Hey everybody, Motoharu Tsuchimikado is back and ready to answer all your questions. When I first did this, I didn't get a lot of people respond, but scanning over the reviews from last chapter, there are a lot more. It seems like Kami-yan is having too much fun the last few days. This cannot stand. I'm working with the author to ensure we give the maximum amount of misfortune to him, while at the same time, giving entertainment value for all. The author pretty much is letting me do whatever I want in the story to help introduce a new character.

Brosephg: If he broke out of his shell and accepted the harem? Hmmm, a lot could happen. I don't think the hero genes are hereditary, but I'm sure Kami-yan will pass it on to at least one of his children. The legacy of the Harem King can't die. I bet his first child will inherit it, so whoever is first wins. HEAR THAT GIRLS?!

wildarms13: Then he dies. In an accident. No evidence of foul play.

Yakutsu Zaishiro: That's tough, because their ranking keeps changing. We put it on computer and just give them points now to keep the rankings updated. Right now, there are two girls slightly in the lead, but many are right behind them. Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san have a very narrow lead, but ONLY because they spend the most time with him. Lots of other girls are close behind, and I think if they, especially Ruiko get a chance alone with Kami-yan, they could pull ahead.

Anon: I don't see a problem. It's part of her training as a maid to make meals. If other girls want to make use of her skills, that's fine. Now if she wants to give one to some other guy…

Salishious: I can't answer that because I don't trust the security on these comments and who knows if those two are listening. They probably are.

d3mystic: Never suggest such a thing again…. Or you may disappear.

RPGPersona: He's just showing off. It's a great type, and the fact he got her to stay in character, but it still doesn't compare to younger sisters.

Syko-Soldier963: We have to study it to find out how it works. If we can find girls immune to it, we can develop a cure.

Anon Guest: Ah, you don't know her ability. If we don't act as her outlet, she's just going to keep growing more powerful until no one can stop her. We suffer for mankind.

Guest 10032: Just out of those two? Probably a witch. Right now you can do a lot more kinky things with magic then science.

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 start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly.

"Thank you for helping me this afternoon," Mitsuko said to Touma, as they left the vet's office. Touma was preoccupied carrying Ekaterina in her cage. The doctors had to give her a little anesthesia, to perform a complete checkup, and now she was fast asleep. "But I have to ask, all those things that happened to you, is that normal? You didn't seem surprised at all, yet a normal person would have."

"I tend to have some misfortunate events happen to me from time to time," Touma replied, deciding not to tell her the true extent of that statement. They had gotten a bite to eat at a nearby cafe, Touma nearly had a heart attack because of the prices, but Mitsuko said for him to order anything he wanted and she was paying. They spent the rest of the time talking and Touma found out quite a few things about her. While she may have been raised in a sheltered life, in typical ojou-sama fashion, she sounded like a caring person. She talked highly of her friends and her school, while Touma listened. He talked a little bit about his classes, but he was uncomfortable in the fancy environment, so he just let her dominate the conversation.

Then his misfortune kicked in.

First, a waitress walking behind him tripped and dropped a platter of food all over him. Touma sighed, but reassured her and Mitsuko he was fine and that he just needed napkins to clean himself off. Near the end of the meal, one of the legs of his chair snapped and he fell backwards with a loud crash. This time, the manager came personally to check on him and solve any problems. Mitsuko started to tell him off angrily for buying faulty furniture, but Touma quickly stopped her. He didn't want to cause anyone trouble and a replacement chair was immediately brought out for him. Mitsuko looked like she wanted to say something, but her phone rang and the vet's office called, letting her know Ekaterina was ready to be picked up. They had left the café when a couple young kids, obviously having snuck away from their parents, ran by them, but the last one decided Touma needed to be pranked. Touma found his pants lying around his ankles a moment later, as the kids ran away laughing and pointing. Several nearby people laughed at his predicament too, but Mitsuko was at a loss for words. Her face had flushed bright red and looked away, while Touma pulled his pants back up.

"Well I have to admit I was surprised," Mitsuko told him. "You kept calm throughout the entire situation and didn't once blame anyone else."

"It's not like they did it on purpose," Touma pointed out. "And those kids were just being kids. There's no reason to get mad at them."

"That's quite mature of you," Mitsuko complimented. "After talking with you this evening, I believe you were telling me the truth about why you were at the dorms. Promise me you won't do that again and I won't bring up that unfortunate encounter. You have my, Mitsuko Kongou's, word."

"Thanks for that Kongou-san," Touma said, grateful they could put that behind them. "Are we leaving then?"

"Yes," Mitsuko confirmed. "While I would love the shop around her a bit, I need to get Ekaterina home. It has been a long day for her and I want to meet up with my friends too."

"Okay," Touma said, planning to walk toward the elevators, when a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Hey Kamijou, it's super unlike you to be in a place like this." Touma turned around and saw Saiai, Frenda, and a blonde haired boy around his age, who he saw pick up Shizuri's group at the airport. As he got closer, Touma one again felt like he had seen him before, but he couldn't remember where. He made eye contact with the boy and Touma felt like the boy grimaced at him for a moment, before they realized each of them were carrying the girl's belongings. A guy moment happened between them and they sighed simultaneously.

"Ah hey Saiai," Touma replied, slightly nervously. He wasn't exactly sure what they were going to say in front of Mitsuko. Why did I run into people who know me? Is the universe playing a practical joke on me again? "Frenda."

Frenda smiled and waved to him, and then her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Mitsuko. "Who's your friend?"

"My name is Mitsuko Kongou," Mitsuko replied, slightly arrogantly. "You know, it's rather rude to ask for someone's name without introducing yourself first, but I'll overlook it this time."

"Frenda," she answered, before turning back to Kamijou. "What are you up to Kamijou?" She leaned forward and whispered, so only Touma could here. "Basically, Mugino is going to be pissed you ruined that suit after she leant it to you. You tore and stained it."

"How did you know she lent it to me?" Touma asked bewildered, but just as quietly.

"You couldn't afford one like that and wouldn't steal it," Frenda whispered back. "Basically, it was obvious."

"Are these girls friends of yours?" Mitsuko asked Touma, her eyes narrowing at Frenda. Mitsuko opened her fan and held it up to her chin.

"What's it to you?" Frenda asked irritated.

"I just don't like how rude you are," Mitsuko answered. "I'm surprised he can be so mature with friends like you." Both of them glared at each other and sparks flew between them.

"He really seems to have a gift with every girl he meets," Saiai muttered. "How come it doesn't work on me?"

"It's probably only cute girls," Shiage sighed absentmindedly. This guy's a level 0 too, so how does he not only get Mugino and Frenda to respect him, but also such a hot babe? He felt a shiver down his spine and he finally realized the mistake he made. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Saiai glaring at him with pure loathing etched on her face.

"Would you care to repeat that?" she asked in a falsely sweet voice, like poisoned honey. She reached over and grabbed his upper arm. Using the nitrogen in the air, she was able to generate immense pressure. Shiage felt the blood flow to his hand start ebbing away and knew, if he didn't do anything fast, his arm was about to be separated from his body.

"I meant," Shiage amended, thinking quickly. "You have such an advanced aesthetic sense of beauty, someone like me or him would never be able to understand it."

"That's what I thought you said." Saiai let go of him and he started rubbing his bruised arm.

"Come on Kamijou," Frenda continued to prod Touma. "You haven't hung out with us in forever."

"I need to help carry her pet to the car," Touma protested truthfully. He wasn't trying to weasel his way out of going with her because he disliked Frenda, but he had promised to escort Mitsuko that afternoon. Saiai walked over and squatted down next to the cage to take a look.

"Wow," she said. "That's a super big snake."

"Her name is Ekaterina and she is a python," Mitsuko informed her. "Don't just call her a big snake." She turned to Touma. "I need to get going so can you take her to the limo?"

"No problem," Touma replied, before turning back to Frenda and Saiai. "Let me help her first and then we can talk." Frenda nodded and Saiai started whispering to Shiage. He and Mitsuko took an elevator down to the ground floor, while Frenda, Saiai, and Shiage took the other.

"If you want," Mitsuko told him. "After you set Ekaterina in the car, you can go with your friends. I have occupied your time long enough and it would be rude of me to intrude any longer."

"Will you be alright?" Touma asked. He knew he could just take the bus back without any trouble, but he didn't want Mitsuko to get lost. He noticed she seemed to be bad with directions.

"My driver can take me right back to the dorms," Mitsuko said, smiling. "But thank you for your concern." They made their way to the limo, which was out front already, and Touma loaded the carrier. "I had more fun than I thought I would tonight. I set out to rehabilitate you and find out you didn't really need it."

"Thanks for that," Touma said sincerely. "If you ever need help with anything else, just let me know."

