Hello, everyone! In the last chapter, the Railgang finally learned about the details of the Magic Side, as well as Mikoto and Touma's involvement with it. This chapter will show the couple's trip to the Dianoid and the beginning of NT12.

Nightfang123: I didn't want Othinus to interrupt their night, so I decided to have her reveal herself the morning after. I'm glad you liked it.

Rekuta: Yeah, I don't know if Othinus enjoyed hearing that, but she did tease them about it. Mikoto probably would make bentos for Touma when they're married. Saten should indeed avoid using magic for her own safety, and I'm glad you enjoyed Uiharu teasing Kuroko. Thanks for the links, writing NT13 will be pretty fun!

dragonghoul9707: Index may be doubtful of telling them more about magic, though they sort of figured it out on their own already. The St. Germain arc does start in this chapter.

MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoyed Mikoto and Touma's interactions in that chapter.

xellos540: Mikoto might just be dreaming of being a wife, or at least a live-in girlfriend. Yeah, the bathing procedure was a little confusing to figure out, since the Railgun bathhouse episode shows the girls washing each other in the bath. But maybe that doesn't include soap. They might try doing the easy-to-reach areas next time. The slaps were funny to write in, and Othinus's reveal was too. She does feel like she has the right to hitch a ride with Touma whenever she wants. Mikoto could buy the dollhouse for Othinus, but she'd probably not want to do it under blackmail. Hmm, you're right, Touma may be more reluctant to tell his male friends about it, though they already know that he and Mikoto have had sex. I guess Saten came up with that term on her own. It could be nice to have some scenes of Touma talking to Saten. Touma will have to hope that Stiyl doesn't find out, I guess. Mikoto wanted to make Touma sweat for a bit. I think by now, it's come out that what happened in London was a coup. Othinus did reveal herself to Touma's classmates, so I don't think it's too out of character for her to reveal herself to Mikoto's friends. They probably did tell Kuroko and the others about Sherry, since she was involved in that.

Stryper88: Yes, Touma was quite naughty to do that slap! These morning after scenes are fun to write too, so I'll try having more of them when there's an opportunity. Othinus revealing herself was funny, and the Railgang did take the news about magic relatively well.

It was now the first day of December, and Academy City was already getting into the Christmas atmosphere. There were colorful lights strung around trees, stuffed reindeer, and girls dressed in Santa outfits.

Mikoto walked through the streets, wearing a thick coat over her winter uniform and letting out white breaths. She wondered whether the successful resolution of the conflict with GREMLIN would make the holiday celebrations even livelier this year.

However, she thought to herself, "Well, I won't be able to enjoy Christmas with Touma if I'm stuck at Tokiwadai." The school forced its students to remain in their dorms or do special service work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, in an effort to prevent inappropriate relations with the opposite sex.

Mikoto sighed and continued thinking, "I could probably get Kuroko to help, and hang out with the girls for a bit as well. But the teachers will probably expect that, so it might not even work. Damn it, why does Tokiwadai have to be so oppressive!" She rubbed her head as she began stressing out about the situation.

She then suddenly heard a voice call out to her, "Misaka-san, is that you?"

Mikoto turned around and saw a college-aged girl wearing glasses and a Santa outfit. She was obviously being controlled, so Mikoto narrowed her eyes and directly asked, "What do you want, Shokuhou?" Their last encounter hadn't been particularly pleasant, after all.

It had taken a lot for Shokuhou to be able to approach Mikoto, even through a controlled person. After learning that Touma was dating Mikoto, Shokuhou had been completely heartbroken, and had cried in her room for quite a while. Hokaze, Kobayashi, and the rest of her clique had noticed that she was feeling down, but Shokuhou had asked them not to pry.

But now, Shokuhou raised the girl's finger to her chin and said, "I really hate doing this, but I'm here to discuss something with you."

Mikoto put a hand against her hip and questioned, "Oh? And what's that?"

Shokuhou began, "It's about Christmas. We're both Level 5's, but neither of us can do anything when Tokiwadai bans us from leaving. To put it bluntly, the teachers' defensive ability is too much."

