"I have considered it, you know?"

Misaki Shokuhou turned her head to Kuroko Shirai, the two laying in bed after another day of recovery. It had been a few days since Kuroko's exam and a new week had begun, but with it came more worries and stress for Mental Out.

"Considered what, my love?"

The starry-eyed blonde was confused, but she tried not to show it, just as she tried not to let her passive powers feel and listen to the brainwaves that emitted from her partner. Kuroko did not turn her gaze from her phone when Misaki spoke, her weary and tired expression not giving the blonde a glimpse of what the teleporter was thinking. It was hard to keep her feet still as a nervous deposition arose to the forefront of her frazzled emotions.

"That you used your powers on me, that you changed me."

It was like a bullet had been fired into her skull. Misaki's stomach dropped. She tried her hardest to remind herself of Kuroko's mindset, knowing that the Level 4 was only being realistic and questioning, not accusatory. But the shock of the exam results, the implications she feared from it, had already beaten her confidence to a bruising. What Kuroko was saying now nearly shattered her.

"I-I-" Her voice broke and she stammered. Kuroko still did not look up from her phone. "I don't know what to say…" Misaki forced out truthfully, her voice a near-whisper. It was an impossible situation for her. Outright denial, even if true, would sound too forceful. But even giving credence to the idea felt like an admission that need not be made.

"She said it to me, you know? Suggested it." Kuroko looked up from her phone, her tired face developing a small, sympathetic looking smile. Misaki found some comfort in that and, unable to resist the urge to fall back on her powers, felt nothing negative radiating from her partner.

"I… figured she might say something like that." Misaki uttered slowly and cautiously. "No doubt she referenced some old words of mine to justify it." Mental Out presumed with an ever so slightly haughty confidence, the reaction of which from her lover being a light chuckle and giggle.

"Mhm, she did. When you teased me, when you said you wanted to take me away from her." Kuroko remembered in a manner that was far more fonder than before. When things were somehow still innocent, when a certain someone was still there and the blonde was a nuisance, even a potential rival. She hummed a little chuckle as she thought about it, Misaki watching on with her own little smile, her nerves dying down a little.

"I suppose I did, in the end." Misaki commented while turning away, a little teasy on the outside but a little hopeful on the inside. It was impossible to not think about that night where Kuroko had arrived in a collapsed heap, her body coiling up and her powers fluctuating like Misaki had never seen before. Then peering into her partner's mind, being locked within it as the memories, the thoughts and the feelings of her lover flooded into her own.

Mikoto Misaka was still a strong, overbearing figure within Kuroko, and that frightened the blonde.

"You took nothing, Misa." Kuroko said softly, snapping Misaki back to the present. She brought her gaze back to her auburn-haired girlfriend, just in time for Kuroko to leave a peck on her lips. She figured that Kuroko must have been going for her cheek, but a kiss on the lips was more than welcome.

"You were there for me when she left the way she did. We became friends, we became this… that's not taking, that's building." Kuroko said thoughtfully, pulling away from being barely a few millimetres away from Misaki. The blonde smiled brighter this time, and the dark and worried thoughts within her were buried away for a time.

There was silence for a few moments. Misaki watched on as Kuroko turned off her phone and set it to the side, having a little upper body stretch as she straightened herself out in her sitting position on the bed. Misaki could feel that Kuroko had more to say, and she was more than willing to listen.

"However, I don't think it would matter if you altered my mind."

There was a confident resignation in Kuroko's voice, and Misaki was not sure how to feel about it. It was like Kuroko accepted that it had happened, that her mind had been adjusted to suit Misaki's needs and desires. It was uncomfortable for Misaki that Kuroko would accept it, to simply pass it off as an improvement. It was a kind of nihilism that Mental Out was not accustomed to hearing from her teleporter.