"I'll keep that offer in mind," Mitsuko replied, still smiling. "You can keep my number, think of it as a reward for your hard work." She gave a slight wave, before entering the limo. The driver closed the door behind her, went to his seat, and took off. Touma watched them until they were out of sight, before turning back to the Dianoid. Frenda, Saiai, and Shaige were standing outside, waiting for him to finish. He sighed, steadied himself, and walked up to them.

"Thanks for waiting," Touma told them. "Did you have to act like that with her?" Touma asked Frenda. "I was just helping her bring her pet to the vet."

"She just rubbed me the wrong way," Frenda answered unhelpfully. She was purposely avoiding Touma's eyes.

"I wonder why," Saiai muttered, snickering. Shiage couldn't stop his own laughter and tried to cover it with a cough.

"Don't I know you from somewhere," Touma asked Shiage. "I feel like I have…"

"Do you seriously not remember?" Shiage asked incredulously. "It was your fault I... Ouch!" He hopped on one foot after Frenda kicked him in the shins.

"It's not like you remembered him at first either," Frenda snapped. "Basically, don't try to act so high and mighty."

"You can't insult him in front of her," Saiai laughed. "She super gets defensive…mph." Frenda reached over and covered Saiai's mouth with her hand.

"I can't believe how differently she treats us," Shiage muttered. "She always belittled level 0s since I met her. I had to prove myself and she still does it." Something about the way he complained about being a level 0 jogged something in Touma's memory.

"I remember now," Touma said, taking a step back. "You're that guy in charge of trying to kill…" But before he could finish, Shiage cut him off.

"Don't say stuff like that out here so loudly," he interrupted. "You want to get us all in trouble? Besides, thanks to you, I don't do stuff like that anymore."

"Really?" Touma asked, slightly suspicious. He remembered when this boy, who was around his own age, and his group tried to kill Misuzu Misaka, Mikoto's mother. From what he understood with their brief exchange, the boy didn't believe he had a choice because he believed Level 0s had to prove themselves. Touma managed to stop him and made sure he realized Level 0s were people like everyone else and didn't have to prove themselves to live a good life. Touma's last memory of that situation was knocking him out and then waking up in an ambulance with Misuzu thanking him. I'm glad he's changed, if it's true. He doesn't have to go around killing people to prove himself. Touma did not believe in holding grudges, so as long as the boy did change, and he wouldn't let the past prevent him from moving forward.

"He super works for Mugino now," Saiai told him. "Oh, his name is Shiage Hamazura. He's not that great, but he has some uses."

"Basically," Frenda added, shrugging superiorly. "His best skill is being our driver."

"I see how valuable I am to you all," Shiage said depressed.

"Come on," Touma said. "He's a lot more capable then you are giving him credit for." Saiai and Frenda looked at him with surprise, along with Shiage. "Oh," Touma added as an afterthought. "I never formally introduced myself, Touma Kamijou." He reached out a hand.

He's defending me? Shiage thought, as he reached out and shook Touma's hand. After he got so pissed at me for trying to kill that woman? Is he stupid or what? Is this how he got respect with Mugino? Damn, I could learn from him. Maybe he can give me tips for hooking up with Takitsubo.

"Wasn't he your enemy before?" Frenda asked incredulously.

"He's not anymore," Touma explained simply. "I'm not going to live in the past. If I tried to stay away from everyone who fought me once, you all wouldn't be my friends."

"He's super got a point," Saiai said. "Mugino tried to fry him the first time they met."

"How did you survive that?" Shiage asked shocked. "Aren't you a level 0 like me?"

"I am," Touma confirmed. "But I…" He didn't get a chance to finish.

"Only Mugino can tell you about that," Frenda interrupted. "Basically, if she chooses not to, you don't need to know."

"Why don't you super make yourself useful and get the car," Saiai added. Shiage sighed and started walking to where he parked. He heard Saiai turn back and engage Touma in conversation. "What's Accelerator been up to lately? I haven't seen him and he super doesn't like to return my messages."

"Why do you two treat him like a liability?" Touma asked. "And Accelerator seems fine, though I just see him at school mostly…"

What the…? He knows Accelerator too? Is he really a level 0? What kind of skills does he have to be able to hang out with level 5s if he is? Damn, I need him to teach me everything he knows. Maybe I can finally get some respect.

Touma was immensely grateful Shizuri was not at the apartment when he, Frenda, Saiai, and Shiage arrived. They had swung by a storage locker, where Touma had deposited his old clothes, before heading back. He was not looking forward to explaining to Shizuri how he had stained and torn the suit she had let him borrow, something Saiai and Frenda were constantly needling him about. At the very least, I'm going to have to work for them to pay it off. Shiage looked a little more pleasant, glad that someone else besides him could be the target of the girl's jokes. Touma had changed back into his old clothes, feeling a lot more comfortable, before rejoining Shiage in the main room. After talking with him a bit in the car, Touma learned a little about Shiage's time in Skill-Out which led him down the path of trying to kill Misuzu. "Oh, do you know what happened to Mugino's arm? It was in a cast, but I didn't get a chance to ask."

"One of our missions ran into some problem," Shiage told him. "We fought an army of humanoid robots while guarding a research laboratory. It seems like Mugino fought the leader and was buried under rubble and suffered a minor fracture. It's almost fully healed now. You know how good Academy City's technology is."

"Does it have something to do with the research information being stolen?" Touma asked. "Is that why you were guarding the facility?"

"You heard about that?" Saiai asked interestedly, walking into the room and sitting down on a sofa chair. "Mugino had Takitsubo download the data from facility before she super brought it down. She was trying to crack the data to see what we were guarding and what the enemy was after. She must have super found out because she and Takitsubo are both gone."

"Yea," Touma muttered, leaning back on the couch. "I heard some organization was raising low levels abilities too. Seems like there would be a connection."

"I actually stumbled into one of those meeting," Shiage told him. "There was a group promising the world, but I don't have any information about if they are succeeding or not."

"You should have super stayed and found out," Saiai told him.

"I didn't want to risk my life on something like that," Shiage countered.

"It was probably a good idea not to stay," Touma agreed. "For all you know, these guys just want to use you as Guinea pigs. You accept the risks and they reap the rewards."

"When did you get so smart on the workings of underground organizations?" Saiai asked surprised.

"I know a couple people with ties to Judgement," Touma admitted. "They told me a lot about it. Plus some people who have dabbled in the same side you all worked in."

"Well I don't get to do much," Shiage admitted. "I just have to rescue them when things go south." He felt like bragging a bit, now that there was another guy in the group.

"You should super rephrase that to admit you're just the getaway driver," Saiai told him harshly and Shiage snapped his mouth shut. Appearing satisfied, she turned back to Touma with a malicious idea. "Hey Kamijou, I left a magazine on my bed, Can you get it for me? I'm still super sore from our mission earlier this week. Second door on the right."

"Eh sure," Touma replied getting up and heading for the bedroom.

"Wait," Shiage said, turning to Saiai. "Isn't that…?"

"Sure is." Both of them turned to enjoy the show.

"I'M SORRRRYYYYY!" Touma yelled a second later and Frenda's scream followed right afterwards. Touma had opened the door to retrieve Saiai's magazine, when he encountered Frenda in the middle of changing. She had been examining some of her new outfits and lost track of time. She was just about to change back to her casual clothes, when Touma walked in. She only had the lower half of her blue underwear on and he got an eyeful. A second later, she threw one of her black shoes as hard as she could right at his face. He fell backwards, hit his head, and the door slammed in front of him. Touma had managed to sit up straight when Frenda opened the door, fully clothed this time, and proceeded to kick him as he tried to defend himself.

"You… do… not… enter… a… girl's… room… without… knocking," she told him in between blows.

"That was mean," Shiage told Saiai, but he was laughing pretty hard.

"Frenda super wanted it," Saiai replied shrugging, but she was laughing too.

Touma finally was able to drag himself back to his apartment. He was sore and aching all over, Frenda had not been merciful, and he hesitated a moment before opening the door. I hope I gave Index and Lessar enough money for food. I don't think I can face a hungry Index right now. He slowly opened the door and carefully took a step in. The lights were off and Touma briefly thought they might already be asleep, even though it was still early. He took another step in and closed the door silently behind him. As soon as the lock clicked into place, the lights turned on. Touma blinked in surprised and looked around, before noticing a familiar figure kneeling on the floor in front of him.

"Hello darling," Lessar told him, looking up. She was wearing her normal clothes, except she also had an apron on over them. "Welcome home. Would you like dinner, a bath, or maybe… me?" she pulled at her outfit slightly to reveal her shoulder.

"Lessar?" Touma asked, covering his eyes with his hand. "What are you doing? And where's Index?"

"I wanted to help out around here," Lessar told him. "But I don't have money and I'm terrible at housework. So the best way I could help you was to relieve all your stress when you get home." She grinned. "I'll do ANYTHING to allow you to release it all."

