So I was reading a lot of comments, and realized SOME people need to stop reading my mind and posting what is coming up. When I finished this chapter, a lot of things are beginning to come full circle. Regardless what happens, every event has a purpose, no matter how small. Biggest issue I run into is there are so many characters involved, but so little time to give them all scenes. I can understand why so many people focus on a single group of characters. This poses a challenge, but it is fun in its own way. Now, onwards to the commenters.

d3mystic: She is so fun to write about, but it's going to be hard to bring her back. The right situation has to arrive.

Whwsms: All excellent questions. Many of them should be answered through season 3, but several chapters into it.

Mythfan: What gave it away? Hahaha.

Guest4: You may have to wait a while, a lot of stuff is happening right now.

Banditz: I only mock the important people, but I figured you would enjoy the cooking lesson.

Handsomistic1: Character development is so much fun to write about, even more then combat scenes, though both have their moments. Hamazura has to meet up with Touma at some point. They both work for Mugino so it's bound to happen at least through her, if not accidently. Your last question about Saten will be answered in the below chapter, but no about the testament.

Brosephg: What? Jason's scheming something? He told me he was going to make ice cream? There's no way he could lie. He's such an honest… kind…. Sorry, I can't even type that big of a lie. To be fair, everyone is up to something, but being up to something doesn't mean it's bad.

Salishious: Not sure yet. Both are possibilities until I address it.

Agent Nine: No one knows who Kami is, except his friends and a few people at top who are keeping it under wraps.

RPGPersona: Now you're stuck in limbo, waiting for the next chapter.

Guest 10032: You need to stop reading my mind. That was planned, but now I'm changing it.

Note to All: I am still looking for some awesome person to be an illustrator and draw a few scenes. If you are, or know someone, interested please contact me. You will get full credit for your work and I think a lot of people will be interested in seeing them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.

Touma thought of several possible outcomes if Lessar spread that letter around. None of them were good for him. He glanced over at Index, who seemed to be more focus on Lessar then what was in her hand, so Touma had a single opportunity to prevent the disaster. He reached down, as if to wake Lessar up gently, but his hand was heading toward the note. His hand was about an inch away from it when Lessar's hand moved away from his. Her eyes opened and she grinned up at him. "Not so fast," she told him. Rolling over and sitting up on the bed energetically. "It's not going to be the easy."

"Why is she here Touma?" Index asked, turning to him. "And why is she sleeping on my bed? I thought she was supposed to stay somewhere else."

"I came to see Lover Boy," Lessar answered, unhelpfully. "You two were late so I just fell asleep from boredom."

"Tooouuummmaaa," Index growled dangerously, turning to him.

"I swear I had no idea she was here," Touma told her defensively. "I'm just as surprised as you are."

"It was pretty easy to bypass the lock," Lessar added. "I thought for sure Academy City would have better security."

"That lock has broken many times," Touma sighed. A broken lock was just one of his daily misfortunate events. First order of business, I need to get that letter away from Lessar. "Index, can you let us talk in private?"

"You aren't going to try anything right?" Index asked suspiciously, glaring at him.

"I have never tried to do anything to anyone," Touma protested.

"I will try a lot of things," Lessar said, grinning, and a dark aura started to form around Index.

"Don't joke around like that!" Touma yelled firmly. He reached over and grabbed Lessar by the arm and pulled her to the kitchen. "Don't listen to her Index." Index watched him suspiciously and then turned on the television. She was feeling conflicted between punishing Touma for being with other girls and believing him that nothing was going to happen. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, this time, as he had been with her all afternoon. When Touma and Lessar were safely in the kitchen, he turned to her. "Why are you here? I thought you were staying at Accelerator's friend's place?"

"I was," Lessar acknowledged, but then she crossed her arms and frowned. "She's no fun though. For some reason, she is completely desensitized to anything sexual. She doesn't get my jokes and she walks around nude most of the time. It's not fun if she doesn't show even a little bit of reaction."

"Is that why you constantly seek me out?" Touma sighed.

"That's one of my favorite reasons for sure," Lessar replied grinning. She sat on the counter and looked over at him. "But it's not the only one. However, if you are finally interested in those things," her hand, not holding the letter, reached down and tugged up her skirt, just enough so her underwear was barely revealed, "I'll be glad to do them."

"No," Touma said firmly, holding out a hand, while the other one covered his eyes. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"You mean this?" she asked. Touma took a chance and uncovered his eyes. Lessar was holding up the letter.

"Yes," he sighed. "Why did you come here and then search my dorm?"

"I was hoping you would be willing to let me stay here instead," Lessar admitted. "I told you I wasn't fond of Estelle as a roommate." Touma figured Estelle must have been Accelerator's friend. "Plus if I was nearby, it would give me more opportunities to convince you to come back with me to England, after realizing I'm the best girl. No one was here, so I came in." She shrugged, like breaking into a dorm with no one home was a perfectly reasonable action. "I was bored and looked around. Television is fine and all, but I wanted to take some time to learn about what makes you tick. Then I found this letter." For the first time, she looked completely serious. "I want to know first, have you actually been in contact with the princess? This letter isn't fake right?"

"A little," Touma admitted. "I wanted to check up on her and see what happened."

"Do you consider anyone your enemy?" asked Lessar incredulously. "Even after we fought, you still risked yourself to save me."

"That's…." Touma said, but stopped. He crossed his arms and thought about that for a second. "Well, when I am fighting, I guess some people would see us as enemies. Though, it's more I see us on different sides of an issue. A lot of people I fought usually have good intentions, but they just got off the right path. I don't really see them as an enemy though. I feel I just have to stop them because they are hurting other people. Take Accelerator," Lessar nodded, "When we first met we fought in a life or death struggle, but now we are friends. The same thing happened with you and you even tried to convince us to leave so we wouldn't get involved. We were just on opposite sides. Does this make sense?" Touma found it hard to articulate his thought process dealing with those kinds of matters, so he hoped Lessar would get the gist of it. Lessar stared at him a moment before answering.

"Kind of," she said hesitantly. "I realize now you may slightly crazy… The good kind though." Touma laughed.

"I get that more than you think."

"I doubt it," Lessar replied. "So what's happening between you and the princess?"

"Nothing," Touma said instantly. "I told you we have just been talking." He felt sweat on his brow when he remembered Carissa's last text. Just you wait until I'm out of this confinement. Lessar must have realized something was off, because she suddenly grabbed her head.

"If he gets with the princess," she mumbled, more to herself then to Touma. "He will return with her to England. I want him to go back there too, so my main objective is achieved, but, if it's not with me, I feel like I lost as a girl…." She continued to mumble incoherently to herself, while Touma looked dumbfounded.

"Are you okay Lessar…?" he asked, before she turned her attention toward him. She dropped the letter and tackled him out of nowhere.

"I have to be first or I lose my pride as a woman," Lessar declared, as they fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Just lean back and accept it, and I'll handle the rest. You don't have to do a thing." She used her free hand and started to remove her jacket.

"Lessar!" Touma yelled, using a free hand to push at her head, keeping her from leaning forward and kissing him. "Get off…"

"Touma what's happ…?" Index started to say, entering the kitchen. She got quiet when she saw them struggling. Lessar was on top, but Touma was trying to push her off him. Before Touma could say anything, Lessar explained the situation to Index.

"Lover Boy got a letter from the Queen," she said loudly. "He's engaged to the princess and I can't allow that. His first time has to be with me. The letter there explains everything."

"Tooouuummmaaa," Index said warningly, but she turned her attention to the letter. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"Wait Index," Touma called out. "It's not what it seems…." Index frowned and picked up the letter. Her eyes darted back and forth and a dark aura started to seep out. The letter fell from her hand as she stared at Touma, her teeth flashed. Such misfortune…. was the last thing he thought before Index pounced at him.

On the other side of the wall, Motoharu was listening. It wasn't so much eavesdropping, as they were being loud and he could hear them through the thin walls of the dorm. Sounds like Lessar finally made her move, a little slower than I thought, but what's with the letter from the princess? I should tell Nee-chin about it, along with sending the picture of Kami-yan and sempai. I'm sure she would be forced to act on it. Wish I had Mugino's number or I would have sent it to her. He rolled over on his bed and reached for his phone. Would Itsuwa and Agnese like the message too? He grinned, picturing their reactions in his mind.

"Take off your pants!" Lessar's voice was heard clearly as Motoharu continued to write the message on his phone. "Or I'll tell Sparky about the letter." Motoharu couldn't keep the grin off his face as he hit send.

The next day, for Touma, was not one of his better days. Last night, he finally got Index to agree to let Lessar stay with them and the two girls would share the bed. Index only agreed grudgingly and because it would prevent Lessar from trying to sleep with Touma. Touma also made Lessar promise to not try to sneak into the tub where he was sleeping. She agreed too, but looked incredibly downtrodden. He wasn't sure how long that promise was going to last with her though. Everyone was tired by the time they finished discussing his situation with Carissa. Well, it was more like an interrogation, with Index questioning him while he sat on the floor. He was glad to finally leave his apartment that morning and head to school. It turned out, that might have been a mistake.