Mikoto nodded and stated, "Yes, their defensive routine was even adopted by the maximum security juvenile hall. Fighting against it is futile." Of course, the staff oversaw a school composed entirely of high-level espers, so it was necessary for them to have methods of managing those espers, which they managed to do with a combination of technology and martial arts training.

However, Shokuhou noted, "But I think we failed last year because the Level 5 ability was separated. They probably put the two of us in separate dorms on purpose. But if we work together, by planning things ahead of time and covering for each other's weaknesses, I bet we could achieve the impossible and break through those solid defenses! It's going to be a white Christmas, so it'd be awfully boring to be stuck in our rooms for the second year in a row."

Mikoto knew the other girl had a point. Unlike with Mikoto and Kuroko, the teachers and dorm supervisors probably wouldn't expect Mikoto and Shokuhou to work together, especially since they disliked each other, and the combination of their powers would provide the best chance for them to escape.

But the proposition was very suspicious. Mikoto crossed her arms and asked, "Okay, but why are you so eager to get out for Christmas? All of your friends in your clique would be at Tokiwadai. Are you looking to go out by yourself, or is there a certain someone that you want to see?" Knowing that Shokuhou had feelings for Touma, Mikoto strongly suspected that she was scheming to run into Touma.

The other girl smirked, replying, "My my, you're so paranoid, Misaka-san. Is it that hard to believe that I want to enjoy the Christmas festivities outside that glorified prison? Besides, this exquisite body of mine is not suited for physical labor."

Mikoto rolled her eyes and said in a doubtful tone, "Uh-huh. What's your real goal?"

Shokuhou sighed and retorted in a slightly bitter tone, "Why do you care so much? I'm giving you the chance to spend time with him for Christmas, so why aren't you showing more gratefulness ability?"

Mikoto scoffed and said, "That's exactly why, this deal seems like it would benefit me more than you, which is why you must have some ulterior motive."

In response to this accusation, Shokuhou sighed and muttered, "Is it so hard to believe that I'm trying to take his advice and get along with you?" The boy's words had made an impression on her, though she still had many qualms about trying to follow them.

Mikoto was taken aback by this, especially when combined with the other girl's disheartened demeanor. She wondered, "There's no way she's telling the truth, right? It doesn't make any sense. Does she actually want to become friends with me so she can get closer to him?"

Eventually, despite her suspicions, Mikoto decided to accept the olive branch, at least for now. She held out her arm and said, "Fine, let's work together, Shokuhou." As Shokuhou reached out and shook her hand, Mikoto thought, "She'll probably try to sabotage me, so I'll have to ditch her as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, Shokuhou thought, "That was easier than I thought, she really is too naive. Once I get out, I just need to find a way to meet up with Kamijou-san."

Thus, while smiling and shaking hands, both girls prepared for the possibility of betrayal.

At this point, both of them saw a certain spiky-haired boy approaching. The two girls let go of each other's hands, and the controlled college-aged one stepped back into the surroundings, while Mikoto directly approached her boyfriend.

Mikoto immediately saw that his shoulders were drooping, and greeted him, "Hey, Touma! Is something wrong?"

When the boy saw her, his only response was a distraught groan, so she gently placed her hands on his shoulders and rubbed them, saying in a consoling tone, "You look like you're about to cry. Don't worry, whatever it is, I'll help you deal with it." She wondered what could be affecting him so much after all he'd already been through.

Touma placed his hands on her waist and exclaimed, "Biri-Biri, you'll really help me?" She gave him a small encouraging nod, and he continued, "I have to take those two girls I live with to the Dianoid, and I'm completely dreading it!"

Mikoto raised and eyebrow and asked in a skeptical tone, "That's it? That's what you're so troubled about?"

The boy gripped tighter onto her waist and replied, "You don't understand! It might be normal for a rich girl like you, but I'd be completely out of place in District 15! The people there are like from an entirely different world!"