"You are actually just stressing me out more," Touma protested, avoiding eye contact as his ears burned. "Where's Index?" he asked again.

"She's around…" Lessar answered nonchalantly, but Index's voice floated into the entranceway.

"Touma!" she cried out. "Thank God you are back. Untie me quick before Lessar gets her way." Touma rushed into the room and saw Index lying on the bed, her hands and feet tied up with bedsheets. Touma quickly tried to remove the covers as Index continued to rat out Lessar. "She said she was going to eat any snacks you bring back before I can have any."

"Wait what?" Touma asked, completely cut off guard. "I left you both lunch and then money for supper."

"You forgot there are two of us now," Index reprimanded him, rubbing her wrists now that she was free. "If it wasn't for Short Hair and Ruiko, we would have starved."

"Sparky really saved us," Lessar agreed. "Index ate all the lunch and didn't leave me anything, and then she wouldn't share any of the money for dinner."

"I need to keep up my strength to serve God and help others," Index said, avoiding eye contact.

Touma sighed, glad everything worked out and his financial situation didn't fall into the black. He still had a little saved up, but feeding two other people was going to take its toll soon enough. I need to thank Mikoto for feeding them when I get a chance. I also need to check with Jason about the research incidents, and I suppose I could ask if I could participate in any more experiments to earn some money. It pays well. While he was distracted with his thoughts, Lessar took the sneak up on Touma and jump on his back.

"Well," she said. "Now that you are back how about we go on your bed and I show you how flexible I can be to relieve all your tension."

"A girl your age shouldn't be saying those things," Touma told her, as he tried to avoid the images popping into his mind..

"You can't," Index protested, waving her hands and glaring at Touma.

"It's okay," Lessar told her, patting her on the head. "We can share. You can take the top and I'll take the bottom."

"W-what?!" Index and Touma both stared at her in shock. Index was more confused than shocked though because she didn't understand what Lessar meant. Touma had to dive into the bathroom and the lock the door, before Index could figure out what Lessar was talking about. He lied down in the tub and pulled out his phone. He was debating sending a text message to Carissa, but her last text was still fresh in his mind. Would she be mad if she doesn't hear from me? Is she even mad at me in the first place? She could just be messing with me. I suppose I should keep talking to her in hopes she continues to work for her people instead of against them. He stared at his phone for a bit before finally deciding on a question he had been curious to know.

Is there any word on when you will be released from solitary?

He never did receive a response and that just caused him more worry.

Touma didn't notice the girl standing across the street, as he entered his dorm. Hyouka Kazakiri wanted to call out to him, but she wasn't able to. A war was being waged inside of her mind about if she should involve her friends in her trouble. She needed help against the strange group of people chasing her. They were powerful and she was barely able to escape them. Touma had always told her if she ever needed help to come to him, but she was afraid. Not that he would say no, but that the group would hurt him and Index. What should I do? I don't want my friends to get hurt, but I can't do this alone. She took a couple steps toward Touma's dorm, stopped, clenched her fists in frustration, and vanished. Her last thought was, I need to stand up for myself.

"I'm telling you Kami," Pierce said the next day, as he cut across him on the race track. He, Touma, Motoharu, and, miraculously, Accelerator were at the local arcade killing time after school. Pierce and Touma were competing in a racing game on stationed motorcycles, while Motoharu stood behind them commenting. "Everything is set up perfectly and guaranteed we will all get enough extra credit to avoid summer classes. Though, extra lessons with sensei wouldn't be bad."

"I just don't want to die," Touma groaned, trying to slip around Piece, who seemed focused on making sure Touma finished last rather than actually winning. "If we try to take over Tokiwadai, all that's going to happen is all those ojou-sama types are going to make our lives hell. Plus there are other people I don't want to see me doing this…" Mikoto was the first person to pop into his mind, because he had received a text from her earlier in the day.

Kagere went too far in pranking Kuroko, she's out for blood. Warn him if he's with you.

Seriously, Touma thought to himself when he read that message. He doesn't show up to school since Monday and still finds time to prank Shirai? His priorities are messed up. He probably deserves whatever Shirai has in mind.

"Worried about all your other girlfriends?" Motoharu asked, a huge grin on his face, snapping Touma back to the present. "We did debate on sieging the middle school, but we knew you would have an objection to that."

"I have an objection to trying to sneak into any girl's school," Touma explained exasperatedly. The race ended and he hopped off the bike. He got in last place, while Pierce shot off ahead at the last minute and finished second.

"Yet you need to participate," Pierce laughed. "Not only for you, but for all of us, who worked hard to make it happen."

"Kagere notified me he would have everything set up behind our school," Motoharu told both of them. "Transportation, supplies, and other necessities.

"If he had just shown up at school," Touma replied. "He could have told us that himself. And why does he only reply to you? I can barely get anything from him." Of course, Touma had asked if Jason knew anything about the recent break-ins or illegal ability research going on, rather than something stupid like trying to break into an all-girl's school. His replies were rather snippy.

First, research is classified until we are allowed to release it. Second, you know phone messages are trackable. Do you want Anti-Skill showing up at your dorm asking if you know about stolen research?

Touma knew Jason had a point, and he would have to wait to meet him in person to discuss what he knew. Thinking about the messages, Touma realized Jason gave him a clue that he did know something. I only mentioned break-ins, but his replied mentioned stolen research. He was telling me something for sure.

"Hey what happened to Accelerator?" asked Pierce, looking around. "Did he try to bail when we were distracted?"

"Nah," Motoharu answered, and they both heard the sheer amount of amusement in his voice. "He wanted to play a different game and now he got quite an audience. He's rather popular with kids." Touma was confused, but he and Pierce followed Motoharu around a row of games and saw Accelerator. He was playing one of those shooting games, where instead of a joysticks and buttons, the remote was a replica of a gun. He was leaning on his crutch for balance and using his other hand to shoot. A large crowd of kids had swarmed around him and cheering him on excitedly. As they got closer, they heard the kids talking, but Accelerator seemed to be oblivious to all of them.

"Wow, he's blowing away the previous high score."

"Do you think he's going to get a perfect score?

"I don't know, but he hasn't missed a single shot yet, or even been hit."

"When he gets involved in something," Pierce commented impressed. "He tends to ignore everything else."

"At least he seems to be enjoying himself," Touma said. He was glad Accelerator had the chance to act like a normal high school students after the nightmarish things the city made him go through. The fact he can stand there and play video games shows how strong he really is. They only had to wait another couple of minutes for Accelerator to beat the game. The word perfect flashed across the screen and he put the first three letters of his name into the game, before turning around, smirking slightly to himself. He then noticed the crowd of kids around him.

"What the…"

"You're really good mister," a kid said, tugging on his shirt. "How did you get so good?"

"Practice," mumbled Accelerator, trying to get out from the mess of kids crowding around him. There was no way he was going to tell all those kids he used a real gun before. He was obviously uncomfortable to everyone except the kids, who only stared at him with wide eyed amazement. He noticed his friends leaning up against other machines, watching him, with slight grins on all of their faces. He made his way over to them and growled, "Not a word…"

"Whatever do you mean," Motoharu laughed, slapping him on the back, as they left the arcade. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"If you make it to stupid," Accelerator told him. "I'm bailing."

"Or I'm sure you will be entertained," Pierce added. "Kami will be in charge of having to use his prowess in keeping all the ladies there. You get the fun part of stopping any police trying to capture us. I'm sure you can do that, after all…" he paused for dramatic effect, "If they get past you, it means they beat you."

"That won't work this time," Accelerator snapped, turning away from Pierce and thinking. He knew his friends constantly used his pride of being the strongest against him to get him to join in on their shenanigans. He didn't really care much about that anymore, even though it used to be the most important thing for him. He only needed to show he was the strongest in front of Last Order, or protecting one of the few people near him. Damn, how long has that list been growing? It's a pain in the ass. It's not like I can become a hero. My past is too stained in blood. He kept telling himself these kinds of things, but they held less and less weight every passing day. He only pretended to go along with them because it gave him a convenient excuse. "I'll participate as long as I feel like it, no more. It gets me away from Worst at least. She's been a real pain the last few days because Last Order has the wrong idea about me and…" He stopped when he realized he almost said something he was bound to regret.

"Go on," Motoharu prompted.

"Bite me." He wasn't planning to tell his friends about Estelle, but he wasn't sure how long it would be before Mikoto and the other girls leak it to them.

"Probably another girl in his harem," Pierce said, while nodding sagely. "He's definitely begun forming one. You think he's jealous of Kami's harem?"

"I think so," Motoharu replied, keeping a determinedly straight face. "I mean, being the number one, he could hardly come in second to Kami-yan's."

"What bullshit are you two spewing now?" Accelerator snapped.

"How many times do I have to tell you two?" Touma asked exasperatedly. "I don't have a harem."