"KAMI!" Pierce yelled, as soon as Touma entered the classroom. Touma was forced to dive and roll, to avoid Pierce delivering a full frontal tackle into him. Pierce missed and crashed, with a loud bang, into the wall. Touma sprung to his feet, glad he was able to avoid the surprise attack, but then, out of nowhere, Motoharu jumped and elbowed him in the back, knocking him down.

"Dang Kami-yan," Motoharu said. "When did you raise flags with beauty-sempai?"

"He didn't just raise flags," Pierce said, standing up. He had blood running down his face, but appeared to be oblivious to it. "He actually got fed by her." The people who were already in the classroom were listening eagerly for more details. The rumor had spread around school like wildfire, but the details were still fuzzy. Their afternoon classes prevented Motoharu and Pierce from interrogating Touma over what happened and Touma ran out when the final bell rang.

"It's not what you think you idiots," Touma yelled, trying to clear the misunderstanding and get to his feet, but Motoharu sat on his back and pinned him on the ground. "I helped her carry a heavy box the day before and she was simply thanking me…"

"So that's when you raised the flags," Motoharu commented, grinning. "You could have gotten away with some light teasing about growing your harem again. BUT, you lied to us when we asked about if you knew who the lunch was for."

"That is unforgiveable," Pierce added. "We are supposed to be the Delta Force. We stick together, but then you go and betray us."

"I did no such thing," Touma protested. "I knew you two would make a big deal out of her simply thanking me. She's more mature then us and it shows in how she repays kindness. That's the charm of an older woman…" He stopped when the door behind them opened and all three of them watched Accelerator walk in. He glanced at them for a moment, and Touma felt a small shred of hope. "Can you lend me a hand?" he asked, knowing the likely outcome but still hoped for the best.

"So what's happening here?" Accelerator asked, gesturing toward Motoharu sitting on Touma and Pierce standing on Touma's arm to prevent him from turning over. "Are you still obsessing over that picture?"

"He lied to us," Pierce pointed out.

"Aren't you curious at all about the details?" Motoharu asked with a wink.

"Not in the slightest," Accelerator replied, yawning. "If I was in his position, I would have lied too. You two are idiots." He turned to head to his desk, when Pierce jumped and tackled him.

"Guess you join us by force," Pierce told him.

"I guess you want to die then," Accelerator growled. With Pierce off his arm, Touma was able to flip over and knock Motoharu off of him, stood up, and then kicked Pierce in the back. Pierce flew off Accelerator, who immediately stood up in anger. It became a two on two brawl for a good five minutes, Accelerator actually held his anger in check enough to avoid flipping his choker on, before they all stopped and took their seats a few minutes before the bell rang.

"Are you guys going to tell me what your plan is for the crime event this weekend?" Touma asked, trying to turn the topic to something else.

"Maybe we don't want to tell you anymore," Pierce said, but he couldn't help breaking into a grin.

"We will tell you tomorrow," Motoharu reassured him. "Then Friday we will finalize the details. The longer we can keep this secret, the less chance others will find out and stop it."

"I'm really going to regret going along with you guys," Touma sighed. "Who are the others?"

"Not like you have a choice," Motoharu pointed out. "You need the credit. The others are the people who might stop us." His eyes darted to Seiri who just entered. "Oh, that reminds me." He reached into his backpack. "You finish your homework?" he asked, pulling out a piece of paper. Touma's eyes widened in horror.

"Ah crap," he said, grabbing his head. "I had to do a couple things after school yesterday, then something unexpected happened and I completely forgot about it."

"Extra lessons with sensei too?" Pierce asked. "Are you actively trying to grow your harem this week?"

"Shut up," Touma told him, pulling out his worksheet. "I got to answer as many as possible." He looked at the problems and realized, with the time it would take to perform calculations for the homework answers, he probably only had time to finish one problem. He was just about to start scribing down his answer, when he saw a homework sheet get slid onto his desk. He looked up and saw Accelerator had given him his homework to copy. "What…?"

"It was partially my fault for taking up your time," he muttered. "Hurry up or she will come and collect it before you finish." He looked over at Touma, who must have been showing a thankful expression. "If you cry or try to hug me, I will take my work back and throw you out the window."

"Thanks so much," Touma said, glad something good was finally happening to him. He started copying the answers as fast as he could, and just managed to finish before Komoe started to collect them. The rest of the day was pretty normal and Touma tried to focus earnestly on his studies. A couple things kept nagging him in the back of his mind. First, he had no idea what Motoharu and Pierce were planning for the crime event, but he knew it wasn't going to be good for him. Second, Jason had once again not shown up to class. Touma wasn't to worried, but was slightly curious about what he was up to. Third, he was fretting about meeting Misaki's friends after school. He wasn't worried about making a fool of himself, that happened all the time. Instead, he was worried about what Misaki's friends might think of her dating someone like him. Tokiwadai was a prestigious school where all students were at least level three. He was considered a level 0, if they don't know about his Kami persona, which was fake, and they might think less of Misaki. Not all girls there were as open minded about levels as Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki were.

Finally, the bell rang and Touma took off before Motoharu and Pierce could drag him into something that wasn't his fault at all. They had been rather normal the rest of the day, but that just made Touma suspicious. Accelerator watched him leave, but didn't say anything. Touma quickly left the school grounds and wondered the streets for a bit, before his phone finally beeped. Misaki had sent him the address of where they were going to meet, along with a short message. There's a small tea shop I've wanted to try for a while now. It's a little further away, but it's a perfect spot for our situation. No one from our schools should be around there, so you should be able to remain anonymous.

Sounds good, Touma replied. I'm heading there now. He sent the message, looked up at the blue sky, and sighed. "Let's see how this turns out," he muttered to himself. He turned and headed to the closest bus stop.

Kuroko was not having a good week. Her ears still burned with embarrassment every time she thought of the outfit she had been forced to wear two days ago. Not only that, she had been unable to quash the rumor that had sprung up because Jason and Touma had showed up at her dorm. She had not realized the extent of the rumors Monday night, because she and Mikoto had gotten back late. The next day at school, her classmates, Maaya and Kinuho, had questioned her thoroughly about her dating Jason. She adamantly denied the rumors, but they continued to appear skeptical. It looked like she might have denied it too strongly and they believed she might have just been embarrassed about the information going public.

Things got worse when she and Mikoto got back to the dorm yesterday. Kuroko had been barraged by other girls questioning her about Jason showing up at the dorm. No matter how many times she told them they were not dating, none of them believed her. She finally said he was dating a friend of hers and that started an entirely new rumor. Now, she had been the target of rumors saying she was part of a love triangle with Jason and Kazari. Of course, she never mentioned Kazari's name to protect her from the rumors, but the love triangle rumor spread like wildfire. Mikoto had been laughing silently the entire time she was being questioned. Kuroko was just lucky Mikoto was such a good friend, that she stuck by her through it all, even though Mikoto found it hilarious. Mikoto knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of rumors and Kuroko was glad to have her as support. Worst of all, she had some very intimate dreams with someone else other than Mikoto that night.

Today was almost as bad, but at least Kuroko had Judgement duties after class and wasn't going to get swarmed when she reentered her dorm right after school. She figured she would have had to teleport in through the windows to avoid attention, knowing she would be in a lot of trouble if the dorm supervisor found out. Another issue plaguing her mind was yesterday when Ruiko and Kazari had arrived later at the Judgement office than they were supposed to. When they finally arrived, they told Kuroko and Mii about a rally where some masked individuals had announced they were planning to raise the abilities of all the low levels in the city, who wanted to join them. Kuroko had been skeptical of this, until Kazari told her about the guy who made a wormhole.

As a teleporter, wormholes were quite interesting to her. Teleportation was limited in range, due to calculations with moving in the eleventh dimension. The farther you wanted to move, the more calculations she had to do. Wormholes did not have that disadvantage. Wormholes could connect two positions, no matter how far, and connect them. It wasn't as versatile as her ability, as it only connected two points. Kuroko could constantly teleport in any direction continuously. Right now, no ability user who could make wormholes were recorded in Academy City's databank, so there was a possibility another ability only made them think they went through one. She stopped in front of the Judgement office for a second before walking in. "I'm here," she said looking around and noticing Kazari and Ruiko were already there. "Have you found out anything new Uiharu?"

"Well the results of the system scan came out today," Kazari replied, typing on her computer. "But I'll let Saten-san tell you since she's going to explode if she doesn't do it soon."

"Okay," Kuroko said, turning to Ruiko. "What's the big news?" She had a pretty good idea what it was, but she was humoring Ruiko.

"I hit level 2," Ruiko said, standing up and stretching out her hand in a victory sign. "I just found out today."

"Congratulations," Kuroko said with sincerity. She always knew Ruiko had been working hard to advance and she was glad for at least one piece of good news this week. "I knew you could do it. I wish onee-sama could hear about it, but she had something to do after school."

"It's fine," Ruiko assured her. "I knew all those days of practicing flipping Uiharu's skirt would one day pay off."

"Flipping my skirt had nothing to do with it!" Kazari denied loudly, as Ruiko grinned at her. "Your hard work paid off."

"Did I hear Shirai?" Mii asked, sticking her head into the room. "Oh good you're here. Uiharu and I have news for you."

"Is it about those break-ins and the meeting Uiharu and Saten-san found yesterday?" Kuroko asked eagerly. She had wanted to investigate either one, because she knew they had to be connected somehow.

