Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu were walking through the underground mall, having decided to go shopping. They hadn't bought anything yet, but they planned to do so after getting lunch. Saten had texted Mikoto earlier asking if she wanted to join them, but she'd said she had other plans.

Kuroko angrily muttered, "I bet onee-sama's having another secret assignation with that troglodyte." She gritted her teeth in frustration, causing Saten and Uiharu to step away from her a bit.

Uiharu wondered, "Shirai-san, what do you mean by 'another'? Did they have one already?" She was the only one out of the loop about Mikoto and Touma hanging out the previous day.

Saten realized, "Looks like Shirai-san already found out, so no need to keep it a secret anymore." She explained, "Misaka-san was hanging out yesterday with Kamijou-san, that spiky-haired boy from the Daihasei Festival. I actually took some cute pictures of them, look!" She pulled out her phone, showing those photos to Uiharu.

Uiharu squealed loudly and gushed, "Wow, they look so cute together! Are they going out now? Did Misaka-san finally confess to him?"

Saten sighed, "Unfortunately, no. I talked to her after he left, and she said they're still just friends. Misaka-san thinks he doesn't like her back, but I'm not sure about that." Based on what her friend had told her, Saten suspected that the boy was starting to grow more fond of Mikoto.

Kuroko continued grumbling, "I can't believe that onee-sama let that troglodyte violate her innocence like that! He's defiled her luscious hair and her delectable legs!" She thought back to their argument the previous night, "Why am I not good enough for you, onee-sama? Why do you never smile like that around me?"

Uiharu ignored the girl's disturbed whining and said, "I do wonder if Shirai-san is right about Misaka-san having plans with Kamijou-san today."

Saten grinned, "Maybe, I think she's trying to be a bit bolder in going after him, so I wouldn't be surprised." As she glanced around her surroundings, the girl saw a glimpse of brown hair and a Tokiwadai uniform. Looking more closely, her eyes widened and she recognized her friend and that spiky-haired boy. She pointed towards the pair and exclaimed, "Hey look, I think that's them over there!"

Kuroko looked at where Satan was pointing and shouted, "Onee-sama!" She immediately started teleporting towards them, with Saten and Uiharu running after her in an effort to minimize the damage she might cause.

The girl's shout was loud enough that Mikoto and Touma were able to hear it. Mikoto groaned, while Touma froze in fear of what an enraged Kuroko could do to him.

Once Kuroko appeared in front of them, she saw that the two were sitting really close together. She covered her eyes and despaired, "Noooo, I didn't want to believe it, but it's true! You're having another shopping date with this troglodyte!"

"Shopping date? This girl and her misunderstandings." Touma was still unsure on how to deal with her, but figured it was best if he stayed quiet for now and let Mikoto handle her.

Mikoto said in an irritated tone, "Geez Kuroko, you need to stop misinterpreting things like this! What are you even doing here anyway?"

By this point, Saten and Uiharu had reached them as well. Uiharu physically restrained Kuroko, while Saten answered, "We came here for some shopping, Misaka-san, remember? We invited you, but you said you were busy." She gave her friend a teasing grin and added, "Now I see why! Hello, Kamijou-san! Nice to see you again!"

Mikoto's cheeks reddened at her friend's implication and replied, "O-oh yeah, now I remember."

Touma smiled at Saten, "Hey, Saten-san! Nice to see you too." Turning to the remaining two girls, he added, "Hello again, Shirai-san. And you're Uiharu-san, right?"

While straining to restrain a struggling Kuroko, Uiharu replied, "Yeah, it's good to see you again, Kamijou-san. What are you and Misaka-san doing here?"

Mikoto, trying to think of how to explain their presence, said, "Well, we're actually here shopping too." She turned to the boy, silently asking for his help explaining what they were doing without mentioning her sisters.

Touma held up the shopping bag and continued, "Yeah, I was buying some presents for a few friends of mine, and I asked Biri-Biri to help me since she knows them too."

Uiharu tilted her head in confusion, "Biri-Biri?" She guessed that he was referring to Mikoto, but was a bit surprised he didn't call her by her name.

The boy chuckled before clarifying, "Oh, that's just my nickname for her."

Saten smirked and replied, "Oh, that's a really cute nickname! I guess it's because of her ability, right?" Her friend hadn't mentioned the nickname before, but Saten found it adorable that Touma had a special nickname for her.

Kuroko was less pleased with this information, "Onee-sama, are you going to just let him mock your powers with that ridiculous nickname?" Based on what she knew of her roommate, Mikoto would surely be irritated at Touma for calling her that nickname.