"Bull," Accelerator said, looking at him. "You're the only person in the world who would deny that."

"Don't you join those two idiots."

"How many girls did you invite to England last week?"

"They are my FRIENDS. Besides, you brought two and brought it up in front of Mugino and the others."

"You didn't have to invite them."

"I was going to die if I didn't."

"Pssh, I doubt that. You complain about dying a lot, but here you are. You're tougher to kill then a cockroach."

"Isn't it sad when you see best friends fighting?" Motoharu asked to Pierce, who nodded.

"Shut up," Touma and Accelerator said simultaneously, rounding on them. "You're the ones who started this stupid subject in the first place."

"Wow," Pierce said impressed. "They are even in sync."

"So let me get this straight," Motoharu interrupted, before the argument could escalate. "Kami-yan, if I am hearing this correctly, are you saying you do not have, or ever had, a harem?"

"Have you been ignoring everything I have been telling you?" Touma asked bewildered at the direction the conversation was going.

"Just wanted to verify for the record," Motoharu explained. "You see, we," he indicated himself, and Pierce, "have all observed your harem and believe you do have one."

"Because you two are idiots," Touma pointed out.

"I've seen it to," Accelerator commented. "Are you going to call me an idiot?" He looked at Touma, who shook his head.

"Before you get into name calling," Pierce said. "Let us finish. We talked about this in detail."

"We decided on something to prove to you Kami-yan," Motoharu continued. "That you do have a harem. I got the idea from something that happened to Kagere."

"Damn it," Touma moaned. "This isn't going to be good, is it?" Accelerator gave a brief laugh at his expression, but was listening and now completely amused.

"Depends what your definition of good is," Pierce said. "But if you are completely sure you don't have a harem, keep listening."

"Remember when Kagere and Shirai-san had that bet?" Motoharu asked and Touma nodded. "We thought of something similar."

"Oh no no no," Touma answered quickly, taking a step back with his hand outstretched. "I have seen enough of bets to know they are never a good idea. First Mikoto did it once, then Jason and Shirai-san, I'm not getting involved."

"Oh I remember that," Accelerator muttered, before turning to Pierce. "What was the end result?"

"You never saw?" Pierce asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Here's a picture of the outfit Kagere made her wear." Accelerator took a brief look and let out a bark like laugh.

"Not bad," he said nodding. "Serves the brat right. She's rather annoying."

"She's also the best candidate for him if he wants to start his own harem," Pierce added, putting away his phone. "You are all lucky bastards. Seriously, how do you all do this?"

"Being better then others," Accelerator told him.

"I don't have a ha…" Touma started to protest, before Motoharu interrupted.

"As I was saying," he told them all, moving them back to the topic of the bet. "We devised a way to prove you have a harem Kami-yan. You have the power to attract girls and we are willing to put a lot on the line to prove it. If we are wrong, I'm sure you will appreciate the stakes."

"I'm not going to take the bet," Touma told him again. "But to humor you, fine, tell me."

"The wager is this," Motoharu explained, a huge grin forming on his face. Got him. "If you win, we will never say you have a harem again." Touma's eyes went wide.

"Seriously?"

"But if we win," Motoharu continued. "You can never deny you have a harem, ever again. What do you think? Not bad stakes right?"

"Is that all there is to it?" Touma asked suspiciously.

"Doesn't seem like much," Accelerator added. "Sounds like you two are getting the losing end of the deal." He knew Motoharu and Pierce liked needling Touma about his harem, but he didn't care either way. No matter who won the bet, he would win. Motoharu and Pierce would be stressed out from not being able to make fun of Touma, or Touma would get stressed out from not being able to deny having a harem. I support this.

"You didn't hear what the actual bet was," Pierce reminded them. "Those are just the outcomes."

"Fine," Touma said. They won't say I have a harem ever again? This is too good of a deal to pass off. It's so embarrassing and disrespectful when they say it in front of my friends. He didn't want them to say it in front of people like Ruiko and Mikoto, so he was looking forward to finally getting them to stop. "What's the actual bet?"

"Just this," Motoharu explained. "We are going to watch you ask a random girl out. If she says yes, we win, if she says no, you win."

"W-What?" Touma coughed. "Just a random girl?"

"You have to try though," Pierce clarified. "You can't just walk up to someone and say you are only asking her out because of a bet. It's why we are going to watch you. If she says yes, you are on your own."

"Arg," Touma groaned, grabbing his head. He really wanted to get his friends to stop suggesting he has a harem, but asking a random girl out didn't sit right with him. I don't have experience asking a girl out. Mikoto and Misaki both asked me out. Maybe I should just do it? Isn't the point of asking someone out to get to know them? But if I ask someone randomly, there's no feelings involved. That really wouldn't be fair to them. To give himself more time to try to solve this dilemma, he looked at Motoharu and Pierce. "Anything else?"

"How about this?" Motoharu suggested, he stopped and everyone else imitated him. "See that street corner?" Touma nodded. "The first girl who walks around there is the one you have to ask." Before Touma could respond, Pierce interrupted.

"I thought the main purpose of this was to see if Kami Disease could affect random girls," he said to Motoharu. "This would be pointless if someone who knows him already walked around the corner. It needs to be someone he doesn't know."

"Good point," Motoharu agreed, before turning back to Touma. "First girl you don't know who walks around that corner."

"I don't know about this," Touma said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "This seems kind of sleazy."

"Just do it," Accelerator sighed. "You know how those two are. They won't let it drop. Worst that will happen is you get slapped and she walks away in disgust."

"You seem to underestimate my misfortune," Touma told him and Accelerator smirked at him.

"Yea," Motoharu agreed. "With Kami-yan I expect him to ask the girlfriend of a gang leader at least."

"Then he starts getting chased by twenty people," Pierce added.

"With weapons."

"So he takes a shortcut through a shop."

"And tries to hide in the bathroom and slip out the window."

"Before realizing he accidently went into the women's bathroom."

"He then gets beaten by a girl with a purse, as he tries to escape."

"Then the girl falls in love with him…."

"OKAY!" Touma said firmly. "We get it."

"Do you accept?" Motoharu asked, extending a hand. Touma looked at it for a moment, before grudgingly reaching out and shaking his hand. "Great, go ahead. We will wait here."

"You're going to regret this," Touma muttered, as he walked toward the street corner. "You won't be able to say I have a harem ever again."

"I doubt that Kami-yan," Motoharu replied. He and Pierce broke out laughing, and even Accelerator gave a small chuckle.

Let's get this over with, Touma thought to himself, as he leaned up against the wall of the corner building. He expected a girl to pass by quickly, so he could get rejected quickly enough. Several minutes passed and only a couple men and an elderly woman passed. He had glanced over at Motoharu to make sure girl meant, someone around his age, and Motoharu nodded. Thank god. It would be embarrassing to ask someone several times my age out. And creepy, definitely creepy. He yawned for a moment and turned his attention back to the street corner. After waiting about ten minutes, a girl finally passed him and he took a step towards her. "Excuse me," he said, trying to keep his tone level.

"Yes?" the girl replied, almost haughtily, turning around and looking at him. She was obviously younger then him, but not by much. Her short blonde hair didn't cover up her bright blue eyes. She had a petite figure and almost no chest, which made her look younger then she probably was. Her clothing was unusual, but reminded Touma of some stylish dresses he saw in the Dianoid. The dress was white and she wore black stockings, which gave Touma a grand piano like impression. "What do you want?"

"Well," Touma said, rubbing the back of his head. He could feel her staring at him and her words didn't make this any easier. Did I get paired with another ojou-sama type? Just my luck. "I saw you walking by and just wanted to ask…" He paused for a moment to gather his nerve. "Do you want to go out with me today?" He stood there feeling completely foolish and his ears started to burn. Asking someone else is nerve wracking. He had new found appreciation for Mikoto and Misaki being able to actually confess.

"Hmm," the girl said, eyes widening slightly, but then a small grin formed on her mouth. Her eyes seemed to be scanning him up and down, and he felt like her eyes got slightly colder and more calculating. "That's quite bold of you, approaching me in the middle of the street. I don't dislike bravery. What's your name?"

"Touma Kamijou."

"Okay," she said, while looking around, and then suddenly appeared cheerful. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him after her. "I'll go out with you, but I'm going to choose the place. We have so much to… discuss." The way she said that last word sent a small shiver down his spine, but he didn't know why.

"Uh," he asked. "What's your name?" Oh crap, she agreed, that means Tsuchimikado won the bet. He's never going to let me live this down. But what do I do if she actually thinks I have feelings for her? If we talk for a bit, she will probably see we aren't compatible and can call it quits. There's no way an ojou-sama will like someone like me.

"Leivinia Birdway," she told him. "But you can just call me Birdway."