"Not quite," Mii said, crossing her arm. A slight frown appeared on her face. "We were told not to investigate the break-ins."

"Why not?" Kuroko asked shocked.

"Anti-Skill has taken over the investigation," Mii informed her. "We are only to help if they specifically request Judgement."

"Most likely because of the sensitive nature of the stolen information," Kazari added, looking up from her computer. "They probably don't want kids seeing research or technology information."

"Makes sense I guess," Kuroko hesitantly agreed. "But I don't like it." She looked at Mii. "Anything else?"

"One other thing," Kazari told her. "This may be nothing, but it seems like a larger than normal number of students skipped the system scan Monday." Kuroko frowned.

"You think they were part of that organization you and Saten-san saw right?" Kuroko asked.

"Didn't you say one of them was a level 2 who had the potential to create a wormhole?" Ruiko asked Kazari, who nodded.

"He was only level two," she said. "But he fit the description of the guy we saw. If he's a level four, which we estimate he had to be to make a wormhole that big…"

"…He might have access to the stolen research," finished Kuroko. "We don't have any evidence this was the first meeting. We should probably assume there have been others."

"Exactly," Mii confirmed. "We don't have proof though. Which is why, we are examining any leads without directly getting involved in Anti-Skills investigation." She grinned slightly. "We recently received an anonymous report about some delinquents near district 22. It's a little farther then you normally patrol, but your teleportation should be able to get their relatively quickly. Uiharu will be here to provide any support needed."

"You think these delinquents are part of the organization?" Kuroko asked.

"There are some rumors their leader is a high level ability user," Mii said frowning. "But our preliminary investigations showed inconsistencies in the reported sightings."

"So it might just be a normal group of delinquents," Kuroko sighed. "Fine, I'll take a look."

"Good luck," Ruiko said.

"Don't take any risks," Kazari told her. "Contact us if you run into any trouble."

"Got it," Kuroko said. She threw down her school bag on the table, and then grabbed her handcuffs and a couple extra needles. She turned and walked out of the office. When she stepped outside the building and onto the sidewalk, she turned in the direction she was supposed to go. She then teleported up onto the roof and continued to move across the rooftops. It was faster to teleport this way, because she could move in a straight line and not have to worry about people jumping out in front of her. At least I have something to take my mind off all the unpleasantness. I hope Uiharu doesn't find out about those rumors. She doesn't seem like the most jealous person, but you never know.

"I arrived," Kuroko informed Kazari over her phone about twenty minutes later. "I'll take a basic route around the area and see if I discover anything suspicious."

"Be careful Shirai," Kazari warned her again. "If their abilities have been augmented by the stolen research, you could easily find yourself overwhelmed. Don't be afraid to retreat if you have to."

"I'll be careful," Kuroko reassured her and hung up. She put her phone away and made sure her armband was out of sight. It will be best if I look like a normal girl to try to draw them out. She walked down the street, with her hands behind her head, looking innocent, but soon got bored. She had been patrolling for almost an hour and hadn't seen any problems, let alone some delinquents. She followed a couple people for a little bit, who were dressed up like punks, but none of them seemed to be doing anything wrong. She stopped by a vending machine and grabbed herself a drink. Leaning up against a building, she sighed loudly. It looks like this was a waste of time. I could find more trouble makers back near our area. She sipped her drink. I wish onee-sama was here to keep me company. Her eyes continued to scan the street while she finished her drink.

"AHHHHH!"

Kuroko jumped and turned around. She bolted to a nearby side street and tried to find the source of the scream. Several guys were sneaking down an alleyway, obviously trying to avoid being seen, when one of them collapsed between the others. Kuroko wasn't sure if the others attacked him, or if he was sick, but she pulled out her armband and jumped out. "This is Judgement," she told them. "All of you freeze." Naturally, like usual, none of them froze and the three of them still standing bolted in different directions. The fourth guy was laying down on the ground. Kuroko made the decision to prioritize the injured person, over chasing down the fleeing suspects. Kuroko teleported near him and put her hand on his neck to check his pulse. "Ouch," she cried, pulling her hand back. She looked down at her hand.

There was a small burn on it.

It wasn't a burn from fire or touching something hot, it looked like a chemical burn. Kuroko leaned down to get a closer look and saw part of the guy's clothes was dissolving. A thin veil of smoke wafted into her nose and she coughed from the pungent stench. She tried to ignore it and noticed the guy's skin was covered in serious burns. Did those guys throw acid on him? The thought flickered in her mind and she felt disgusted, as she pulled out her phone. Monsters. "Uiharu," she said into her phone. "I need an ambulance at my location. It looks like someone was covered in acid. Three others ran away and I didn't get a good look at them."

"I just sent a notification to the nearest one," Kazari replied quickly. "They should be at your location in less than five minutes. Is there any way for you to dilute it?"

"I think so," Kuroko said, checking the guys vital. "His life isn't in danger right now, but he is unconscious. There was a store nearby that I should be able to grab some baking soda to help neutralize the acid." She teleported out into the street and then over to the convenience store across the street. She ran in, ignored the surprise look of the clerk, and grabbed a container of baking soda with a gallon of water. She ran out flashed her Judgement armband and threw money at the clerk. "Judgement business, keep the change!" she yelled and teleported back to the injured male in the alley.

She leaned over him and started sprinkling the baking soda on him. She heard a small hissing sound, as the neutralization chemical reaction between a strong base and a strong acid took place. As part of the reaction, a lot of heat was released, which is why Kuroko brought water with her. She poured it over the guy's body to wash off the remains of the reaction and cool off the body to avoid adding more burns. She saw some of baking soda foam up, before being washed away. The clothes seemed to stop dissolving and Kuroko sighed in relief. At least the worst is over…. What the….? She thought she got the acid off him, but his clothes started to smoke slightly again and she saw the burns continuing to slowly spread. She stared in shock before her brain clicked.

Is the acid being created as part of his ability? she thought. Then the others didn't attack him. I must have just startled them. If this is his ability, I can only stall until help arrives. Judgement members were trained in first aid, but there was a limit to what they can do when someone's ability is actively destroying themselves. All she could do was constantly neutralize the acid and prevent it from accumulating. She continued, until she ran out of supplies, and was about to get some more, when she heard Anti-Skill sirens outside the alley and two adults rushed toward her. "I think his ability is generating acid," she told them. "I've been trying to keep it neutralized as best as I can."

"Get her to the ambulance," a tall female said, she was obviously in charge. The other person, a burly male, reached down, picked up the unconscious guy and carried him back to their vehicle. He was wearing thick gloves and protective gear, so the acid wasn't dissolving his clothes. "You did well with what you had available," the female complimented, turning to Kuroko. "We can take it from here."

"Yes ma'am," Kuroko replied, nodding. "I'll be on my way and I'll file my report when I get back to my branch office." The female Anti-Skill member gave her a quick salute and turned to join her companion. Kuroko sighed, glad everything was resolved, and teleported up to the roof of the nearby building. She looked around but didn't see the other guys who were with the victim. It's not like I expected them to stick around. She pulled out her phone and called Uiharu. "Anti-Skill picked him up but I lost the others."

"I caught them fleeing on camera," Kazari told her. "I gave their location to Anti-Skill already. Two of them have been apprehended and they are cornering the third."

"You really are the best partner anyone could ask for," Kuroko complimented.

"Hehe," Kazari giggled, slightly embarrassed, but also pleased. "Are you heading back or are you going to continue your patrol?"

"I think I'm going to head back," Kuroko said, after a moment. "With that much excitement around here, I doubt anyone is going to reveal themselves. Plus I got a few minor burns I should treat. If you find out who that guy was can you look him up and see what his ability is?"

"Sure thing," Kazari replied. "I'll have all the information ready for you when you get back."

"Thanks," Kuroko said and hung up, She had plenty of time to think while teleporting back to her Judgement office. I'm glad the lead worked out. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't find him. But I don't understand why he was hurting himself with his ability. Some abilities have some backlash, but that usually only occurs when they actively use their ability. If they lost consciousness, they shouldn't be able to do the calculations, unless it's subconscious? I need to talk to someone who knows more about this. A familiar face swam to the front of her mind. Not him though. I'll see what Uiharu comes up with first. She was beginning to believe it might actually be possible there was a rogue researcher working on raising people's level. She arrived at the office building and rushed in. "I'm here," she called out. "What did you find?" Kuroko noticed Ruiko wasn't there, so Kuroko assumed she left, and it was just Kazari and Mii looking at a computer.

"We just got the medical report," Kazari said, turning around. "The guy's name is Bairei Asai. His ability allows him to alter the pH balance of liquids he is touching." In chemistry, pH is the measure of how acidic or basic water is. The range goes from zero to fourteen, with 7 being neutral, such as pure water. Any pH balance less than 7 indicates acidity, whereas a pH greater than 7 indicates a base. Because the guy's ability was generating an acid and the baking soda Kuroko used was a base, they started to neutralize each other. "It seems like he was manipulating his sweat into a strong acid."

"Why?" Kuroko asked. "Actually, more importantly, how? He was unconscious, so he shouldn't have been using his ability or at least enough to hurt himself that badly."