However, Mikoto was blushing instead, since her friends' comments reminded her about her conversation with the boy the previous day. She shyly played with her fingers and replied, "I-I don't mind, really. I-I've actually started to like it."

Touma's eyes widened as he heard the last part, "She likes it? I thought she just decided to tolerate it. And I'm surprised she admitted it out loud."

Kuroko quickly deflated and became absolutely despondent, "That troglodyte has even tamed her unladylike temper! Onee-sama, why do you have that lovestruck face whenever you think of him?"

Saten giggled and said quietly to Uiharu, "Misaka-san looks pretty cute like that, don't you think?"

Uiharu was a little flustered, "Y-yeah, it's incredible that Kamijou-san has such a big effect on Misaka-san! I've never seen her like this. I guess this is what a maiden in love looks like!"

Saten turned back to the pair on the bench and said, "So, we were just about to get lunch. Do you guys want to join us?"

Touma answered, "Sure, we were about to get lunch too." He turned to the girl beside him and added, "Is that okay with you, Mikoto?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, sure, T-Touma." She was still nervous using his name, especially in front of her friends, but Mikoto still wanted to do so.

Kuroko was becoming increasingly depressed, "Not just a nickname, but given names too? How did this suddenly happen? A few days ago, she was upset with him, but now they're somehow closer than ever! What kind of spell has that barbarian put you under, onee-sama?"

Uiharu's eyes widened, "Oh wow, you two are on a given name basis! You must be really close!"

Mikoto nervously replied, "Y-yeah, sort of. Anyway, let's go get lunch!" She then stood up, and Touma soon followed her lead. The five teens started heading for a place to eat, with Kuroko dragging herself behind them in despair.

They had decided to go to a fast food place, and were now sitting down and eating their meals. Touma took out his phone for a moment to check the time, and the girls noticed a Gekota strap attached to it.

Saten didn't think that he was someone who would be into that character, so she asked, "Hey, Kamijou-san, why do you have a Gekota strap on your phone?"

The boy answered, "Oh, this? Biri-Biri dragged me into getting a pair contract on our cell phones because she wanted the strap that came with it. She got two of these straps, so she gave me one of them."

Uiharu replied, "Yeah, that sure sounds like Misaka-san! But aren't pair contracts supposed to be for couples?"

Mikoto blushed, remembering the similar conversation she'd had with Touma back then. She answered, "Well, it's not like they really checked if you're actually a couple. I just needed a guy to accompany me to get the contract."

Kuroko angrily muttered, "I can't believe they didn't allow two girls. Then I could've gone with you, onee-sama."

Mikoto crossed her arms and firmly replied, "Even if they did allow same-sex couples, I still wouldn't have gone with you. You would've just tried to grope me the entire time, and that's way more of a headache than dealing with this idiot."

Touma raised his eyebrows at the girl's reply. "I knew Shirai-san had a perverted obsession with her, but I didn't know it went that far. Mikoto might even have a more troublesome roommate than mine."

Saten then asked the boy, "So do you like Gekota too, Kamijou-san?"

The boy answered, "No, not really." He then looked at Mikoto with a smile and added, "But it's a gift from a friend, so it would be rude for me to not use it, especially after all the trouble we went through to get it."

The girl smiled back and shyly said, "Y-yeah, it was a lot of trouble, wasn't it?" She was touched that he had a sentimental reason for keeping the strap.

Saten thought to herself, "He's really sweet, no wonder Misaka-san likes him so much!"

Kuroko snidely remarked to the boy, "I'm surprised you're indulging onee-sama in her childish obsessions." She wished Mikoto would grow up and learn to be a more mature lady.

"Like you have any right to lecture someone about their obsessions." Touma replied, "Yeah, Biri-Biri's obsession with that frog is a bit silly and childish, but as long as she's happy, what's the harm?"

Mikoto pouted, "Gekota isn't childish! There are people of all ages who enjoy it!" She was internally pleased that he wanted her to be happy, but she couldn't let that insult to Gekota go unchecked. Everyone else just sighed in exasperation.

Uiharu was the least familiar with the boy, so she decided to ask, "Oh, Kamijou-san, if you don't mind me asking, what level are you?" She knew that asking someone's level could be a little rude, but she figured that the boy would be open to answering.

Touma nervously put his hand on his neck and answered, "Oh, I'm a Level 0. Just an ordinary high school boy."