Meanwhile, Motoharu, Pierce, and Accelerator watched Touma being dragged off by the random girl. "Damn it Kami," Pierce raged, slamming a fist onto the table they were sitting at. "How do you do that? She was a cute loli too. Stop being so lucky."

"I didn't expect him to work his magic so fast either," admitted Motoharu. "I thought he would have had to save a girl and then she would fall for him."

"He's going to regret this," Pierce grumbled. "We are going all out tomorrow."

"Weren't you going to anyway?" asked Accelerator.

"We were going to do just enough to be entertaining for everyone," Motoharu told him. "Now, the entire city will learn the power of Kami."

"Have fun with that."

"I have to go," Pierce said. "I got my part time job. Remember, game starts tomorrow at eight. We still have to change beforehand to special colored suits, and then meet out back." Accelerator gave a curt nod and Motoharu gave him a thumbs up. When he was out of sight, Accelerator stood up to leave too, when Motoharu shook his head.

"We got a job," he said, suddenly serious, in a low voice.

"Oh?" Accelerator asked, smirking slightly. "It's been awhile. What now?"

"How much do you know about the recent research facility thefts?"

"Some group stole ability development information and was trying to raise low levels with it right? I heard the third rate and her friends talking about it."

"Precisely," Motoharu confirmed. "There's been a lot of level 1 and 2s ranking up to 3 and 4. So much so, the higher ups have begun to get nervous and requested GROUP's involvement."

"What's the big deal if some people start raising their levels," Accelerator asked. "Isn't that the main purpose of this city?"

"It is," Motoharu agreed. "The issue is how they are going about it. A lot of people have disappeared and those that have been caught have developed abnormalities."

"Abnormalities?"

"Their powers are overloading," Motoharu explained. "Rapid increase in power is causing their brains to overheat. Many people are being attacked by their own powers. Then there are some that go insane. They lose the ability to think rationally and react on instincts. They do stupid things they wouldn't dream of doing and civilians are getting hurt. The people behind it are causing the darkness to leak into everyday life. That is why we were contacted."

"I suppose you have a target?" Accelerator asked. "I'm a guy of action rather than listening to a lecture."

"We found a test lab," Motoharu said, standing up. "Want to go in and have a chat with the owner?"

"Sounds fun," Accelerator replied, with a grin forming on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe I'll invite them to join our game tomorrow."

"You mean as a punching bag?"

"You said it not me."

They left and took the train to the far side of Academy City. Accelerator didn't know where Motoharu was leading him, but Accelerator was confident his information would be accurate. Motoharu always acted carefree, but his information was nearly always on point. If he said there was a lab being operated illegally, there definitely was. They got off the train and walked through several side streets before Accelerator saw a familiar girl, leaning on wall in the shadow of a building. "Tsk, is she joining us?" he asked annoyed.

"Trust me," she said, looking him up and down. "I didn't beg for the job." Her name was Awaki Musujime, one of the four members of group. She could teleport like Kuroko, but her ability was called Move Point. Kuroko had to touch an object to teleport it, but Awaki did not have that limitation. She could teleport objects from any point to another. Before she had joined GROUP, she had worked in stealing the Tree Diagram Remnant, the remains of the super computer that mysterious blew up last year. Failing to do so, she had run into Accelerator and was mercilessly beaten. Afterwards, she had been forced to work for GROUP to save her comrades. "What took you guys so long anyways?"

"We had to solve an issue at school," Motoharu explained. "We need to keep our lives as normal as possible right?" Awaki nodded in understanding, while Accelerator had to resist the urge to face palm.

"I've been keeping watch and I'll be your escape route if things go wrong," she explained to Accelerator, turning back to the subject at hand.

"It's going to go wrong," Accelerator told her. "For them." He turned to Motoharu. "I take it normal procedures have been taken?"

"Yep," Motoharu confirmed. "The higher ups are keeping Anti-Skill and Judgement away from the area. I will be patrolling the perimeter to make sure no civilians accidently wonder into this area. If possible, try to capture the leader alive. We don't know how many labs these guys have." I wonder if I should tell him Kinuhata saw us on the train and is following us. She can hardly be considered a civilian.

"Depending on how strong their resolve is." Accelerator shrugged. "I can't guarantee anything. It could become a blood bath."

"We have been given permission to do what we feel is necessary." Accelerator nodded, and started walking to the building in front of him. As he got nearer, he flipped the switch on his collar.

The ground around him exploded.

"Hurry up Kuroko," Mikoto said impatiently. "Aren't you done yet? We are keeping Uiharu-san and Saten-san waiting." She was sitting at her desk, doodling on some paper and listening to her music box, while Kuroko was taking forever in their bathroom.

"I'm almost done," Kuroko called back. "Let me finish up my hair."

"Maybe you should try a less difficult hairstyle," Mikoto mumbled, as Kuroko walked into their room, fixing her pigtails. "I don't know how you find the time to maintain it, with all the fights you get into with Judgement."

"I'll be happy to try anything onee-sama suggests would look good on me," Kuroko said, beaming at her. "Is there a hairstyle you were thinking about that you would enjoy on a partner?" She winked at Mikoto.

"No," Mikoto sighed. Well maybe spikey hair, but that only looks good on him. "For the millionth time Kuroko, I am not into girls."

"Well no guy is going to want you if you keep going out in public looking like that," Kuroko said, her tone changing to slightly more aloof. "The tomboy looks really turns guys off. Plus, your meathead tendency to charge into battle is so uncivilized. He likes more mature girls anyways."

"Kuroko what…?" Mikoto asked bewildered, turning to look at her in shock. She then saw the stars in her eyes and Mikoto's face turned furious. "Shokuhou!" she said angrily. "Get out of her head!"

"Sorry Misaka," Misaki said, and Kuroko's body smiled. "Are we at the point in our friendship to drop honorifics? Anyway, this was the only way I could contact you right now. Or would you prefer I take over someone else's mind, who is unrelated."

"I prefer you not take over anyone's mind," Mikoto growled. "What do you want?"

"I'll make this quick," Misaki replied. "You may have extra time to goof around, but some of us are quite busy. Did you find anything else about that organization raising ability levels?"

"No," Mikoto answered, trying to remain calm as Misaki constantly pushed her buttons. "I questioned Kuroko more, but it seemed like she told me everything. Saten-san backed her up, though she also told me of an ex-Skill Out member who helped her and Uiharu-san. Kuroko didn't tell me that."

"Do you think Shirai-san told you everything important?" Misaki asked. "I could do a quick scan to make sure."

"Don't you dare," Mikoto snapped, before regaining her cool. "I trust her completely. What did you find out?"

"Maybe I already did," Misaki said mysteriously. "Most of what I found out verifies what you told me. It seems like some student's abilities have been overloading and hospitalizing them, or worse. Anti-Skill has made this a priority. A couple people went insane and started attacking random civilians."

"Kuroko mentioned she dealt with someone like that yesterday," Mikoto mumbled. "Well, we can share information if we find anything else out. Since Touma knows about this, you know he's going to try to help if he can. But next time," she glared at Kuroko being controlled by Misaki. "Don't take over anyone. Just talk to me face to face. It is so weird seeing Kuroko act and sound like you."

"Whatever do you mean?" Misaki asked, before performing a cute pose in Kuroko's body, which only made a vein throb in Mikoto's head. "But I'll try to accept your conditions." The stars in Kuroko's eyes vanished and Kuroko shook her head for a moment.

"All set onee-sama," she said. "Let's go."

"Okay," Mikoto replied. "If we hurry, we can still meet them on time." Kuroko nodded and they left their room. Seriously, why can't Shokuhou just talk normally? Even when she wants to talk about something serious, she always has to insult me in some way. Do guys have to put up with things like that? She suddenly remembered hearing Motoharu and Jason making fun of Touma about having a harem. I guess they do, and I know they insult each other a lot too. Mikoto was so lost in thought, she almost didn't realize Kuroko had stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Great," Kuroko mumbled, moving her head slightly to indicate a group of girls walking toward them. "We got company." Mikoto turned her head and saw Mitsuko, Kinuho, and Maaya approaching them. Mitsuko waved to them and they waved back.

"Good afternoon Shirai-san, Misaka-san," Mitsuko greeted them warmly. "How are you to this fine day?" Maaya and Kinuho greeted them too.

"It's been rather uneventful," Mikoto replied, smiling back. "We were just about to go meet our friends."

"Did you hear?" Kinuho asked Kuroko. "Kongou-san actually went on a date with a boy yesterday."

"Really?" Kuroko asked, surprised at this piece of news. "With who?"

"She didn't say," Maaya added. "But I heard she invited him."

"It wasn't a date," Mitsuko told them, hiding the faint blush on her cheeks with her fan. "He owed a debt for embarrassing me and I had him help me with Ekaterina's vet visit."