"The thing is," Kazari said, moving over so Kuroko could see her screen. "The city's database shows he is classified as a level 1, so his ability shouldn't have been strong enough to manipulate his sweat to that degree."

"What?" Kuroko asked shocked, but the door opened behind them, interrupting her response.

"I got some bandages and drinks," Ruiko said, taking a deep breath. It was obviously she had been running. "The line was long so I was afraid I would be too late." She put the first aid supplies on the table and passed out a drink to everyone.

"Thanks for running that errand for us," Mii told her kindly. "I noticed we were low of supplies and didn't have time to requisition some more." She looked at Kuroko, who tried to look innocent. Kuroko was supposed to have done that last week. While Kuroko said down and bandaged her hand, Mii continued to explain the situation. "As for his ability, they took an emergency scan of his ability, and it was registering as a level 3."

"Arg," Kuroko sighed, leaning back in her chair. "It's like the level upper incident all over again. We can't be sure what people's abilities are anymore."

"Did he register any differently on Monday's system scan?" Ruiko asked and Kazari shook her head.

"He was one of many who skipped the exam," Kazari informed her. "So the data we have is a little older, but few people would progress that fast without outside help."

"But didn't Kagere-san mention if you develop an ability too fast it could cause problems?" Ruiko asked and Kazari nodded.

"He's right," Mii said. She knew who Jason was because he hung around the office sometime with Kazari, but she didn't know he worked for the research division. "And that reason lead to what happened. His power was running out of control and was affecting himself. His mind was overloaded and his ability started to turn against him. He was lucky his ability didn't start messing with his bloods chemistry or, even with Shirai's timely arrival, he wouldn't have made it. Right now, they stabilized him, but he's unconscious. They are questioning the others, but I don't know what Anti-Skill found out from them."

"It looks like what you two found may be true," Kuroko admitted, looking at Kazari and Ruiko. "Someone is developing student's abilities, but either doesn't know what they are doing or just doesn't care."

"They have to be stopped," Kazari said firmly. "We need to follow up on any leads we discover."

"I can't believe anyone would be willing to take advantage of people desperate to raise their level," Ruiko said, making a fist at her side. Kuroko, Kazari, and Mii watched her in silence. "I know what they are going through and they feel cornered so they are willing to cling to any hope they find." Her voice shook slightly and she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Any news on if there is any truth to the Parameter List?" Kuroko froze. She hadn't said anything about it the first time they asked, and she wasn't planning to now.

"No," Mii told her, shaking her head. "I still think it sounds made up."

"I've been referencing everything I can about it," Kazari added. "But nothing has come up. It's either fictional or it has some of the highest level security." Kuroko still didn't say anything. She didn't trust her voice not to crack or for herself to remain calm about the subject. Jason told her it was a big secret and not to spread it around, even if it was debunked. When Ruiko and Kazari told her about it, it sounded like the researcher also knew the list was faulty. It didn't really matter anymore because of that, but the knowledge it had once existed could still cause problems.

"Right now the priority is to find out who is leading this movement," Mii told them. "Whoever it is doesn't care who they hurt. We are going to investigate any lead. If anyone finds out anything, let me know," she looked over at Ruiko. "You too. I know you aren't part of Judgement, but please let us know if you hear anything. Don't go looking for it though."

"I will," Ruiko promised.

"We still don't have any idea of the person's objective," Kuroko mumbled. This is getting seriously complicated.

Mikoto, unlike the others, was having a pretty good week. For once, she wasn't the target of her school's rumors and she found it hilarious about the one involving Kuroko and Jason being together. Kuroko was busy with Judgement, so she had free time to do what she wanted, without Kuroko tagging along. When she received a picture of Touma being fed by an attractive older girl from Motoharu yesterday, her heart stopped in panic. She had been in class and was right at the breaking point of shooting electricity, but managed to calm herself down before it actually happened. She decided to text Touma and find out what happened from him. Touma had told her the entire story about her thanking him for helping move a box and, while it was unexpected, didn't have any romantic significance. She believed him and cheered up.

I should go and read the new manga that's out, she thought to herself. Kuroko says it's unladylike, but I really want to know what happens next. I haven't had time. She left her room and was planning to head to the store across the street. When she rounded a corner, she accidently collided with another girl. "I'm sorry," Mikoto said automatically. She stood up and reached down to help the other girl up, before realizing who it was by their blonde hair. "Shokuhou-san," she said a little stiffly.

"Oh if it isn't Misaka-san," Misaki commented, accepting Mikoto's hand to help herself off. "I was wondering what brute knocked me down."

"You're just as pleasant as always," Mikoto replied irritated, crossing her arms. "What are you doing?"

"Who knows?" Misaki said playfully, putting a hand up to her cheek. It was obvious to Mikoto that she was in a good mood. "Maybe I have big plans today. I'm sure you are planning to waste this lovely day away by reading manga or buying kiddie clothes."

"Oh?" Mikoto asked, raising an eyebrow. She was getting seriously annoyed at the way Misaki always insulted her. She was never going to admit Misaki was right about her intentions. "Maybe I was going to visit Touma and spend the afternoon with him," Mikoto replied, in a slightly superior tone. That's sure to knock her down a peg. To her surprise, Misaki started giggling.

"Oh really?" she asked, her voice overflowing with amusement. "Where are you meeting him? Maybe I should join you?"

"Like I would let you join us," Mikoto snapped.

"You are so easy to read," Misaki laughed. "But don't let me hold you up. I'm off to hang out with my friends and introduce them to an important person. I'll let you and Touma have one afternoon together. He will, after all, end up with me." She gave Misaki a small wave and left, almost skipping.

"What the…?" Mikoto mumbled. She was confused at the way Misaki was acting. She would have jumped all over me for just mentioning hanging out with Touma without her. Does she really have something important to do? She shrugged and walked toward the front entrance, still thinking. She was about to round a corner, when she heard several girls talking. She stopped when she recognized Misaki's voice.

"…on your best behavior."

"Of course Queen," several girls said excitedly.

"We finally get to see your boyfriend in person," one girl said, who couldn't contain herself.

What? Mikoto thought to herself and started listening intently.

"Where are we meeting," another girl asked.

"There was a lovely new tea shop I wanted to try for some time," Misaki said sweetly. "It's a little out of the way, but I figured this would be the perfect time. I rather not have other girls here bothering him just because he's with me."

"That's our Queen for you," a third girl said. "She always thinks of others."

"We should be off," Misaki spoke up. "I don't want to keep him waiting. We should get there before him." Mikoto heard the sound of them leaving, and she began to process what she heard.

She's supposed to be in love with Touma, Mikoto thought. Why would she be meeting someone else with her friends…? Could she be meeting Touma?! Mikoto shook her head. That can't be true. They aren't dating. Mikoto's eyes widened as her brain worked in overdrive and started putting pieces together. She's meeting the person away from the school, she made her friends promise to behave, and…. she didn't appear jealous when I lied about meeting him… SHE's GOING TO INTRODUCE HIM TO HER FRIENDS AS HER BOYFRIEND! Mikoto felt anger flare up within her and decided to follow them secretly to see what was going on. She didn't think Touma actually was dating Misaki, because Mikoto knew Misaki would tell her immediately if that was true, to rub it in. She's rather vindictive. Mikoto's eyes narrowed and she frowned. Moving quietly, she followed Misaki's group from a safe distance.

She is just too easy.

Misaki was laughing silently to herself, as she watched Mikoto follow them. She wasn't watching with her own eyes, because she never turned around. Instead, she had a hand in her bag and was using her remote on the surrounding people. She was looking through their eyes, as Mikoto tried to keep herself hidden from herself and her friends. It had not been an accident Misaki had bumped into Mikoto. She had waited until Mikoto left her dorm before running into her. Misaki had been planning to drop enough clues to trick Mikoto into following her, but even she didn't expect Mikoto to pretend to be meeting Touma just to annoy her. She's getting better at this, but she's nowhere near my level. Then, she had purposely made sure her friends had been talking loud enough for Mikoto to overhear them. Once Misaki was sure Mikoto was interested, she lead her friends to meet Touma.

They took the train to save time and their conversations turned to the topic of their school and rumors that had spread. Misaki knew, even without reading their minds, her friends were trying to keep the topic off Touma and pretend to be distracted by other things. She appreciated it, because it meant they were planning to try to prevent Touma from being uncomfortable. Most people would be staring at him like a zoo exhibit, if the news got around her school he was dating her. She had to prevent that from happening, until Touma was comfortable enough with it. She wouldn't mind the rumors herself, but she was prepared to use her powers on her friends, if they started to cause even the slightest problem. They may listen and follow her as their leader, but they were still young girls and could get carried away.

They arrived at the tea shop without any real trouble. A couple guys tried to flirt with them when they got off the train, but the girls just ignored them. At the tea shop, Misaki looked around. There were many tables set up outside, under large flowery parasols. It did not look very busy and there were plenty of seats available, which caused Misaki to breathe a sigh of relief. She was worried that, because the store was new, she was going to be forced to use her ability to cause someone to leave. Normally, she would have no problem with this, but the look on Touma's face, if he found out about it, kept sneaking into her mind.