Mikoto immediately became irritated, and lightly elbowed the boy in the side. Once he turned to face her in confusion, she pointed at him and exclaimed, "Listen here you idiot! You're not just an ordinary high school boy! I've never been able to beat you in a fight, no matter how many times I've tried! It really bugs me that you don't seem to have confidence in your own strength!"

"Oh, she was the one challenging me to fights? That makes a lot of sense, and at least I wasn't the type of guy who'd start fights with middle school girls." Touma wasn't quite sure how to respond to the girl, but he could tell that she felt really strongly about this. He eventually replied, "I'm sorry, Mikoto, I didn't mean to make fun of you or anything."

The girl sighed, "I know, I know." She knew that he was probably just being modest, but she wondered whether Touma actually didn't see his own strength.

Saten was shocked to hear Mikoto say that she'd been unable to defeat the boy in fights. She asked him, "Misaka-san hasn't been able to beat you? You said you're a Level 0, right? How did you do it?" Saten wondered if that meant she could also be powerful even if she remained at her current level.

Mikoto frowned, guessing what Saten was thinking. She said, "It's not what you think, Saten-san. He actually does have an ability."

Touma nodded, "Yeah, my right hand has the ability to negate any esper power it comes into contact with. So I can use it to protect myself from Biri-Biri's electric shocks. It also negates my own AIM field, so Academy City labels me as the weakest Level 0."

Saten lamented, "Aw man!" She then widened her eyes as she realized, "Wait, you can negate any esper ability?" She pointed at the boy and said, "You're that urban legend!"

The boy was confused and questioned, "Urban legend?" Was there some sort of rumor about him circulating in the city?

The girl excitedly nodded, "Yeah, you're the Negating Man! There are a bunch of posts on the internet about a guy who can negate everyone's abilities!"

Touma nervously chuckled, "Oh really?" He hadn't realized that his exploits were that widely known.

Kuroko took this moment to chime in, "That's a pretty unique ability. I guess it would explain why I couldn't teleport you that time you visited our dorm room." She added to herself, "And how he was able to negate Musujime's teleportation wave. Onee-sama tends to get into fights, so if he really was able to defeat her with that ability, it makes sense why she's so interested in him."

Uiharu raised her eyebrows at that revelation, "You visited Shirai-san and Misaka-san's room? I thought boys weren't allowed in the Tokiwadai dorms."

The boy hadn't expected Kuroko to mention that. Not wanting Uiharu and Saten to come to a misunderstanding, he quickly clarified, "Yeah, but it was sort of an emergency, and I really needed to find Mikoto."

Kuroko nodded, "This troglodyte is telling the truth. That was a couple of months ago, during that time that onee-sama was disappearing every night without any explanation. I hoped that he would have some information on her, but I had to go distract the dorm manager, and he was gone by the time I got back."

Saten turned to Touma and asked, "Do you know why Misaka-san was spending all those nights away from her dorm? We were worried about her, and she still hasn't told us."

The boy gulped, trying to figure out a way to not betray Mikoto's trust. He could see Mikoto looking at him with a silent plea. He eventually replied, "I do know what she was up to, and I'm just really glad that I found her later that night."

Mikoto sighed in relief. She felt guilty about leaving her friends in the dark, but she knew that it was probably too dangerous for them to know about her sisters and the experiment at the moment. She smiled, "Yeah, he did find me, and he was able to solve the problem that I'd been failing to solve all that time I was gone."

Uiharu wondered, "What sort of problem would Kamijou-san be able to solve in one night that you couldn't over multiple nights?"

Saten's eyes widened as she recalled, "Wait, I think I might know! There was another urban legend that circulated back then."

Mikoto tensed, remembering that there was indeed a rumor about Level 5 clones being created. Was Saten about to put two and two together and figure it all out?

Saten continued, "It said that the 1st Ranked Level 5, the strongest esper in Academy City, was defeated by a Level 0! I didn't believe it because it seemed impossible."

Uiharu quickly understood where Saten was going, "I see, if the Level 0 was Kamijou-san, then it is possible, because he can negate the Number 1's ability. That would also explain why Misaka-san was unable to defeat him, since he's higher-ranked than her. Though I feel like even with his negating ability, it would still be difficult to defeat the strongest esper."

Mikoto was partially glad that they hadn't found out about her sisters, but she still wished they hadn't figured out Accelerator's role. She replied, "Yeah it was. By the end of the fight, this idiot had lost a lot of blood and could barely stand up. In fact, he fell unconscious right after he knocked the other guy out, and had to go to the hospital!"

Touma nervously added, "It wasn't as bad as she's making it seem! I recovered pretty quickly!"