"Ekaterina was your pet python right?" Mikoto asked, and a small involuntary shiver went down her back. Mitsuko nodded and Mikoto felt sorry for the guy. I bet it wasn't easy to keep up with Kongou.

"This the guy you were talking about earlier this week?" Kuroko asked.

"Yes," Mitsuko confirmed. "He was rather strange, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. I thought he was poor, but I think he is actually quite wealthy." She frowned. "He showed up in a really extravagant suit. Then the entire time we were at the Dianoid, he acted like a gentleman and was quite heroic when someone's dog attacked me. I can't say I approve of a couple of his friends though." Maaya and Kinuho grinned behind her back.

"She's been talking about this guy a lot," Kinuho added.

"Well I'm glad you found someone who can meet your standards," Kuroko said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"I kept his number," Mitsuko told her. "I thought I might need it for the future."

"Maybe you and Kongou-san could go on a double date sometime," Maaya suggested, looking at Kuroko.

"We really need to get going," Kuroko said quickly, before Mitsuko could respond, and Kuroko had turned a delicate shade of green. She reached back and grabbed Mikoto's left hand. Mikoto's other hand had covered her mouth to avoid laughing loudly. Mikoto was able to wave good bye to the others, before they rounded a corner and left the dorm.

"That was kind of rude," Mikoto pointed out. "You didn't have to run off right after saying we needed to go. We should be congratulating her for finding someone."

"I don't want to listen to something so horrible," Kuroko told her. "The rumor finally died down and I don't have girls coming up and asking me about him." Mikoto grinned again, remembering how uncomfortable Kuroko looked trying to deny the rumors, but at the same time keeping up the appearance of him just being a friend. What Mikoto didn't know was the nausea Kuroko felt was caused by think about spending an afternoon with Mitsuko and any guy she found acceptable, rather than spending time with Jason. Whatever guy Kongou would like, has to be as arrogant as her. I couldn't stand two of them.

"Thanks for keeping everyone from talking about me for a couple days," Mikoto said, trying to cheer her up. "It was nice to walk down the hallways without someone asking me about some crazy random rumor they heard."

"I definitely know how you feel," Kuroko sighed. "At least Uiharu and I finally have a break from Judgement, so we can all hang out. It's been a stressful week." Mikoto's phone beeped and they both looked at it.

"It's Saten-san," Mikoto said, glancing at the caller ID. "I bet she's wondering where we are." She opened her phone and frowned.

You and Shirai-san might want to get here quick. Kagere-san did something Shirai-san might try to kill him for. She needs to find it out from us.

"What's wrong onee-sama?" Kuroko asked, noticing Mikoto's serious face.

"Saten-san we need to get their quickly," Mikoto explained. "There's something we need to see. Can you teleport us there?" What on earth did he do?

"Sure," Kuroko said, reaching over and grabbing Mikoto's arm. She teleported them into the air, and then on top of a nearby building. From there, they jumped from rooftop to rooftop, as Kuroko took the most direct path to their destination. They had planned to meet Kazari and Ruiko in front of a nearby park, but were delayed as they tried to leave. They finally arrived, only about ten minutes late, and looked around for their friends. "Where are they?" Before Mikoto could answer, they turned around when they heard the sound of people running toward them.

"Misaka-san, Shirai-san," Kazari called out to them. "Thank goodness you got here so fast."

"What's the problem?" Kuroko asked. "Is someone hurt?"

"No," Ruiko shook her head. "At least not yet."

"Huh?" Both Mikoto and Shirai looked confused.

"Shirai-san," Kazari said seriously. "We need to show you something, but please promise you won't freak out and do something you will regret later."

"What happened?" Kuroko asked them, before turning to look at Mikoto, who shrugged.

"I was just told Kagere-san did something," Mikoto said and then instantly regretted it. Kuroko's eyes flashed dangerously.

"What did he do?" Kuroko asked, trying to keep her voice calm, but the rage was seeping through, which caused both Ruiko's and Kazari's faces to go pale.

"Please don't do anything you might regret…," Kazari tried to say again, but Kuroko reached over and grabbed her shoulders. Kuroko looked her right in the eyes, and Kazari's pale face turned white.

"What… did… he… do?" Kuroko asked slowly, anger etched in every word, while at the same time shaking Kazari violently.

"Let her speak," Mikoto said firmly, stepping in between them and prying poor Kazari from Kuroko's grip. "Let them tell us what happened."

"I think it will be easier to show you," Ruiko said nervously. "We sort of randomly stumbled into it." She led them away from the park entrance and down the street. The entire time, Kuroko was emitting a dark murderous aura, causing the other girls to sweat slightly, before they stood in front of an ice cream shop. "Because you two were running late, Uiharu was trying to sneak off to get some ice cream."

"I hadn't had any sweets for a week," she protested.

"I have my work cut out stopping her," Ruiko sighed, before returning to the important information. "I caught her right when she got in front of the store, and then we saw this." She pointed to a window display with flashing lights. Kuroko and Mikoto walked up to take a look, before their mouths fell open in shock at what they saw. Next to the stack of ice cream cases, was a large poster with an anime figure they recognized.

It was Kuroko wearing the cat-girl maid outfit.

Well, they recognized it as Kuroko, because the outfit was familiar and the hairstyle was the same, but there were some key differences. First, the entire figure had been painted to resemble anime style drawing, rather than a real person. Second, her hair was black instead of tawny. There were other slight differences, photo shopped or drawn, but they could see the resemblance to Kuroko. To top it all off, above the anime poster was a sign saying, 'KuroNeko-chan's Never Melt Ice Cream.' Kuroko had frozen and seemed to be petrified from the sight, while Mikoto finally found her words and turned to Kazari and Ruiko.

"What… is this?" she asked hoarsely. What was he thinking? Kuroko is going to MURDER him.

"We looked into it," Kazari said quietly. "It turns out this picture is the mascot for the new brand of ice cream. It's designed to not melt at high temperatures and keep its texture, so it can be eaten during any time of the year."

"From what else they told us," Ruiko added. "She is a very popular mascot for children, since being released yesterday. They were surprised at how many people like her."

"I can't believe this," Mikoto said, rubbing her face with her hand, hoping this was all a bad dream. She forced herself to turn her attention back to the true issue right now. "Kuroko?" she asked nervously. Ruiko and Kazari took a step back, as they watched Mikoto try to reach Kuroko. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine onee-sama," Kuroko replied slowly, after a moment's pause. She didn't turn around, but Mikoto could hear something dark in her voice. She was obviously pretending to be calm, but was about to blow up in anger. Mikoto foresaw nothing good coming from this and wanted to put a stop to it, before it could escalate.

"Don't do anything you might regret," Mikoto told her firmly, parroting Kazari's earlier statements.

"I'll take care of it Shirai-san," Kazari said, and there was firmness in her voice. She obviously did not approve of Jason's idea of a prank. "I promise."

"You don't need to worry about it Uiharu," Kuroko replied, turning around. Her tone was unusually cheerful, and she was smiling. Even so, the aura around her was just intensifying and caused the other girls to take a step back, even Mikoto. "I wouldn't do something I would regret." A vein was throbbing in her head and it was obvious she was furious beyond imagination. "I'm just counting back from a hundred."

"Maybe you should have a seat," Ruiko suggested weakly, but Kuroko just ignored her.

"What are you going to do?" Mikoto asked, not looking forward to the outcome.

"Well," Kuroko explained, her smile not leaving her face. "I figure I should find him and make him tell me why he did this."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Kazari commented, relieved at Kuroko's sensible solution.

"Then I'm going to kill him."

"What?!" all three girls gasp.

"Without mercy," Kuroko added. Before any of them could respond to this, she disappeared and reappeared on top of a light pole. She then started to teleport down the street as fast as possible.

"Dang it," Mikoto growled. "I'm going to go after her." She used her magnetism to propel herself up to the wall of the nearby building and took off after Kuroko. Both of them act like children all the time. Kagere is older and he bothers her constantly but, still, this was way over the top. Kuroko's not any better though. She reacts to his taunts and she was the one who wants to keep getting into bets with him. When did I become a babysitter? She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Jason, warning him Kuroko was after him. Then, for good measure, she sent a text to Touma for him to warn Jason, if Touma saw him.

Back in front of the ice cream store, Kazari and Ruiko watched their friends run off in silence. Finally, finding her voice, Ruiko turned to Kazari. "What should we do now? I don't think we can catch up with them."

"Let me see if I can contact Jason," Kazari told her, pulling out her phone. She dialed and heard it ring, but he didn't answer before it went to voice mail. She left a short message saying Kuroko saw what he did and to call her back. She sighed and shrugged at Ruiko. "His phone is on, but he's not answering."

"I bet he's busy or left it somewhere," Ruiko replied reasonably. "How do you think Shirai-san is going to find him? It's a big city."