Misaki and her friends took a seat in a corner and waited patiently for Touma to arrive, placing an order while they waited. Misaki's eyes kept darting among the nearby pedestrians looking for the familiar spikey black hair. It was probably a mistake taking the train. He probably took the bus. She chatted with her friends, assuring the other girls he was on the way. The girls started talking and Misaki decided to take the opportunity to spy on Mikoto some more. Misaki found her easily enough, by looking through the eyes of individuals near her. Mikoto was access the street, sitting on a bench with a newspaper in front of her. She had acquired a hat on the way to disguise her hair. Her eyes kept darting over the paper, as she watched Misaki's table. Misaki didn't have to turn her head, but she grinned slightly. Everything is going perfectly. She suddenly saw the guy she had been waiting for coming down the sidewalk toward her. He was looking around, and she raised her hand to attract his attention. Noticing her waving, the other girls turned around and looked to see who it was.

"Sorry I'm late," Touma apologized, when he reached their table.

"It's not a problem," Misaki told him, gesturing to the empty seat beside her. Touma sat down and Misaki turned to the other girls. "Ladies, this is Touma Kamijou… my boyfriend." Saying those words out loud, in front of Touma and her friends, caused a happiness to well up from deep inside of her. Even if it was fake, she had always wanted to say it. She tried to keep a straight face, but her face went slightly red.

"Nice to meet you Kamijou-san," the other girls greeted him politely.

"Nice to meet you too," Touma replied, rubbing the back of his head. Hearing Misaki say those words was pretty embarrassing, but they didn't sound that bad to him. He glanced at the four girls he didn't know sitting around the table. One girl had lilac hair in ringlets and a smile on her face. The girl next to her had short black hair and glasses. The third girl had short brown hair and it was a little darker than Mikoto's. The last girl had blonde hair, but it wasn't nearly as long as Misaki's. It only went down to her shoulders. "To be honest, I was kind of surprise when Misaki suddenly contacted me."

"He called her by her first name," the brown haired girl whispered excitedly.

"Keep it down," the girl with glasses whispered. She seemed to be the most serious of the girls. The other two had moved slightly when he used Misaki's first name.

"My friends were dying to meet you," Misaki said, scooting over slightly and leaning up against him. "And we get to try this lovely shop." A waitress came over and started serving them their tea. "I hope you don't mind I ordered for you," Misaki said to Touma.

"Not at all," Touma said, looking at her. He decided not tell her he wasn't the biggest fancy tea drinker and drinking out of teacups felt weird to him. He sipped the tea, but put it down quickly. It was obvious to him the girls were trying not to get caught staring, but it was also obvious they were watching him closely. I bet Misaki asked them not to stare.

"Okay," Misaki said suddenly, looking at the girls. "I know you want to. Go ahead and ask your questions, but only one at a time." Touma looked at her and she winked at him.

"How did you two meet?" the girl with ringlets asked. Touma was momentarily stumped. He couldn't remember meeting Misaki before the tournament, but Misaki had told him they had met before. Before he could say anything, Misaki spoke up first.

"I'll explain it Touma," Misaki said, smiling at him. "We met a long time ago actually. He was still in middle school then. I was having a very bad day, and he accidently ran into me." She smiled. "I recall I was pretty rude to him, but he still stayed and made me feel better. I thought he was just flirting with me at the time, but then after I cheered up, he left without even asking for my number. I figured I was never going to see him again, but I started accidently running into him. Before I knew what happened, it became a constant occurrence. Anytime I thought of him, I found him accidently." She clutched Touma's hand under the table with hers.

The girls were leaning forward listening intently, but Touma was also listening too. He only had a small understanding of what happened between them before the tournament. Misaki had told him on the beach, but he didn't have any details. He couldn't be sure how much was true and how much was making up. Her hand suddenly started trembling slightly and he knew what was coming next. The accident when I could no longer remember her. Touma gripped her hand tightly and the trembling seemed to lesson. Misaki looked over at him. "If you want I can continue," Touma said and she shook her head.

"I invited you," Misaki said, keeping her voice level. It may have fooled her friends, but Touma could see the pain hidden in her eyes. "So I'll tell them. If I miss anything let me know." She turned back to the other girls. "Due to… circumstances, we lost contact for a long time. We never were actually a couple, but to me it always felt like we were." Misaki was surprising herself. She normally didn't reveal so much of herself. Maybe it was having Touma hold her hand giving her strength, or maybe she just wanted to get things off her chest that she kept bottled for so long. "Then as if by fate, we met up again not long ago. We sort of started over again and now here we are. It's been a pretty crazy ride, but I still don't regret it."

"How romantic," the blonde girl said.

"We have been through a lot since then, haven't we?" Touma asked and Misaki gave an unwillingly giggle. Starting from fighting Sloth, the rescue trip to Italy, and the entire British coup, they had been kept pretty busy.

"I have a question for you Kamijou-san," the girl with glasses turned to him. Touma looked at her and nodded. "What do you like about the Queen?"

"Uh…" Touma said, looking over at Misaki.

"Go on," she nodded. "I want to hear it too." She grinned at him, knowing he was going to say something positive, but she was curious as to what he would say. Touma looked at her a moment longer and turned back to the other girl.

"Where to start," he said thinking. He did in fact like Misaki a lot and decided to just say the truth. "She's smart and talented for sure, but I think the reason I like her is the fact she is a really caring person. She may try to act serious all the time, but deep down she really cares for her friends. Regardless of what she says, she will go out of her way to help them. She's also honest and trustworthy." The girls started whispering excitedly among themselves, but Misaki had gone silent and felt herself turn a deep shade of red.

I'm only that way around him though, Misaki thought, but she conceded he may have had a point. The closest thing she could think about was when she used her powers on others. She always took a lot of precautions to make sure no one suffered any lasting damage. It was a lot of hassle, but she never slacked on it for convenience. The fact that Touma noticed she cared for others, which most people had no idea about, it made her heart flutter. I'm supposed to make sure he wants to make this arrangement permanent, but all that's happening is I'm falling for him more. He's just saying what he believes, so that makes his words even more effective. The positive was the other girls seemed to approve of him.

"I'm sure I've seen you before," the brown haired girl said, and then her eyes lit up. "I remember, you were with Mikoto Misaka before right?" Both Touma and Misaki froze and glanced at each other. "I'm sure of it." The other girls were watching him closely and Touma wasn't sure what to say.

"I do know her," Touma said slowly. "She is a friend of mine."

"Were you dating her?" the girl with ringlets asked.

"Er…" Touma said, thinking fast. He had gone out on one date with Mikoto, and it sort of turned into a life or death situation with The Fallen.

"They were going out," Misaki said at last, and everyone turned to look at her. "What?" she asked, looking at him. "You're the one who told me about it, because you wanted to be honest with me, since Misaka-san and I are such good friends." Touma finally realized what Misaki was doing. She was pretending that information was old news to get him off the hook. "You may have heard about the day Misaka-san tackled him outside of the dorm." Touma felt his ears turn red when he remembered Mikoto had dragged him on a fake date to get away from a guy who liked her. "But now they are just friends and he's back with me now." She smiled, but there was a sort of finality with it, telling the other girls not to ask about that anymore. "It's not like Misaka-san and I compete with each other."

"What about the time on the bea…?" Touma started to ask and Misaki stuck one of the tea cookies in his mouth.

"They don't need to hear about that," Misaki told him. The girls at leaned forward, but looked disappointed when he was cut off. So far, everything was going as planned. Her friends seemed to like him and Touma wasn't being gawked at like an art exhibit. He also appeared to have finally relaxed and started to enjoy himself with them. Plus Misaka can't do anything about this with the others nearby. She occasionally peeked at Mikoto through nearby pedestrians to enjoy her expressions. Now, what can I do to show up that old hag? She fed him so I need to do something better. She used her remote on the girl with ringlets to have her stealthily capture a picture of her and Touma on her phone, when a romantic situation arrives. She listened to Touma talk with her friends a little bit more, before her paradise started to collapse.

Three guys started to walk up toward their immediately spotted them and knew they were going to be trouble. She had automatically reached into her bag and was about to make them go away, when another thought went through her mind. This will be perfect opportunity for the girls to see how noble Touma is. Instead of nudging their minds to make them leave, she decided to just read their minds, while watching, to see what happens. Their thoughts were pretty straight forward.

Wow those girls are hot, the guy in front thought. "Let's go flirt with them, there's only one guy and he looks weak," he whispered to the others, who agreed immediately. They walked up and the guy, who appeared to be the leader, put his hand on their table and smirked at them. "Ladies," he said. "How about you ditch the loser here and come party with us." Touma was surprised the guy didn't seem perturbed by the simultaneous looks of disgust on the girl's faces. "Oh come on," he added. "My friends and I are much cooler than this guy."

"Please leave," the girl with ringlets said. "We are enjoying ourselves without your company." The two guys behind the leader laughed.

"We don't have interest in you," the girl with glasses said and turned to look away from them. The guys were either dense or didn't take rejection well. The leader started to look annoyed, but reached down and grabbed the wrist of the blonde girl.

"Don't be the way," he laughed. "I'm sure you will enjoy our company."

"Let me go," the blonde girl told him seriously.

"Stop it," Touma said, standing up and looking at the other guys. The girls got quiet and turned to look at him. The leader scowled at him and moved around the table to face him.

"You got a problem?" he asked.

"They obviously don't want to go with you," Touma told him. "All you are doing is just making them uncomfortable."

