the experiment. But when I got to the Information Processing Center, it was completely abandoned, and it turned out that the Tree Diagram had somehow already been destroyed."

Saten's eyes widened, "Woah, the Tree Diagram was destroyed? How did that happen? Is that why the weather forecasts have been less accurate lately?"

Mikoto gave Touma a glance and answered, "I don't know how it happened. Afterwards, I just went on a pointless rampage at another nearby facility." She braced herself and was able to stop herself from crying as she continued, "While I was there, I saw surveillance footage of Accelerator and Misaka 10031. He...he leaned down towards her, and right afterwards, blood just splattered on the camera."

"Oh, that happened because Accelerator reversed her blood flow vectors, causing her entire body to explode, explains Misaka 10039."

Touma and Mikoto, having witnessed Misaka 10031's death previously, only became a little nauseous, but Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu had to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from throwing up. They shivered as they imagined the brutal scene.

"Misaka thinks that explaining each of the deaths is causing severe distress to Big Sister, the boy, and her friends, hypothesizes Misaka 19090."

"We're sorry for that. We all remember every detail of all 10,031 deaths, so we wanted to explain in case you wanted to know, replies Misaka 10032."

Uiharu asked in horror, "You...you remember all of them?"

"Yes, like Misaka said before, all Misakas share a common memory, so we retain even the memories of the dead Misakas, answers Misaka 10039."

Saten, after taking some time to regain her composure, asked, "Are you guys okay? It must be hard remembering that many deaths. I can barely hold myself together after just hearing about two of them."

"Misaka sometimes feels a little fearful when remembering the deaths, though it's easier now that she knows she is safe, replies Misaka 19090. But this Misaka has had more human emotions programmed into her, compared to the other Misakas, clarifies Misaka 19090."

"The remaining Misakas have a difficult time feeling emotions, including fear and trauma, though we are slowly progressing towards developing them, explains Misaka 13577."

Touma then said, "Maybe it's a good thing you guys aren't traumatized by them. When I saw Misaka 10031's dead body in the alley, I actually threw up and screamed."

Mikoto turned to him and recalled, "Oh yeah, you said before that you had found her body. So I guess you were nearby when Accelerator killed her?"

Touma replied, "Unfortunately, I didn't find her until she was actually dead. I was with 10032-chan, and I had gone into a bookstore to get a book to help her raise a cat she'd found. However, when I came out, she was gone, so I went looking for her in the alleyway across from the bookstore. I saw a shoe and broken goggles, and then found the body. I actually reported it to Anti-Skill, but by the time they got there, everything was cleaned up, and the surveillance camera footage was erased."

"Yes, we cleaned up the scene and used our abilities to erase the camera footage, explains Misaka 10032."

Kuroko shook with anger, "So not only were you being killed in this grotesque experiment, you were even tasked with cleaning up the crime scenes? The scientists behind it all are absolutely disgusting!"

Touma then said, "Yeah, they definitely are. Anyway, after Anti-Skill left, I went deeper into the alleys and ran into 10032-chan. I was initially relieved that she was still alive, but then she told me that I was correct about the death. I then noticed that she was carrying a body bag."

The boy was now trembling a little, and Mikoto tried to calm him down by rubbing his knee. He smiled at her, and then continued, "She told me that she was serial number 10032, but the dead Misaka was number 10031. Then hundreds of other Misakas appeared surrounding me and said that they were just doing an experiment. I tried asking them about it, but they said it was classified. After they left, I tried to figure out what sort of experiment would involve one of them dying and if Mikoto knew about it."

He'd already told Mikoto that he'd briefly suspected her participation in the experiment, but was glad when he realized she was fighting against it. Nevertheless, Mikoto still winced a little, since it was her decision to give up her DNA map that caused all this.

Touma continued, "I wanted to talk to her as soon as possible, so I headed for her Tokiwadai dorm."

Saten raised an eyebrow and said, "You went to Misaka-san's dorm? I thought boys weren't allowed in the Tokiwadai dorms?"

Kuroko then replied, "You're correct about that, Saten-san, but this guy didn't care about rules like that. Onee-sama wasn't present when he asked to see her, but I let him into our room because I thought he might know where she'd been during the previous nights. Unfortunately, I had to distract the dorm manager to stop her from discovering him, and by the time I returned, he was already gone."

Touma said, "Sorry about that, but I didn't have any time to talk. I found some hidden documents Mikoto had about the experiment, and I left to find her as fast as I could, since 10032-chan was scheduled very soon."

Mikoto already knew about his visit to her room, so she asked, "How exactly did you find me so quickly?"

Touma chuckled, "I just followed the turning windmills. There wasn't any wind that night, so only you could have caused them to turn. And I'm really glad I found you in time!"

Mikoto smiled at him and softly replied, "Yeah, me too. I was about to do something really stupid."

Kuroko remembered her onee-sama saying that to her before. She asked, "What were you about to do?"