"She has Judgement equipment that lets you track a phone if it's on and you have the phone number," Kazari said slowly. "But it's only supposed to be used for official business."

"You don't think she's going to use it do you?" Ruiko asked seriously. Kazari opened her mouth and closed it, not wanting to answer, but Ruiko understood her. "It's a good thing Misaka-san is going after her. She should be able to stop anything from happening." She looked up at the sky. Well, there goes our day. What should we do now? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kazari looking at the ice cream display in the window. "You want to try it don't you," Ruiko asked, grinning broadly.

"Ah wha…?" Kazari said, jumping slightly. "How could I when Shirai-san is being embarrassed…. But it does look good…. I kind of want to see how it tastes hot… but I really shouldn't."

"I guess a sample won't kill us," Ruiko laughed. "Let's go. You have been good all week, so I guess you deserve a trea…" She stopped talking, as Kazari grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the shop, ignoring the nearby passerby's giving them strange looks.

Kuroko looked at the map on her phone, as she approached Jason's location. She had teleported halfway across the city before pausing and taking a short break. He should be right up ahead, unless he doesn't have his phone on him. It looks like it's outside so there's a good chance he has it. She had finally begun to cool off and think rationally from the time she left her friends to her currently location. She realized she might have over reacted slightly, but she was still furious. What am I going to do when I find him? I want to hit him until he's unconscious. She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to do anything remotely life threatening, before teleporting to the ground and walking slowly toward Jason's location. She heard a soft thud, as someone landed behind her, and she turned around.

"Stop Kuroko," Mikoto said seriously, breathing heavily. "You don't want to do this." She was sparking slightly and it was clear she was prepared to use force to prevent Kuroko from becoming a murderer.

"I know," Kuroko replied, nodding and feeling slightly ashamed. "I had time to think about it. I still want to hit him at least once." She was feeling really happy Mikoto chased her so far to prevent her from doing anything she would have regretted. She's really the perfect partner.

"If that's all," Mikoto said, and the hint of a smile formed on her lips. "I think he did deserve it."

"See," Kuroko boasted happily. "Even you agree. He's right around the corner up there."

"What's he doing out here?" Mikoto muttered out loud. "This is really far from his school, and Touma said he hasn't been attending lately. I guess he didn't go today either."

"All the more reason to spy on him, right?" Kuroko asked, trying to push Mikoto into following her. "Don't you want to see what he does when he's not with Uiharu?"

"You aren't going to drop this?" Mikoto asked exasperatedly. "Are you?"

"No."

"Thought so. Fine, I'll make sure you don't do anything stupid."

"I knew you would understand," Kuroko replied happily. They walked toward the corner, trying to act normally to avoid drawing attention. Kuroko doubled checked her phone, making sure Jason wasn't changing positions, before stopping at the corner. "He should be right around this corner," she whispered to Mikoto, who nodded. They peered around the building and it took only a moment to locate him. Both of them received quite a shock when they found him. He was sitting at a table in front of a small café and he appeared to be eating a sandwich, but that wasn't what shocked Kuroko and Mikoto.

A girl they didn't know was sitting across from him.

The girl had short blond hair and clear blue eyes. She was wearing very casual clothes, a track suit consisting of a light-blue jersey and spandex slacks, covered by a white vest. She also had headphones hanging from her neck, but they were not covering her ears. It looked like she had removed them to talk to Jason. An empty plate in front of her implied she had already eaten, and was busy playing a handheld game, while chatting with him. She must have said something funny, because Jason started laughing, before taking a bite of his sandwich. Kuroko and Mikoto looked at each other, unsure of what was happening.

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Kuroko asked slowly.

"Don't rush to conclusions," Mikoto said quickly. "There could be a plausible explanation." Mikoto had a feeling they were both thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to believe it. Kuroko echoed her worry out loud though.

"He's cheating on Uiharu," hissed Kuroko, her anger flaring up again. "That no good…"

"Kuroko no…" Mikoto tried to say, but Kuroko had disappeared already.

Jason never had a chance to see the attack coming. One moment, he was sitting at a table eating, the next, he felt something collide in the side of his head, knocking him out of his chair. He fell to the ground with a thud and hearing the words, "You no good, cheating, jerk!" Kuroko had teleported into the air next to him and delivered a powerful kick. She then landed on her feet, panting slightly, and her gaze fell on the girl across the table, who had stood up in shock and was looking around, with a frightful expression.

"What do I do?" she asked fearfully, more to herself then Kuroko. "I'm supposed to contact Anti-Skill or Judgement if someone's attacked. Where is the nearest member?" She glanced back at Kuroko and took a step back. "You won't get away with this. Get away from him." She was obviously trying to sound brave, but her voice was shaking slightly. Before Kuroko could tell her why she attacked Jason, a dark wave erupted form his location on the ground and engulfed her.

"Arg, let me go," Kuroko yelled.

"Dang Kuroko," Jason said, standing up and rubbing his head. "I think your kicks are getting stronger. My head is still ringing."

"Are you okay?" the girl questioned, rushing over next to him. "Do you know her?"

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "If she's here, other people are too." He looked around and saw Mikoto walking toward them, her hand covering her face in embarrassment at her friend's action. He waved to her and she nodded.

"Jason," Kuroko said slightly more calmly. "Let me go."

"Are you going to hit me again?"

"Yes."

"I'll hold off then."

"Sorry about her," Mikoto sighed, when she finally reached them. Jason was sitting down with the girl on one side, and Kuroko on the other. Her arms were still being bound by his shadow to prevent her from attacking him again. "But you have to admit, she has a reason to be upset, and then we see this." She gestured to him and the girl.

"Oh," Jason said turning to look at her. "I could see how that would be misinterpreted, but I'm kind of insulted she would think that."

"What does she mean?" the girl asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"They were under the impression I was cheating on my girlfriend with you." The girl looked stunned for a moment, and then her face went scarlet.

"Oh no no," she said defensively, shaking her head vigorously. "We just work together and finally got a break. We have been in the lab since seven with no lunch."

"Let me introduce all of you," Jason said, gesturing first to the girl. "This is Patricia Birdway. She recently joined the city and is just getting acquainted with everything. The higher ups decided I, being closest to her in age, would be the best person to work with her." He then gestured to Kuroko." The girl who kicked me is Kuroko Shirai, a good friend of mine and a member of Judgement."

"Are Judgement allowed to just attack people?" asked Patricia worriedly.

"Only if they deserve it," Kuroko huffed, while Jason and Mikoto grinned.

"They are friends," Mikoto whispered to her. "They just like to argue with each other. You get used to it pretty quick."

"And she," Jason continued. "Is Mikoto Misaka."

"THE Mikoto Misaka?" Patricia asked wide-eyed. "As in the level 5 Railgun?"

"Eh yea," Mikoto said sheepishly, rubbing her head in embarrassment. "Misaka is fine. Please don't treat me like a celebrity."

"It's nice meeting both of you," Patricia said kindly, smiling. "I don't know a lot of people here yet and it's so nice to meet people around my age."

"Do you want to exchange phone numbers then?" Mikoto asked and Patricia nodded excitedly. They pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers. "I'll make sure to introduce you to our other friends."

"Except Touma," Jason added. "Otherwise she will fall for him."

"W-what?" spluttered Patricia, turning red again.

"Don't tease her," Mikoto admonished but, deep down, she had that same worry. Kuroko listened in silence, but finally reached her breaking point.

"Will you untie me already?" Kuroko demanded, glaring at Jason.

"I guess," he said, but then he grinned. "You have to promise not to attack me again or I'll have to take you in for public violence." He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put them on the table. Kuroko mumbled something and Jason let her go. She responded by punching him in the arm.

"That's for embarrassing me," she fumed at him, as he rubbed his shoulder. "You just had to share that picture."

"What picture?" Patricia asked.

"They had a bet awhile back over something stupid," Mikoto explained. "Kuroko lost and had to wear an embarrassing costume. Jason then had a photographer take a couple pictures of her."

"Then I edited it slightly and send it to the manufacturer of ice cream to use as a mascot," Jason laughed, pulling out a flyer from his bag.

"Don't show her!" Kuroko told him, but he ignored her and passed the flyer over to Patricia, who looked at it.

"I can kind of see the resemblance," she said, looking back and forth between Kuroko and the flyer. "But I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't tell me."

"That was the plan," Jason told her with a wink, and Kuroko punched him again.

"When did you have time to make this?" Mikoto asked him. "Never Melt Ice Cream?

"I spent a few months in Russia and it was freezing," Jason explained. "All their food was bland and I kept thinking, I would love some ice cream, but eating cold food would be horrible there. My dream was to find a way to make it hot, but still have the consistency and texture of normal ice cream. My original designs were not promising. It always turned into soup or had the texture of mashed potatoes."

"Ice cream relies mostly on ice crystals," Mikoto pointed out. "Any decent temperature is going to make it melt."