"Looks like we have a tough guy here," the leader said to his friends, who laughed. "I bet you want to keep them all to yourself."

"No I don't," Touma denied, irritated a guy he didn't know at all would suggest something like that. He got enough of those kinds of jabs from his friends, but at least they just did it in jest. "But I'm not going to sit by and watch in silence as you harass them."

Misaki felt herself flush slightly. He is usually so mellow and calm, but when someone is in trouble, he shows how strong he really is. She still had her hand tightly grasping her remote in case things went south. When she glanced at her friends, she saw they were turning slightly red in response to Touma's words. I might have made a mistake introducing the girls to him. I forgot he somehow attracts every girl he meets without meaning to.

"Look at the hero," the leader sneered. He glanced back at his friends, and made a fist. Touma eyes darted downwards, at it and knew what the guy was about to do. Touma moved his right hand forward and grabbed the guy's wrist before he could pull it back. "What the…?"

"Let's not get into a fight," Touma told him. That was close, if we get into a fight here, a lot of people will get involved. It never occurred to him to ask the girls for help, not because he didn't know what their abilities were except Misaki's, but because it was his nature to take care of problems without involving others, if he could. "Just leave, you know they don't want to go with you." The only reason he was able to stop the guys fist was all the knowledge of street fights, he had engraved into his body over the years, warned him of the attack.

The guy grimaced and frowned. Touma thought it was because the guy didn't expect him to block the attack or, hopefully, the guy realized Touma was right. The truth was completely different and only one person knew the real reason. Misaki was reading the guys mind and his thoughts made her frown. What the hell? Why can't I burn his hand off? I just ranked up thanks to those masked guys. I should be able to cause severe burns at least. I can't even feel my ability anymore. Did those b#$^%&$ lie to me? I'll make them pay. He pulled his hand out of Touma's grip, while his friends look at him in surprise. "Let's go guys," he muttered. "This guy isn't worth it." He turned and walked away while his friends, after exchanging surprised looks, quickly follow him.

Touma sighed in relief and looked down at the blonde girl. "Are you alright?" he asked. He was worried she might be still shocked because of the guy suddenly grabbing onto her. Since Tokiwadai was for noble girls, they usually didn't have a lot of experience dealing with thugs like that guy. Mikoto, Kuroko, and Misaki were exceptions, while he met other girls who conformed to the stereotype perfectly.

"Yes," she said, slightly breathlessly, and looked up at him. "Thanks to you."

"That's good," he said, and took his seat next to Misaki again, who immediately grabbed his arm and leaned up next to him.

"See how great he is," she said happily. She was still thinking about the thoughts she heard, but she was planning to worry about them later. The girls nodded and started whispering among themselves. Touma felt his hears burn slightly at her praise.

"Does this happen a lot?" he whispered.

"When we go out in public," she whispered back. "I like to stay out of public sight when I can and not draw attention to myself. Those guys didn't know I was a level 5, they just saw a bunch of girls."

"Would you have used your ability on them?"

"If they wouldn't leave my friends alone," Misaki replied slowly. "All I would do is give them a desire to leave us. I wouldn't let my friends get harassed."

"See," Touma said, grinning slightly. "You are a good person. Thanks for not using your power unless you really have to." Misaki felt her heart beat faster and her face got hot at his compliment. She shook her head and, though it pained her, she knew what had to be done.

"Okay ladies," she said, clapping her hands together. "You met him and we had our fun. He's a busy person and I don't want to keep him tied up. We also need to get back to our dorm." The girls nodded in agreement. They paid for their drinks and snacks, and then left the tea shop. "You all can go ahead without me," Misaki told the other girls. "I need to talk with Touma a little bit longer."

"Okay Queen," the girl with ringlets said. "Just be careful on the way back." The other girls left with her and, when they were out of sight, Misaki motioned Touma to follow her.

"Do you think it went well?" Touma asked Misaki, when her friends had disappeared and they slipped down a side street to avoid being seen or heard.

"It went perfectly," Misaki told him, turning around and looking at him. She had a big grin on her face. "You did everything and more. Now, hopefully, they won't be tempted to find out who you are. I doubt you would want someone stalking you right?"

"Uh yea," Touma said, his thoughts immediately turning to Lessar. He instinctively looked over his shoulder. "There are things I get involved in others shouldn't see."

"Like a magic or terrorist groups?" she asked, winking at him. All Touma could do was give her a small smile.

"Anything else I can help you with?" Touma asked.

"Yes actually," Misaki said, taking a step up to him and putting a finger in her chest. "I need to repay you for all your help. Is there anything YOU need?"

"No I'm good," Touma said, shaking his head. "I couldn't think of anything, even if I wanted to. I'm just glad everything works out for you." He never liked to ask people for rewards when he helped them. If Misaki offered something he might accept it, but it didn't feel right to ask her for anything.

"You're always like that," Misaki replied, pouting slightly. She turned around again, so her back was to him. "But I guess it's one of your many good points. I still feel like I should repay you…" She trailed off and got silent. Before Touma could say anything, she suddenly turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There you go," she whispered in his ear. "When you're ready to date for real, there will be plenty more…" She got interrupted by a loud crackling sound and another girl's voice.

"I can't watch this anymore," Mikoto yelled angrily. "I put up with it so far, but that's too far."

Mikoto had been watching the scene since before Touma arrived and was incredibly annoyed the entire date. This can't be a real date. I bet Shokuhou asked him to come with her and he just agreed without knowing anything. She didn't jump out and interfere for a couple reasons. One, there was a lot of Tokiwadai students there and it would cause a scene. Second, nothing really bad seemed to be happening. All Touma was doing was talking to Misaki and her clique. There was no reason for her to interrupt him, but her chest ached with jealousy, seeing Misaki with him. When they were interrupted by a couple guys, Mikoto was surprised Misaki didn't just use her powers on them to make them leave. She uses her power at the drop of a dime at school but, anytime when she's with Touma, she always tries to avoid using it. She frowned to herself. It feels like I'm the opposite, I try not to use my power, but mine always slip out when I'm with him. She smiled when Touma protected the girls and chased off the other guys. He's always protecting everyone. When Misaki and Touma separated from the other girls, she followed them, only to find Misaki springing a surprise kiss on him.

"M-Mikoto?" Touma stammered. He was in shock, not only because of Mikoto's sudden appearance, but also Misaki's surprise kiss.

"Oh my, if it isn't Misaka-san," Misaki giggled, and then pouted. "How long have you been watching us?"

"Doesn't matter," Mikoto said quickly. She didn't want to tell Misaki she had been there since the beginning, but she felt Misaki probably knew already. "I'm not going to let you take advantage of him."

"I was just helping her with something," Touma said quickly, raising his hands defensively.

"I trust you," Mikoto told him. "But she," Mikoto pointed to Misaki, "always has ulterior motives."

"You caught me," Misaki said, rolling her eyes. Touma and Mikoto both looked at her. "I asked him to come with me because my friends wanted to meet him. If I didn't let them, I'm sure one of them would let their curiosity get the better of them and follow me to see him. What would happen if they saw Touma facing a magician and see something dangerous or worse, get hurt?" Mikoto frowned and crossed her arms. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew Misaki had a point.

"Wouldn't you just erase their memory of the event?" Mikoto asked. "You use your power for every little thing from picking up your lunch trash to running your errands."

"Whatever do you mean?" Misaki asked, feigning ignorance. It was completely true, but she wasn't going to admit it in front of Touma. In fact, she had been trying to reduce the amount of times she used her powers on others since being reunited with Touma. "I would never use my power on my friends, except in exceptional circumstances. Besides, who's the one who keeps knocking out power to the dorm?" Sparks flew out of their eyes, as they glared at each other. Touma took the opportunity to move in between them and try to diffuse the situation.

"She's telling the truth Mikoto," Touma tried to reassure her.

"Then why was she kissing you?" asked Mikoto, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"She surprised me with it," Touma tried to explain.

"But it looked like he enjoyed it," Misaki said happily.

"You stay out of it," Mikoto snapped at her.

"At least it doesn't leave him speechless," Misaki continued. "We've done it enough times he's getting used to it. It's been what, a dozen times already?"

"What!?" Mikoto asked shocked, sparking up.

"Misaki!" Touma cried, turning to her.

"What?" Misaki asked, innocently. "She says she likes you, but she doesn't show it." For the first time, a real frown appeared on her face. "She still calls you idiot from time to time. Didn't you guys only have an accidental kiss once? Then she tried to electrocute you."

"Misaki!" Touma reprimanded her and Misaki heard the seriousness in his tone. She knew she went too far and looked at the ground to avoid his eyes. Touma sighed briefly. Their rivalry is getting worse. They are friends and shouldn't be fighting all the time. He wasn't sure how he was going to calm Mikoto down, but he turned back to her. "Don't listen to her…" he started to say, but stopped. Mikoto was sparking up slightly and was muttering to herself. Touma raised his hand instinctively, before he heard a few words.