The girl chuckled and teasingly ruffled his hair, saying, "Come on, are you also the kind of person who says he's afraid of steamed buns? Why do you need to take them there anyway?"

Touma sighed and answered, "Well, this morning, Othinus was being chased around by Sphinx like usual. There was a TV ad for a hand-made dollhouse being sold there, and she insisted that I get it for her, so she can have shelter from the cat."

Mikoto grinned as she listened to the amusing story. She was a little disappointed that Othinus may soon get to live in a luxurious dollhouse, no longer suffering from Sphinx. She soon replied, "I see. Well, if you really are scared of going there, I can go with you!"

The boy's eyes lit up, and he pulled her closer against him, exclaiming, "Really, Mikoto? You'll come with me? Thank you!" With his girlfriend by his side, he would look a little less out of place among all the rich couples that would certainly be there.

The girl rested her hands against his chest and replied in a cheerful tone, "Of course! Plus, maybe I can find some presents for my friends or my sisters."

Touma pulled apart from her and said, "Great! Let's go there after school today."

Mikoto nodded, "Sure, I'll see you then!" They then waved goodbye to each other, and Touma continued walking towards his school.

Once he was gone, the girl in the Santa suit from before returned, causing Mikoto to say, "What now, Shokuhou?"

Shokuhou had experienced a painful feeling in her chest upon seeing Mikoto and Touma being so affectionate with each other. But she ignored it for now and said in a teasing voice, "Did I hear correctly, that Kamijou-san is living with, not one, but two girls? I'm surprised that you're okay with that."

Mikoto frowned, briefly wondering if the other girl had been eavesdropping on her entire conversation with Touma. But she realized that Touma had said that part out pretty loudly, so she relaxed and replied with a shrug, "I trust him."

Shokuhou just smirked and thought, "Hmm, this might be too much hope ability, but will Misaka-san be able to handle a boyfriend who gets involved with so many different girls? They're in their honeymoon phase now, but if they break up later, Christmas might be the perfect time for me to swoop in."

In any case, neither Mikoto nor Shokuhou trusted each other. But they had agreed to work together, so they now had 23 days to plan their escape.

Later that afternoon, after school was over, Touma, Index, and Othinus met up with Mikoto at the District 7 subway station. To Othinus's dismay, Index had brought Sphinx along with her. They took the train to District 15, and stepped out onto the platform when it arrived at the station. Touma saw that quite a few of the people in the station looked sparkling rich, which didn't help his feeling of being out of place.

Index looked around and said, "This is District 15? It doesn't look that different."

Touma answered, "That's because we're still underground."

Index then excitedly exclaimed, "You said the Dianoid is made of diamond, right? Let go, Touma! The sooner we finish, the longer we can eat!"

Mikoto was amused by the girl's enthusiasm, but she gently corrected her, "It's not exactly made of diamond, Index. It's made from other forms of carbon structures, like nanotubes."

The boy nodded, and added, "Anyway, we're already there! The subway station is built into the Dianoid, so we can just take an elevator from here into the shopping complex."

They all proceeded to do exactly that, soon arriving on the lower level of the shopping area, which stretched up to the 20th floor. They took a moment to marvel at the structure of the giant building, which had an atrium spanning the entire height. Touma felt even more like he didn't belong in such a high-class shopping center, but Mikoto's grip on his hand soothed him a little.

Othinus was eager to get the dollhouse, so she emerged from within Touma's scarf and asked, "So where is that store selling the artisan-made dollhouse?"

Touma stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a map he'd printed out earlier. Examining it, he answered, "Okay, it's on the fifth floor, and taking the escalator will probably be faster than the elevator."

They then rode a series of escalators all the way from the lower level up to the fifth floor. Once they arrived, Index looked around and determined, "It looks very crowded." Indeed, the floor was densely packed with throngs of people, and it was difficult to move around.

Touma shrugged and mused, "Well, it was featured on the news this morning, so a lot of people must have had the same idea as us."