"Which is why I was so complicated," complained Jason. "We finally cracked it by creating our own complex carbohydrate." His voice became quiet and dropped his voice to a whisper. "The formula is secret and I sold it so I can't go into details, but we engineered this carbohydrate to react strongly and dissolve when in the presence of ptyalin."

"Ptyalin?" Kuroko asked, unable to resist herself.

"It's the substance in saliva that breaks apart starches," Patricia explained.

"When it dissolves," Jason continued. "It makes the ice cream feel like its melting. The complex carbohydrate can handle high temperatures, so we use that instead of ice crystals, and it allows it to be heated to high levels. It will still taste and feel like ice cream, but you can enjoy it during the winter. A lot of other work went into it, but that was the key ingredient."

"Did you work on this for Uiharu-san?" Mikoto questioned, smirking slightly.

"She might have motivated me slightly," Jason admitted sheepishly.

"When do you have time to do these things?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't sleep," Jason answered, like it was obvious. Mikoto was about to laugh, but stopped when she saw he had dark circles under his eyes.

"So Birdway-san," Kuroko asked, trying to keep her temper under control. "How did you get stuck researching with him?"

"I had some papers published and Academy City invited me to help out with researching new energy sources," Patricia explained. "After I arrived, I was introduced to a lab where I was explaining my thesis and Kagere was there working with ability development."

"Wow," Mikoto said impressed. "How smart are you? To actually have papers published in Academy City would mean you have to be way past college level work."

"She already has her PhD," Jason commented and Patricia blushed in embarrassment.

"Wow," Kuroko added, also impressed. "I hope your work turns out well." Her eyes glanced down at the table and frowned. "Jason," she asked. "What are your handcuffs made of?" She pulled out hers. "The metal looks slightly black."

"Oh that," Jason said reaching over and picking them up. 'They are made of a special metal that actually dampens AIM fields, so they work great for handcuffs. Low levels have a hard time using abilities on them."

"I never heard of a metal like that," Kuroko said frowning.

"Oh I heard of it," Patricia said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "It's called Shadow Metal right?" Mikoto and Kuroko coughed in surprise and she looked confused. "What's the matter?"

"Well a friend of ours mentioned that before," Kuroko admitted. "She said when a lot of abilities clash, they can create Shadow Metal, like at the Daihaseisai. But that's not how it's made right?"

"I actually don't know for sure," Jason replied. "I was given some to use as needed when I joined my division. I did hear a rumor they got an incredibly large amount last fall. Sadly, I wasn't there."

Mikoto was listening to them talk about this metal, but she knew what Jason was talking about. Her thoughts turned back to near the end of the Daihaseisai. She had been forcefully connected to the Misaka Network and started to shift past level 5. Known as the Exterior experiment, it transformed her into a monster, almost killing Touma and Sogiita. She found out someone wanted to see if she could hit level 6 and, at the same time, destroy the city. When Touma finally saved her, they had noticed the area around their battle had strange black metal covering it. Saten-san said it was when abilities clashed and I clashed with Sogiita and Touma. Two level 5s going all out and the Imagine Breaker might have caused it. But what is it really? Her thoughts were interrupted by a shrill beeping sound. "What's that" she asked, but saw the seriousness on Jason's and Kuroko's faces.

"Looks like I'm being called in," Jason said, pulling out a small black phone, different then his normal one. "Hello? What? Fifty? How could you let so many enter…? Okay, I understand. I'll take care of it." He hung up, grabbed his stuff, and stood up. "I'm being called in for Anti-Skill duties. Misaka-san, can you make sure Birdway gets back to the lab okay? She's hopeless with directions."

"I don't get lost," Patricia said, indignantly.

"Who got lost for an hour going down the street to the convenience store to pick up a drink?" Jason asked rhetorically.

"That… that was completely different," stuttered Patricia.

"I'll make sure," promised Mikoto. "You have to go right?"

"Yep," Jason said turning around, but stopped. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at Kuroko, who had to speak up.

"Do you need help?"

"Anti-Skill business," Jason repeated seriously, before grinning. "Thanks for the offer, but no. Don't forget our little wager tomorrow."

"You are going down," Kuroko declared. "I'm going to get my revenge for everything up to now." Jason laughed, his shadow spread out into wings, and he jumped up to a nearby building. "He always rubs me the wrong way," Kuroko mumbled. "He's always making fun of me and slacking off."

"What do you mean?" Patricia asked. "He's always working hard whenever I see him."

"Oh Kagere-san just likes to pretend he is a slacker to annoy her," Mikoto explained. "We told her several times he did that, but she still complains about it."

"Don't be fooled by him onee-sama," Kuroko pleaded.

"Should we get going?" Mikoto asked. "I don't know exactly where you have to go."

"I have the address written down," Patricia told her proudly, rummaging in her bag. "Oh," she whispered, leaning close to Mikoto. "Does Shirai-san like Kagere?"

"We think so," Mikoto whispered back, trying not to move her lips. "But she always denies it."

How did this happen?

Touma was sitting across from Leivinia Birdway, watching her enjoy a piece of cake. She had told him, more like demanded, to take her someplace quiet with good sweets. He didn't know a place like that, so he walked down a street until he saw a small cake shop. Leivinia only took about thirty seconds to decide, and naturally, in typical ojou-sama fashion, choose one of the more expensive pieces. Touma's wallet felt the sting, but he suffered in silence. I was the one who asked her, but why on earth did she accept? "Er, Birdway?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" she replied, looking at him. Touma gulped as, one again, he felt like she was examining him closely.

"What made you decide to accept my request?" he asked. "I mean, it's not like I'm honored you said yes, but it just seemed unlikely you would agree when a random guy walks up to you and asks you out."

"I thought it was obvious," she stated. "It was you who approached me."

"I know," Touma agreed. "But why would you say yes if we never met before."

"What are you talking about?" Leivinia asked, a frown appeared on her face. "Didn't you seek me out for a reason? I must commend you on your skilled attempt to catch my attention. If anyone was watching us, they wouldn't suspect anything."

"What are YOU talking about?" Touma parroted. I have a feeling we both are missing something important.

"Do…" she paused for a moment. "Besides my name, what else do you know about me?"

"Nothing actually," Touma admitted. "We haven't talked much yet." Leivinia stared at him for a moment, before she burst out laughing. It wasn't a kind joking tone though, what he was use to with Jason. It was slightly cold, but etched with amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Here I thought you possessed some skill," Leivinia told him between laughs. "You survived everything that happened in England, along with actually destroying Curtana. I thought you needed me assistance with a matter and had to seek me out, Imagine Breaker, but I guess it was just bad luck on your part."

"How did you know about England," Touma asked, shocked.

"I was the one who sent you that letter." Her eyes narrowed slightly and lost all trace of amusement. They became cold and calculating, causing Touma to shiver involuntarily.

"W-who are you?"

"I'll introduce myself again," she said, looking smug. "I am Leivinia Birdway, the leader of Dawn-Colored Sunlight, the largest magic cabal in England. I went with you because I thought we could arrive to a mutual benefit, but now I realize you are just unlucky." She grinned, but the smile did not portray warmth. "Now… what are you doing?" She changed direction midsentence in response to Touma's reaction.

Touma had slammed his head on the table. "Why do these things happen to me?" he complained, before tilting his head and looking at her. "Don't mind this poor Kamijou. I'm just lamenting in my misfortune. I don't suppose you would let me leave and we pretend this never happened?"

"That doesn't sound fun at all," Leivinia teased, amusement back in her voice. "If you try to run, my entire group will be after you in seconds. You sought me out and I graced you with my presence, now you get to do something for me. My group is investigating an organization you are familiar with, and you get to participate."

"Such misfortune," Touma moaned, but he had to ask. "What group?"

"The Fallen."

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.

Finally finished Jason's prank, planned since early season two. Everything is now set up for a lot of action next chapter. Touma's peaceful life can never last.

Motoharu: I knew we would win, but I can't help feeling like we lost too.

Pierce: Damn it Kami, getting ANOTHER loli.

Touma: You two tricked me didn't you? You knew she was a magician.

Motoharu: I will neither confirm nor deny that statement.

Jason: At least his luck kicked in and he's going to regret it.

Mikoto: I think you are going to regret what you did too.

Jason: Huh?

Misaki: I didn't get any screen time, but even I can tell Shirai-san is plotting her revenge. She texted me to ask for ideas.

Accelerator: The brat is actually trying? Can't wait to see them make fools of each other.

Shizuri: While this guy is going to play, break the equipment.

Accelerator: The more expensive it is, the more points I get.

Kuroko: I will get my revenge by the time this season is over!

Me: So, after careful consideration, I think Kuroko will do next week's comments.

Kuroko: Why?

Misaki: I'm sure the readers want to ask you questions.

Mikoto: …Good luck.