Mikoto looked down at her lap with a frown, "I was really desperate. I couldn't touch Accelerator, destroying all those facilities was useless, my last-ditch effort with the Tree Diagram didn't work out, and my Sisters were dying day by day. I knew that the scientists were using the previous Tree Diagram data but couldn't update it, so I wanted to somehow disprove their calculations. That way, since they couldn't recalculate, they'd be forced to end the experiment."

Saten nodded, "That sounds like a pretty good idea! So what did you come up with?"

Mikoto hesitated for a bit, but eventually replied, "They calculated that, even if I tried my best against Accelerator, I would lose in 185 moves. By killing Railgun 128 times, Accelerator would reach Level 6, but since my Sisters were lower levelled, he would need to kill 20,000 of them."

Her friends weren't quite sure where she was going with this, but they could tell from her tone that it was going to be unpleasant.

The girl continued, "But what if I wasn't worth that much in terms of experience points? If I lost to Accelerator immediately, the scientists would think that I'm so weak that battling my sisters wouldn't help Accelerator advance to Level 6 at all."

Kuroko paled as she realized the implication of what Mikoto was saying. "Onee-sama, surely you don't mean…" She trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud.

Mikoto grimly nodded, "Yes, I was going to let myself die against Accelerator. After all, I was the one who caused this all to happen in the first place, so I figured that if giving up my life would save 9,969 lives, it would be worth it."

Her friends all felt their hearts drop as Mikoto declared her past intention. This was not some sort of joke, they could tell that their friend had been completely serious about giving up her own life. And since Mikoto hadn't told them about her struggles, if she had gone through with her plan, they would've only found out when her death was reported in the news. All of them had tears in their eyes, but Kuroko was the most affected. She couldn't stop herself from crying and angrily asked, "Onee-sama, how could you even think of doing that? Didn't you think about how we would feel when we learned about it?"

Mikoto flinched at her friend's critique, but she knew Kuroko had a point. "I'm really sorry, guys. I wasn't in a good place at the time. I thought I was a villain who deserved to die anyway. But fortunately, Touma showed up and stopped me from going through with that plan." She recalled how she shocked him multiple times, and how he kept getting back up, until she just couldn't go through with it anymore.

Touma replied, "Yeah, she was pretty stubborn, but eventually I came up with another way to stop the experiment so she wouldn't have to die. I would just have to be the one fighting against Accelerator instead. I promised Mikoto that I would bring her sisters back safely and give everyone a happy ending."

Saten nodded as she recalled, "That's right, you guys told us about that the other day. So then you went to fight Accelerator, right?"

Touma answered, "Yeah, and I got there just in time, because his battle against 10032-chan had already started. If I'd gotten there any later, she might have died by then."

"Misaka was very surprised to see you appear at that abandoned railway yard, replies Misaka 10032. She had hoped you wouldn't get dragged into the experiment, and she didn't understand why you would risk your life for a clone that could be easily replaced. But you told Misaka that she was the only one of her in the entire world, continues Misaka as she remembers a fond memory." As she said this, she clutched onto her heart-shaped necklace.

Mikoto's friends now saw just how strongly Misaka 10032 felt about Touma. He had saved all the Sisters by defeating Accelerator, but she was the one he had directly saved. Kuroko began to understand why Mikoto and her sisters were so fond of him.

Mikoto turned to the boy with a smile and said, "Thank you for telling her that. You always know just the right words to say to get through to someone, and I'm glad you were there for her in that moment."

Touma's cheeks reddened at her praise, and he replied, "Yeah, me too."

Kuroko then said, "I remember that there was a huge wind storm that night, and I found one of your coins at that railway yard, onee-sama. Was that a result of the fight?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, Touma was actually winning against Accelerator thanks to his ability. But then he was knocked onto the ground, and Accelerator started controlling all the wind in the city, and he actually managed to turn it into plasma."

Uiharu's eyes widened, "P-plasma? That's terrifying!"

Mikoto agreed, "Yeah, and he was going to launch it all at Touma. I tried to think of a way to stop it, and I realized that turning the windmills around the city would disrupt his calculations."

"Yes, that is when Big Sister requested Misaka to use her and the other Misakas' abilities to manipulate the turning of the windmills, remembers Misaka 10032. She also stood between Misaka and Accelerator when he realized we were disrupting the wind."

Mikoto grinned at her, "Of course, I couldn't let him harm you any more than he already had!"

"You were so brave, Big Sister, exclaims Misaka 10032. Misaka finally realized her own worth when she found out that you and the boy would cry if Misaka died, reports Misaka 10032 with gratitude."

Touma then said, "Of course, 10032-chan! And you guys really saved my life there too! Thanks to you, I had enough time to stand up, and I was able to finish off Accelerator!"

Mikoto then chuckled, "Yeah, but he also fell unconscious right after, so he still had to go to the hospital. But in the end, he kept his promise. The experiments ended, my sisters were saved, and everyone went home happy."