Othinus was beginning to get worried, and fretted, "Hold on, I don't mind if it's popular, but if we can't get the dollhouse, I won't have any days of peace!" There was not just the worry of the dollhouse being sold out, since at the moment, it would be difficult to physically reach the store in the first place.

Mikoto chuckled at Othinus's plight, but then said, "Relax, Othinus. It's not like we're in a hurry, we can wait for the crowd to thin out." She then gestured to a nearby store and said, "Let's go in there! I'd like to try looking for some gifts."

Othinus crossed her arms and narrowed her eye at the other girl, saying, "So you're hijacking this shopping trip that was originally supposed to be for my dollhouse?"

Mikoto reached out and gently nudged Othinus's body with her finger, replying, "It's not like we're in a hurry, and I need to do some Christmas shopping."

Othinus still felt annoyed, but sighed and conceded, "Fine." The four of them thus headed into the store Mikoto had pointed out, which happened to sell clothing and accessories. Although it wasn't as crowded as some of the other stores, there were still plenty of people inside.

As they entered the store, Index asked in a curious tone, "Mikoto, who are you buying presents for, besides Touma?"

Mikoto was a little startled by her blunt question. Of course, she was planning to get a present for her boyfriend, but she wasn't going to do so when he was with her. She answered, "For my friends and sisters." Index didn't know about her sisters, but Mikoto figured that mentioning having sisters wouldn't be suspicious.

Index nodded and replied, "Oh, that's nice! That cool beauty with the goggles on her head who zapped the fleas off of Sphinx is your twin sister, right?"

Mikoto winced and recalled, "Oh yeah, she met 10032-chan." She said, "Yeah, she is." Hoping to avoid further questioning, she headed further into the store.

Touma followed her, though he made sure to keep an eye on Index. He stopped right next to his girlfriend and asked her in a soft voice, "Mikoto, are you really going to buy gifts for all of your sisters?"

The girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, answering, "Of course! What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't get Christmas gifts for all my little sisters, despite being able to afford it?"

The boy gave her a doubtful expression, and questioned, "Can you really afford it? With shipping included, even if each gift costs only about 1000 yen, 10 thousand of them will total 10 million yen. I know you spend a million yen per month on that hotel room, but wouldn't 10 million all at once be too much?"

Mikoto frowned as she considered his point. She mused out loud, "It's true, 10 million yen would be a significant amount of money for me, but I should be able to afford it, and I'll happily pay it to make my sisters happy." She didn't want them to think that they couldn't get gifts just because there were so many of them.

She then grinned at her boyfriend and lightly elbowed his chest, saying, "But since you're really good at stretching out your money, maybe you can help me save a bit."

Touma nervously scratched his head, trying to think of some suggestions. He proposed, "Well, if you buy a lot of the same things, you might be able to get a bulk discount for them. Though you probably want them to be unique for each Sister, right?" The girl silently nodded, so he continued, "Well, you could also get them homemade gifts. It'll be hard to make almost 10 thousand things, but maybe it's possible with your abilities."

Mikoto brought her hand up to her chin, thinking out loud, "That's a good idea, but what can I make that would let me use my powers like that? I guess I could make things out of metal and use my magnetism to pack them in boxes for shipping."

Othinus looked over curiously at Mikoto and questioned, "So you're going to procure almost 10 thousand boxes, pack them, and individually ship them to thousands of different locations around the world?"

Mikoto's face tensed up a bit as she thought about how much work that would be. But she then showed a determined expression, replying, "Yes, it'll be a lot of work, but I have a month to organize the logistics. Though I suppose I should make sure that all the gifts aren't too big, so I can minimize the size of the boxes."

The girl then looked over at a nearby shelf and saw a bunch of nice, fancy necklaces. She held up one of them with her hand and looked at the price tag, muttering, "3000 yen, that's a little on the pricier side."

Touma glanced at the price tags of a few other necklaces and saw that they were all similarly pricey. He reasoned, "Well, this is a high-class mall, so most of the stuff is going to be expensive. Maybe you can get them cheaper necklaces, like the ones we gave to the Sisters here and in Hawaii and Russia."