"…. She's right… lack of progress…. only once…." Mikoto's face had turned to red and small bolts of electricity kept shooting off in random directions. Touma had the feeling, if nothing was done, she would explode. He reached out toward her with his right hand, when she looked up. His out stretched arm froze in midair and Mikoto reached up and pushed it away. She shook her head quickly and Touma heard just three words "… just do it…"

Touma didn't realize the war waging within Mikoto. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Misaki was right. She had liked Touma for ages, but only recently got up the courage to admit it. She still occasionally called him an idiot, even though he stopped calling her Biribiri, and she did shock him a lot. Because she finally managed to confess her feelings, she tried to believe him instead of resorting to attacking him immediately with electricity. Yet I still do it. What was worst was Misaki had a point about the kiss. Mikoto had only kissed him once and it was purely accidental. She had seen Misaki kiss him a couple times and even Shizuri did it. She's right. I confessed and there's still a lack of progress between us. We had a date only once and he promised to have another one with me, but nothings come of it yet. I need to show him, and Shokuhou, I like him more then she does. Just do it Mikoto! She had noticed him reaching a hand toward her and she pushed it away.

Mikoto took a step toward him, her vision blurring slightly as her started spinning. She knew what she was going to do, but she wasn't sure if she could go through with it. She could feel Misaki's eyes on her, but she focused on Touma. She saw a confused look on his face, but his eyes were full of concerned because Mikoto had gone silent. Do IT! She kept mentally yelling at herself. She wouldn't be surprised if smoke was coming out of her ears. Touma opened his mouth to try to speak, but she grabbed his shirt with both hands, pulled him down to her level, as she stood up on her tiptoes…

…and kissed him on the lips.

She actually did it, Misaki thought in complete disbelief. She wasn't normally left speechless like this, but Mikoto had surpassed all of her expectations. Touma didn't say anything, because he couldn't, but his male brain also stopped working and told him to go with it.

The kiss didn't last long, wasn't as exotic as more experienced girls, but it was Mikoto's first real kiss. Sure, they had their accidental kiss before and Kuroko had used surprise attacks on her, but this was the first one she willing gave to a guy she liked. She pulled away and a smile tugged at her lips, as she looked up at the shocked face of Touma. Her face flushed, her vision blurred, and she felt dizzy. She took a step away from him and turned to look at Misaki. She was grinning, even with her face bright scarlet. "S-see," Mikoto stammered and pointed to her. "I l-like h-him a l-lot." She started sparking up a lot, as she tried to keep her composure but it was obvious she was about to lose it.

"Doesn't matter," Misaki sniffed. She was upset, but refused to show it to Mikoto. "I'm still ahead."

"M-Mikoto?" Touma asked. "Are you okay?"

"A-A-h yes," Mikoto stammered quickly. "Of c-course I'm fine. W-Why w-wouldn't I b-be?" She couldn't look him in the eye and she felt herself calming down, but her voice was getting quieter. "I finally did what I always wanted to do…" She suddenly started to spark up. I knew it would be, but it's SO EMBARRESSING! She felt dizzy again and then her powers went out of control. Thousands of volts of electricity started flying all around her. Touma saw the danger first and stuck out his hand, negating the electricity flying at him and Misaki.

"Calm down Mikoto!" he called out, reaching out to her and grabbing her wrist. As soon as he touched her, all the electricity stopped and disappeared. He sighed in relief that nothing appeared to be destroyed, but then heard several people yell in the building next to them. Ah, she knocked out the power to the nearby buildings.

"We should probably leave before Anti-Skill is called," Misaki told him and he nodded. Misaki turned and ran, while Touma dragged Mikoto after him. He couldn't stop the thought going through his mind that it was normally Mikoto who dragged him around. They stopped only a couple blocks away, because Misaki was panting from the exercise.

"You need to exercise more," Touma told her and she scowled at him. He then turned to Mikoto. "Are you okay now?"

"Yes," Mikoto answered, unable to look him in the eyes. She noticed Touma was still holding onto her wrist and registered how warn him hand felt. Touma also realized he was still holding her and let go. I didn't mind him holding me, she thought, but was unable to say the words out loud.

"Well that was an unnecessarily violent response," Misaki panted. "But I suppose it was partially my fault for teasing you." She looked at Touma, who nodded, and she sighed. "I'm sorry Misaka-san."

"I overreacted too." Mikoto admitted, and then realized something. She leaned over and whispered to Misaki. "I really should thank you for giving me the courage to do that." Misaki's eyes widened and she scowled.

"Should we be heading back?" Touma hesitantly asked.

"One moment," Misaki told him, turning to Mikoto. "I have something to ask you."

"Oh?" Mikoto asked, suspiciously. "About?" She figured it would be something about Touma and was prepared for an argument. Touma looked back and forth at them, but decided to remain silent until he knew what Misaki was going to ask.

"Since you have friends in Judgement," Misaki said. "Have you happened to hear of any organization or group that is secretly raising abilities?"

"What!" Mikoto asked in complete shock. "How do you know about that?"

"What?" Touma asked, completely confused.

"So you don't know about it yet," Misaki frowned, looking at him, and then turning back to Mikoto. "But you have heard about it. Since you were watching, you saw those guys who approached us. I read their minds when Touma was engaging them to make sure nothing bad was going to happen, and the one in charge was planning to show off his newly upgraded ability. When Touma grabbed him, he couldn't use his powers and thought the organization that raised his ability betrayed him. The reason he left was to go and demand answers." She paused. "I told you everything I know, so why don't you return the favor. I'm sure Touma wants to know too."

"Kuroko told me Uiharu-san and Saten-san accidently stumbled onto a meeting yesterday," Mikoto explained, crossing her arms and looking at Misaki and Touma. "It seems a group of people in masks were trying to convince a large number of people with lower level abilities to join them. They promised to raise all their abilities quickly, but there was one other thing that seemed to cause some concern." Mikoto frowned. "They used a lot of propaganda about the city treating higher levels better than them. A lot of one sided videos were played, including some about us."

"About us?" Misaki asked.

"I was told they showed us using our abilities on others," Mikoto shrugged. "This was all second hand information. I suppose I could question Uiharu-san and Saten-san directly."

"I would be interested in what you find out," Misaki said, thinking. How did they get video of me? I'm usually really careful when in public.

"Jason mentioned raising abilities quickly can be harmful though," Touma told Mikoto. "Who would be interested in doing this? How would they even be doing this?"

"I heard there were some research facilities broken into when we were in England," Misaki told him. "There could be a connection."

"I have a feeling Kuroko didn't tell me everything," Mikoto mumbled. "I'm going to question her more."

"Tell me what you find out," Misaki told her again, then looked at her phone. "Oh no, I've been talking with you two for too long. I need to get back or my friends will wonder where I am." She glanced over at Mikoto. "Don't try to take advantage of him when I'm gone."

"W-what…!" spluttered Mikoto. "Like I would." Misaki smiled, gave Touma a wave and smile, and left. "Arg," muttered Mikoto. She drives me insane. I thought we were at least becoming somewhat of friends, but I don't think I can ever really be friends with her.

"Er Mikoto," Touma said and she looked up at him. "About earlier…" She saw his eyes look upwards in embarrassment and she felt her face burn.

I finally did it, Mikoto squealed in her mind. She wasn't sure what to say, so decided to change the topic. "What do you think about these ability developments from an unknown group?"

"Hmm," Touma replied, thinking. "I don't have any idea how to raise abilities. That's Jason's forte. If research areas have been broken into, I suppose it's possible with stolen information. I know what it's like to be labeled a 0, so I can understand the temptation people go through when someone offers a way to get stronger."

"I was a low level once too," Mikoto reminded him. "Plus Saten-san went through it with the level upper incident. If they keep working hard, they will improve right?"

"That's what Komoe-sensei tells us all the time," Touma nodded. "I'm a rather… unique… case, but everyone else should be able to. Just like with everything, people progress at different speeds. However, I can understand their frustration and believing the city is out to get them, even if I don't agree with it."

"Like?" Mikoto asked. She had been really young when she was a low level and then joined a prestigious school. She didn't see a lot of the city from a low level perspective.

"I suppose a couple reasons," Touma shrugged. "Those stipends the city gives us every couple weeks for expenses, the amount is based on your level. Level 0's don't get much, it's one of the reasons we are always looking for food sales." Mikoto nodded, remembering all the times he freaked out when he broke his eggs. "Some higher levels also look down on level 0's, so there will always be animosity there."

"I can't stand those kinds of people," Mikoto said, slightly angry. "You shouldn't look down on people for having a lower level ability."

"I agree," Touma said, nodding and patting her shoulder. "It's why we have great friends like Uiharu-san and Ruiko. Mikoto blushed slightly at his touch. "There are people who hit a wall find it easier to blame others and when tempted with an easy way to overcome it, they take it. Since you are going to ask Shirai-san about the group, I'll check with Jason and see if he can tell me anything about the break-ins. He's been gone the last couple of days."

"That's pretty suspicious actually," Mikoto said, stopping and looking at him. "Do you think his area got broken into?"

"Maybe," Touma shrugged. "I really don't know. You and Misaki know more than I do. If anything happens, you will let me know right?" Now that he knew there was a problem in the city, he wasn't going to let his friends face it alone. Especially when he knew his friends were the type of people to investigate. He had to suppress a chuckle because that's exactly what Mikoto got mad at him for doing himself.