Mikoto crossed her arms and recalled, "You left the hospital early, when you still weren't fully recovered!" She wished the boy wouldn't be so reckless with his own health.

Wanting to forestall a bigger argument, Saten turned to Mikoto and said, "So, Kamijou-san defeated the Number 1 esper for you. That's pretty cool! No wonder you said you owe a lot to him!"

Mikoto became a bit flustered, "Y-yeah, I do." But she reminded herself, "It's not like he'll let me repay him in any way."

Kuroko turned to the boy and asked, "Why did onee-sama need to defeat the Number 1 in the first place?" Her roommate had told her the previous night that Touma had saved her, presumably from the Number 1, but Mikoto had refused to elaborate.

Touma glanced at Mikoto, who was clearly a bit distressed. He turned back to Kuroko, "I'm sorry, Shirai-san, but that's Biri-Biri's secret. She's the one who went through the whole mess, I just found out about it on my own and helped out at the end."

Mikoto nodded, "Yeah, a part of me wants to tell you guys, but it's very dangerous information. Even knowing about it could get you targeted by the dark side of Academy City." She wished her sisters could live a normal life and meet her friends, but Mikoto knew it wasn't yet the right time.

Kuroko frowned, "I guess I'm not strong enough to see this part of onee-sama's world. I could only wait patiently at home while she fought by herself until this troglodyte saved her. And when I tried to take a step into her world fight on her behalf, I got absolutely destroyed. Maybe I'm just meant to be a bit player in her story."

Saten was disappointed, but shrugged, "Well, if Misaka-san had so much trouble with it, it must be pretty dangerous." She then turned to the boy and asked with a grin, "Oh, how were those homemade cookies?"

Mikoto's eyes widened, "Nooo, why is she bringing that up now?" She tried shaking her head and hands to steer the girl off that topic.

Touma was confused, "What homemade cookies?"

Saten ignored her friend's silent plea and clarified, "The homemade cookies that Misaka-san made you? I helped her make them, so I'm curious how they ended up. She didn't tell me who they were for, but now I'm pretty sure it was you, since it was around that time."

The boy looked at Mikoto, who had a panicked expression on her face. He replied, "Hmm, Mikoto gave me store-bought cookies when she visited me in the hospital. I did tell her that homemade cookies would've been better, but she never gave me any."

Mikoto groaned, hiding her face behind her hands. "I don't have any choice now, do I?" She took her hands off her face and started nervously fidgeting with them. With an embarrassed blush on her face, she admitted, "W-well, Saten-san is right, I-I did bake some cookies for you, but I was surprised when I ran into you on the bridge the next day. I-I just couldn't find the right timing to mention them and give them to you."

"Oh, that's why she came to visit me again." Touma felt really bad for not realizing it at the time, especially since he had complained about her store-bought cookies. He reached for her head and softly stroked her hair, saying, "I'm sorry for not noticing, Biri-Biri. I know you must've worked hard on those cookies."

The girl's cheeks reddened even more, and she stammered, "I-it's not your fault, I should've spoken up instead of just letting you leave." She felt frustrated that she'd been too embarrassed to give him the cookies.

"Wow, this is a whole new side of Misaka-san! Is this always how she always acts when she's around him?" Saten felt like she was intruding on a private moment, but she couldn't help but watch them.

Uiharu gushed, "Kamijou-san is really sweet! Come to think of it, he's like a heroic knight that swooped in to save Misaka-san!"

Kuroko wanted to do something to stop them, but she could tell that Mikoto was enjoying the boy's attention. "Whenever I do something like that to onee-sama, she gives me her electric whip. How does this troglodyte do it?"

Once the boy finished reassuring her, Mikoto and Touma smiled at each other for a few moments before finally looking away.

The five of them soon finished their meals. As they were getting ready to leave, Touma announced, "Well, Biri-Biri and I are going to go deliver these presents."

Mikoto added, "Yeah, I'll see you guys later, okay?"

Uiharu replied, "Bye, you two!" She was excited for Mikoto, knowing that she was going to spend some more time with the boy she liked.

Saten grinned, "Yeah, you guys have fun together!" Based on her friend's interactions with the boy, she concluded, "I don't think Misaka-san has any reason to worry. Kamijou-san seems very fond of her!"

Kuroko was morose, but she put on a brave face and replied, "I'll be eagerly awaiting you at home, onee-sama!"

Having said their goodbyes, Mikoto and Touma then began heading back to the hospital to deliver the necklaces to her sisters.