Mikoto glanced over at him and mused, "Yeah, maybe. Though it might be bad if I just get them random necklaces they might not like the design of. Plus, I'd need to get different gifts for those six Sisters."

The boy recalled, "That's right, each of them got to ask for a specific type of charm on the necklace, so the others would probably want that opportunity too. And then it would lose the surprise factor."

The girl nodded, "Yeah, for sure." She walked a bit further along down an aisle, with Touma following behind her. There were other types of accessories on display, like bracelets, hair clips, and rings. Looking around at the variety of jewelry, she sighed and muttered, "I can't just give them all the same thing, and I can't just give them randomly different things. This is so hard without knowing what every single one of them likes and dislikes."

Touma placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, "I don't think you need to stress about it so much, Biri-Biri. Your sisters will understand the circumstances, and they'll be happy that you were thoughtful enough to get each of them a present. Plus, with how creative you are, I'm sure you'll come up with something good!"

Mikoto gave her boyfriend a grateful smile and replied, "Thanks, Touma." She knew that her sisters would appreciate any gifts from her, but she did want to be thoughtful enough to be worthy of that appreciation. She thought to herself, "Well, I have a few weeks to figure this out. And I think I have a couple of ideas already."

The boy then looked behind him and saw Index disappear into an aisle on the other side of the store. He told Mikoto, "Hey, I'm going to go check on Index, okay?"

Mikoto nodded, "Okay." The boy walked towards where the nun had gone off to, leaving Mikoto by herself.

The girl watched her boyfriend walk away, momentarily enjoying the view. She then wondered what she could get Touma for Christmas. She mused to herself, "He doesn't own a laptop, maybe I can buy him one? Then again, he might not want such an expensive gift, plus with his misfortune, it'll probably break after not much time. Maybe some durable clothes? I can probably find ones that aren't too expensive."

Mikoto then let out a stressed sigh, concluding, "Man, Christmas shopping is really stressful! And I also have to think of good gifts for my friends." She decided that she probably wouldn't end up buying any gifts that day, but at least she was getting some inspiration and a few good ideas.

Meanwhile, Touma had just caught up to Index. He now scolded her, "You shouldn't wander so far away from us!"

Index sharply retorted, "But you and Mikoto were the ones to walk away from me, Touma! Besides, this store is so boring, there's no food here at all! Can we go to the food court?"

Othinus then exclaimed, "Hold on, we still need to get that dollhouse!"

Touma held his hands out and said in a placating tone, "Okay, okay, we'll go get the dollhouse, and then go get food. But first, Mikoto will probably want to look around for a bit longer."

Index wasn't completely satisfied, but sighed and replied, "Fine, fine."

The boy was glad to have defused the situation, at least for now. He then looked around at his surroundings, and saw that he happened to be in a section with girl's clothing. He muttered, "Maybe I can get Biri-Biri some nice clothes?"

Touma was a bit worried about being seen as creepy for being a boy looking at girls' clothes, but the people nearby barely spared a glance. Fortunately, Othinus was discreetly hiding in his scarf.

There were a variety of shirts, blouses, shorts, skirts, pants, and dresses, each in different colors or styles. He knew that his girlfriend generally preferred simple, cute, and functional clothes over anything overly fancy, so he focused on those types of clothes.

However, when he looked at the price tags, his eyes widened in shock. He exclaimed, "6000 yen for a blouse? 10,000 yen for a dress? This is way too expensive, even for a high-end store!"

Othinus smirked, noticing, "Yes, girl's clothing tends to be more expensive than boys' clothing, especially since we tend to want to be more fashionable." When she noticed his distraught expression, she added, "But don't worry, human. There are cheaper options too. But do you know your girlfriend's size?"

Touma scratched his head and replied, "I'm pretty sure she's a size small?" Maybe the benchmarks were different for girls, but his shirts were size mediums, so he expected Mikoto, who had a smaller frame, to be one step smaller.

Othinus muttered to herself, "Why am I not surprised." She then said more loudly to Touma, "Do you not know about a girl's three sizes?"