Her friends were all relieved that there was mostly a happy ending. However, Uiharu felt pretty conflicted, "Wow, I had no idea that Accelerator was a mass murderer. It seemed like he was very protective of Last Order, and he did save me, so I never thought he could have that kind of past."

Kuroko then wondered, "If he killed over ten thousand people, why is he still walking around freely? Shouldn't he be arrested?" She found it really appalling that Accelerator was apparently not facing any justice for his crimes.

Mikoto sighed, "Yeah, I sort of feel the same way. But Academy City was behind the experiment in the first place, and they're not going to imprison their strongest esper anyway. And like Uiharu-san saw, it seems he's changed. He actually saved Last Order and the other Sisters from a virus. It seems that Last Order has taken a liking to him, and he's decided to protect her. It doesn't make up for his crimes, but at least it's a step in the right direction."

Saten then said, "That sort of makes sense, but it sucks that he won't get punished for what he did to your sisters and to you. But Misaka-san, if Academy City was behind the experiments, surely they know that you and Kamijou-san stopped it, right? Why haven't they retaliated against you?"

Mikoto answered, "I'm not completely sure, but we think it's actually possible that they expected the experiment to end at some point. Afterwards, they sent my sisters all around the world, and Academy City could definitely have uses for having the Misaka Network spread around the globe."

Uiharu asked, "Wait, so your sisters aren't all in Academy City anymore?"

"That is correct, there are only ten Misakas left in Academy City, including us four, answers Misaka 10039. However, thanks to the Misaka Network, we can easily keep in touch with each other, further explains Misaka 10039."

Mikoto said, "Yeah, I'm a little sad I won't be able to meet all of them, but it's good that they all get the chance to live their own lives."

At this point, Mikoto took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards where her friends were sitting. She bowed to them and said, "Saten-san, Uiharu-san, and Kuroko, I'm really sorry I kept this from you guys. You were all worried about me, and I didn't let you know what was going on."

Saten got up and hugged Mikoto, saying, "It's okay, Misaka-san. I'm just glad you got the help you and your sisters needed!"

Uiharu then stook up and hugged them both, adding, "Yes, we wished we could help you with your problem, but I understand why you wanted to try to solve it by yourself. I'm just happy everything ended up okay."

Mikoto smiled as well, glad that they forgave her, "Thanks, guys!" The three of them continued hugging for a bit longer before separating.

Kuroko then stood up and hugged Mikoto, who wrapped her arms around her best friend. After a pause, Kuroko said, "Onee-sama, I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to help you when you were in such distress. I'm so glad that you came home safe and sound."

Mikoto gave her best friend a smile and replied, "No Kuroko, I was the one that wasn't strong enough. Thank you for waiting so patiently for me until I came back."

Touma smiled at the heartwarming scene. He was happy that Mikoto had finally been able to confide in her friends about her struggles.

Afterwards, they all said goodbye to the Sisters and headed out of the hospital. Touma was about to say goodbye to Mikoto and her friends when Kuroko walked up to the two of them.

Mikoto was a bit puzzled and said, "Is something wrong, Kuroko?"

She bowed towards Touma, saying, "Kamijou-san, thank you for saving onee-sama's life and relieving her struggles. Because of you, she was no longer troubled and unhappy. I now understand why she feels so strongly about you and why she's so happy whenever she's around you."

Toum was really surprised by her sudden change of mind. She had been really resistant to their relationship, but it seemed that the story behind Mikoto's sisters had made a deep impression on her. He nervously rubbed his neck and said, "Thanks, Shirai-san."

Kuroko then narrowed her eyes and said, "You better treat her well, or else I will come after you!"

"There's the Shirai-san I know." He smiled at her and replied, "Of course, I promise!"

Kuroko sharply nodded, "Good." She then turned to her friend and said, "Ready to go, onee-sama?"

Mikoto smiled at her friend, happy that Kuroko had finally accepted her relationship. She replied, "Just a moment."

The girl walked up to Touma, placed her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him. Touma held onto her waist as he kissed her back. Then, the boy pulled her into a hug. He rubbed her back and said softly into her ear, "I'm really proud of you, Mikoto!"

Mikoto blushed and replied, "Th-thanks, Touma!" It had been really hard for her to talk about those events, but now that it was all done, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders.

As they pulled apart, Mikoto grabbed onto his hands and gently caressed them with her thumbs, saying, "Bye, Touma!"

Touma smiled at her and softly replied, "Bye, Biri-Biri! I'll see you later." The two of them then separated, and Mikoto went back to her friends.

Mikoto watched for a bit as her boyfriend headed home, before turning her attention back to her friends. She had previously been really anxious about how they would react to her sisters, but it had actually turned out pretty well. And now that she wasn't keeping such a big secret from them anymore, Mikoto felt that her bonds with her friends were now much stronger.