"Okay," Mikoto nodded, looking away from him to hide her embarrassment. They got on the same bus and headed back to their dorms. He's worried for me. Calm down, it's his usually worried about all his friends, but it still feels so nice when he says it to me. We even kissed and have been on a real date. Wait… didn't he promise me another one when we returned to the city? "I just remembered. In England, didn't you promise we would go on another date when we returned here?"

"Ah yes," Touma answered, looking at her. "With everything that's been happening, it slipped my mind. Did you have anything you wanted to do?"

"Anything's fine," Mikoto told him. "I chose last time, so why don't you choose this time?"

"Okay," Touma nodded. "I'll think about it and let you know." He had absolutely no idea what to do and hoped he could find something nice to take Mikoto too. I don't have much money either. I'll have to see if Jason is willing to pay for any more experiments. Jason's amused look if he found out Touma needed money to take Mikoto out sprung to the front of his mind. Accelerator's the only other guy I know who had money and I don't want to ask him. He also found it rude to ask for money. He always wanted to work for it instead of getting handouts.

"We got plenty of time," Mikoto replied, sounding the happiest she had been all afternoon. It suddenly occurred to her about Touma's financial situation. "Just to be clear, it doesn't have to be fancy or anything, as long as you seriously think of something."

"I don't know Mikoto-sama," Touma teased. "Maybe we need something big, fancy, and public… Ouch!" He rubbed his sore shoulder where Mikoto punched him.

"You and I both know neither of us would be comfortable in that environment," she told him. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Their relationship was finally returning to normal, and both of them were happy about it, after the unusual circumstance. They talked a bit before Mikoto had to get off. She waved to him and Touma continued the bus ride to his stop. When he got off, his phone started ringing. At first, he thought Mikoto and Misaki forgot to tell him something, but then he saw the name.

Mitsuko Kongou.

He looked at the name for a moment, dreading the conversation about to come, but knew what would happen if he didn't answer her call. "Hello?"

"Why do you sound so depressed?" Mitsuko's voice came though. "You should be ecstatic to receive a call from the beautiful and noble Mitsuko Kongou."

"Oh what can this humble servant do for you," Touma answered. "Oh great Kongou-sama?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she replied. "I decided to start your rehabilitation tomorrow. I assume you are free?"

"I am," Touma confirmed. He didn't actually have anything planned for tomorrow afternoon. What on earth does she want me to do?

"I was thinking what needed to be done," Mitsuko explained to him. "And decided the first thing you need to learn as a gentleman is how to escort a lady. Tomorrow I have an annual checkup for my beloved pet. The veterinarian is a little far away from Tokiwadai, so I would like an escort."

"Okay," Touma said, thinking the request sounded pretty ordinary, minus the part about being an escort. It sounds like something Mugino would say when forcing me to go somewhere. Kongou seems like a typical ojou-sama type, so I bet she has some small handheld dog or cat like those famous celebrities. "Where is this vet's office?

"It's at the place called the Dianoid," Mitsuko told him and Touma's jaw dropped. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yes." How wealthy is this girl?

"I also expect you to come dressed up professionally," Mitsuko continued. "No ratty clothes or school uniform. A nice suit will do. I will mail you the location to meet me and we will travel to the Dianoid together. No excuses." She hung up and Touma stared at the phone in shock.

"I don't have any fancy clothes," Touma muttered to himself. My only suit is old and ratty. She seems to be the type of person who won't accept excuses, if you can't do what she wants. I'm so screwed. An idea came to him, and he felt an odd combination of a possible way out of his dilemma and dread of asking the person for help. He looked at his phone, took a breath to gather his courage, and dialed. The phone range three times before he heard the person's voice.

"Well, you normally don't contact me. This is a surprise."

Teitoku Kakine sat at a wooden table with a single card in front of him. The card was blank except for a small rune written on it with black marker. Teitoku reached over and picked up the rune card. He looked up toward his target. A metal robot was standing on the far side of the room. It wasn't active, he was just using it as target practice. Teitoku concentrated on his body and felt the refinement of what Ricane told him was mana. As the mana began to circulate around his body, he focused on transferring the mana to the card. He started to mutter under his breath, and threw the card. The card soared through the air and then exploded into a small sphere of flames. The flames engulfed the robot and died out about ten seconds later. The robot was relatively undamaged, but it still suffered minor cosmetic burns.

Teitoku was not as lucky.

As soon as he transferred the mana, recited the incantation Ricane gave him, and activated the magic, his body started to attack itself. He felt the blood vessels in his body explode, massive pain erupted in his head, and all the energy in his body started to fade. He fell out of the chair, and staggered on the floor. His bloody hand reached up to his head, which felt like it was being cleaved in half. He coughed and blood flew out of his mouth. His entire body was shaking and couldn't support his weight any longer. He laid on the floor twitching slightly, as his vision started to fade. He only had the strength to mumble a few words. "Another f^$& % failure."

When all life signs ended, his body collapsed and disappeared.

"Still a disappointment," the real Teitoku said, stepping into the room and looking at the spot his dark matter clone had disappeared at. "That's what, the 101st failure today?"

"There are a lot of adjustments to make a clone capable of withstanding the conflicting laws," Ricane explained, following Teitoku into the room. "You managed to actually finish casting the spell with the clone before it died."

"The progress is not happening fast enough," Teitoku muttered angrily, slamming his fist down on the table, and causing it to shatter under the force of his blow. "I can only produce enough mana to cast a spell small enough for level 2s to easily surpass. Then the clone goes and dies. The only good thing about it is the backlash doesn't come through my links with the clone, so I can still stay connected with them until their death."

"The fact you can produce mana at all is quite impressive," Ricane told him, scanning the tablet in his hand. "Most people take months to produce even the smallest amount of mana. I suppose being a genius and having me for your teacher is probably the reason. Right now, we are prioritizing creating a clone that can use magic, over you learning the specifics and theories of magic. That can take years to master even a small fraction. Once we have that clone perfected, we do a lot to speed up your progress. You can also practice refining mana on your own time without me, as long as you don't try to actually use magic. I would hate all this work to go to waste."

"Your theories are all well and good," Teitoku told him. "But it's pointless without a useable clone. This is taking too long. My time is valuable."

"Do you think so little of me you think what I am doing is random?" Ricane asked, and Teitoku turned to look directly at him. "I have been systematically going through and monitoring everything to the smallest shred of data. Think of this as the Master Mind game that was popular in the city many years back. You simply go through possibilities to determine what is working and what is not." He turned his tablet toward Teitoku. "Let's try one last clone tonight," he said. "Use these variables when making it."

"I better see real progress this time," Teitoku muttered. He read the charts and started to create the clone with specific types of dark matter. He was actually surprised at how close to a human his clones could look like under Ricane's guidance. Even the matter used to replicate blood looked normal, several steps above the clone used to face the Meltdowner days before. It took a minute, but he then had an exact duplicate of himself standing next to him. Ricane passed him another premade rune card and the clone turned toward the robot. The dark matter clone repeated the same process the previous one did. The fire rune had the same impact, as the magic didn't change, but neither Ricane nor Teitoku cared about that. They both only cared about watching the clone's reaction. When the rune card exploded, the clone collapsed onto the floor. Teitoku felt rage build up within him and he was about to turn on Ricane, when he realized something.

The clone was still alive.

It was unconscious and took some serious damage, but it was alive. "Finally," Teitoku laughed loudly. "It survived the laws. Now we just need to reduce the damage they receive. A one shot weapon is kind of pointless, unless it has the force of a large bomb."

"I got some interesting data too," Ricane said, looking at some charts. "Some dark matter is better at resisting the laws, but combinations of other matter, that doesn't resist at all, actually make improved substances. May take longer than initially expected, but we are ahead of schedule. Are things progressing well on your side?"

"About what we expected," Teitoku said dismissively, keeping his eyes on his clone. "I have a clone overseeing it and we lost a few lab rats, but some have shown progress. The biggest issue is over loading their brains and causing them to kill themselves. We need to work out that small kink." He reached out a hand into the air. "I'm going to show that bastard I'm not just a backup plan. Accelerator and all those that oppose me will be crushed."

That night, an announcement was sent through all of Academy City. While most of the city met it with interest, some people reacted in completely opposite extremes. There was a group of people who were excited about the news, and a group of people who were furious. An entire building was destroyed about an hour after the announcement.

Due to the results of the most recent system scan, Level 5, Misaki Shokuhou, aka Mental Out, has been promoted to Level 5, rank 4.

Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.

Motoharu: Looks like Kami-yan has finished the break through with Shokuhou and Misaka. So does that mean Mugino is next or will he go after the princess?

Pierce: You know what he's like. He will probably try to work on both of them at the same time.

Shizuri: What bullshit are you two spewing? I have nothing for him to break through.

Carissa: When I show up again, all hell is going to break loose.

Accelerator: Looks like those two are jealous.

Me: So by popular demand, I think I am going to let you all do the opening announcements again. Who wants to go first?

Lessar: I DO, I DO!

Me: No.

Lessar: Why?

Me: I don't want to censure every answer you give.

Lessar Come on, please?

Mikoto, Index, Misaki: NO! Don't let her.

Me: Can you keep the sexual innuendos to a bare minimum?

Lessar: Aww, fine.

Touma: This probably isn't a good idea…

Me: Lessar is up first, she technically asked.

Motoharu: This is going to be great.