The boy gave her a puzzled expression and said, "Three sizes? You mean small, medium, large?"

Othinus gave him a dumbfounded stare for a bit, before exclaiming, "How do you not know this, you literally live with an actual girl! The three sizes are bust, waist, and hips!"

Touma's eyes widened and he blushed furiously. He nervously rubbed his neck and said, "O-oh, that, yeah, of course! Um, I don't have a good guess off the top of my head, but maybe if I think about it, I can get a good estimate. Or maybe it'd be better to just ask her directly, but then that'd ruin the surprise."

Othinus sighed, "Don't worry, human. I can tell you that her bust is 78 centimeters, her waist is 56, and her hips are 79."

The boy's jaw dropped, and he asked her, "How do you know that information? Did you measure her when we were asleep in the hotel?"

Othinus glared at him and replied, "Don't make me out as some kind of pervert like her teleporter roommate! I recreated her and her identical clones millions of times, of course I would know what their exact specifications are!"

Touma shivered a bit, realizing that this also meant that Othinus knew the exact body shapes and sizes of every human on Earth, including him.

Index had been silently observing Touma and Othinus's conversation, feeling a little weirded out. But now, she brought up another issue, pointing out, "Hey, doesn't Mikoto wear her school uniform every day? When would she be able to wear any clothes you buy her?"

The boy quickly answered, "She could wear them when we spend the night together, so she doesn't get in trouble for wearing them in public. But you have a good point, maybe I could get her a coat? But then again, she already has one."

Othinus then suggested, "She can't change her outerwear, so why not buy her some underwear? That's a common present between couples, right?"

Touma's cheeks reddened as he imagined buying Mikoto a set of sexy bras and panties. However, he quickly shook his head to banish those thoughts and protested, "Are you sure you're not a pervert? Anyway, that would feel more like a gift for myself than a gift for her."

Othinus shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

At this point, Mikoto came over and joined back up with them, saying, "Okay, I think I'm pretty much done. I got some good inspiration, but I'm not going to buy anything here."

Touma nodded, saying, "All right. Let's go get that dollhouse." They all walked out of the store, aiming to pass through a hopefully thinned out crowd to get to the store that was selling it.

Unfortunately, when they emerged back into the concourse, they found that it was just as crowded as it was before, if not even more so. Touma winced as he looked at the wall of people blocking them from reaching their desired store. He looked up at the ceiling and groaned, "Looks like we're out of luck, Othinus. Maybe I could tape together a cardboard box for you?"

Othinus, feeling her hopes and dreams suddenly slipping away, firmly replied, "That won't work, the cat would tear it apart almost immediately!"

Index then made her own suggestion, musing, "If you want something that won't be destroyed, try something smooth and without joins. You could put a wash basin upside-down over yourself."

Othinus groaned, "Don't you get that he's smart enough to lift up the wash basin? None of you understand the threat!"

Mikoto chuckled at the former Magic God's plight, and snidely proposed, "Maybe you should try making friends with Sphinx? You already got along so well with Later!"

Othinus glared at her and exclaimed, "Screw you, Railgun! In fact, screw all of you!" She was pissed off at how lightly the other three were treating the situation. She suddenly pulled herself out of Touma's scarf and jumped from his shoulder down onto the floor, shouting, "I refuse to accept this!" Once her feet hit the floor, she immediately began running between the crow's feet and towards the shop.

Touma stared forward in shock, exclaiming, "How does she expect to buy it when she's only 15 centimeters tall? Even if she's not stomped on, she's more likely to be mistaken for a new type of doll and ripped apart for examination!"

Index then sprung into action, saying, "This is an emergency, but don't worry, Touma! Sphinx, go!" She tossed the cat onto the floor, and it immediately started chasing after Othinus.

Touma cried out, "No, that's only making it worse!" But it was all in vain, for Index also started chasing after Sphinx and Othinus.

He and Mikoto tried to run after them, but they were blocked by the walls of people, and they had to hold hands to avoid being separated from each other. The two of them were soon forced to retreat to a wall on the edge of the atrium to get a reprieve from the crowd, and by that point, neither of them saw any sight of Index, despite her conspicuous clothes.

The boy called out, "Index? Othinus?" There was no response, and he worried that the two girls had somehow gone to another floor.

Mikoto and Touma were about to approach a nearby escalator, but they suddenly noticed a person leaning against a column and panting. It was unclear if they were a boy or a girl, but their cheeks were completely red, and they were gasping for breath.

The couple rushed over to him, and Touma said, "Hey, are you okay? If it's too stuffy in here with the crowd, you should sit down on a bench and rest!"

The person sputtered out, "I-I'm...I'm Ai…"

Mikoto interrupted them by grabbing their wrist and leading them to a nearby vending machine. She quickly bought a bottle of water and held it out, saying, "Here. If you're too dazed to drink, you should go to the infirmary."

It soon became clear that he was a boy when he replied, "Thanks." He took the bottle, uncapped it, and gulped down the water.

Mikoto and Touma watched him carefully, and once they saw he was able to drink without coughing anything up, they decided that it wasn't too serious.

The small boy reassured them, "Don't worry, I'm not suffering from heat stroke or dehydration. I was just sweating because I was running. Ugh, I have to search out the Dianoid's secrets to rescue that girl, but I ended up having to run away from those weird things right off the bat."

Touma repeated, "That girl? Run away?"

The other boy realized what he'd just said. He frantically waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "B-but that was only because I don't like spilling unnecessary blood, so I kindly let them win! If I was serious, the world would come to an end!"

Both Mikoto and Touma looked skeptically at him, so he continued, "You're doubting me, aren't you? I may not look like it, but I'm actually Academy City's 6th Ranked Level 5, Aihana Etsu!"

With that declaration, the people passing by looked over in shock, and a few even dashed away. That was the power of that name. Either people would decide that he was a fake, or they would believe him and then tremble in fear.

However, Touma then spoke up, in a completely unperturbed tone, "Oh, cool, you're also a Level 5? So do you know Accelerator, or Mikoto here?" He gestured at Mikoto as he said her name.

"Aihana" said in a confused tone, "Huh? What?"

Touma then said, "Hmm, maybe not. Anyway, what was that about running away?"

"Aihana" soon realized what was happening. The boy in front of him had skipped wondering whether he was a fake, and wasn't remotely scared of him, even if he was a real Level 5.

Touma continued, "Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Kamijou Touma, and this is my girlfriend, Misaka Mikoto. Nice to meet you, Aihana-san."

"Aihana" fell down onto his rear and slid away along the floor, trembling after hearing those names. He looked up at the couple and replied, "W-wait, you're Misaka Mikoto, the 3rd Ranked Level 5, Railgun? A-and you're the Kamijou Touma? The boy said to run around the city at night, knocking out even the most powerful enemies with his fist and snatching up every girl in his path?"

Touma held a hand to his head, groaning, "Ugh, why do I have that sort of image? And it's reminding me of one of those worlds!" Feeling some trauma from Othinus, he wasn't able to offer a good comeback.

By the time Touma looked back up, the other boy had already run away, though Touma could tell the direction he'd gone in by his screams.

Mikoto put a hand on her hip and mused, "Hmm, was that really the 6th Ranked? He seemed pretty wimpy for a Level 5."

Touma took a moment to recover, and then suggested, "Who knows, maybe he doesn't get out much?"

The girl shrugged, "That's true, he almost never appears in public, and not much is known about him." She then smirked at him and elbowed his shoulder, teasing, "He seemed to know you pretty well, though!"

Touma turned to face her and retorted, "Are you kidding? What was that nonsense about me snatching up every girl? I'm very happy enough with one girl!"

Mikoto chuckled and replied, "Well, I'm glad you snatched me up, at least. Anyway, let's go look for Index and Othinus."

The boy nodded, "Yeah, okay."

However, though they both looked forward to reuniting with their companions, their shopping trip would soon be turned into a dangerous battle.