"Why do you say that?" Misaki asked, genuinely curious. "That's… not a line of thinking I hear often in regards to my powers." What was true was almost always hearing the exact opposite opinion when it came to her powers, and the almost existential fear it invoked with those who thought about it themselves. Kuroko turned away and was motionless for a moment, deep in thought. After a short time she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm just being sensible I guess…" Kuroko turned to face Misaki again, a small smile on her face. "Maybe I'm blinded by my love for you, by all the time we've been together, but would it really matter to me?" She then asked, coating the question with a romantic sugar before asking. "I would not know, after all."

"But I would." Misaki countered, the implication thick in her throat. Kuroko hummed, nodding slightly. She even seemed to be enjoying the conversation, perhaps drawn into the philosophical aspect of the chat.

"Indeed, and maybe you're not the kind of person who can live with that for someone you love."

"You trust me that much?"

There was another pause. Misaki had a serious but curious look on her face, and within her she hoped that it was the case that Kuroko fully believed in her. But there was something unsettling about the whole conversation. Misaki could not quite tell what it was, but there was a discomfort bubbling within her.

"I think so." Kuroko finally replied after a few more seconds, sure and certain. "I can think of so many things and so many times where you could have used your powers on me in a negative manner, but did not." It was easy to reflect on what kind of memories that could have been wiped and altered, and Kuroko even remembered the times when her memory had been restored by Misaki after entering a relationship. She remembered the apologies, and she remembered the caution of her starry-eyed lover when it came to any usage of her telepathic powers on her.

Misaki hummed, feeling thankful at the answer. But there was still a little unease.

Then that question came.

"You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?"

It was a question she dreaded answering, because she knew what she would say on instinct, and she knew it would be a lie.

"I would."

Even while she continued to hold back on telling her partner what was wrong with her, why it was happening… and why Misaki did not want it to happen.

"I have no choice myself, heh, I know you read my mind from time to time." Kuroko commented with some humour in her voice. There was not a hint of resentment in the statement, but it still landed heavily onto Misaki's chest.

"...I try not to." Misaki spoke with a small pout and some sense of honesty, though at times she could not help it. "I feel it too now, how you feel, it's hard not to." She referenced her relatively new passive powers, hearing the low hum of acknowledgement from her partner.

"I know, and it's okay. Anyway, it means I always have to tell the truth, so you better be doing the same!" Kuroko started softly before becoming louder and jovial, teasing her lover with a little bump of her shoulder into hers.

Misaki felt awful.

"I love you, Kuroko." Misaki said suddenly, saying something, anything, to move away from the topic. She wished she could tell her the truth of her condition, to tell her to stop and avoid all the danger and darkness that would come with it, but Misaki just could not bring herself to do it.

"Mm, I love you too." Kuroko said softly, drawing close again to leave a kiss on Misaki's lips. Misaki happily obliged, swallowing the nausea of the falsehood as Kuroko's lips touched hers. A few moments later they pulled apart, Kuroko smiling with adoration dancing across her face.

Her gaze locked onto her beautiful, wonderful smile, and Misaki knew that Kuroko would never stop pushing herself. She knew that the teleporter would always want to be better, stronger and faster. Kuroko did it all for her friends, for her Judgement work and colleagues, and for that public, fantastical image of the city that she loved.

But if Misaki could just delay reality, delay the reveal and the machinations of the dark side of this city, maybe Kuroko would be strong enough to fight against them.

Maybe, if the cards were played just right, no-one needed to know at all. Not even Kuroko.

Misaki snapped out of her contemplation when she felt Kuroko shuffled beside her, the bed sheets rustling as she adjusted herself in the bed. It looked as though she was about to lay down, but Misaki had something more to say before the two slept.

"Ah, Kuroko…" Misaki began, prompting Kuroko to pause midway through her repositioning within the bed sheets. She turned her attention to the blonde, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, her eyes and ears at full attention.

"Yes, Misa?"

"I do have some information on her…" Misaki paused for a moment. "...on Misaka-san." But she pushed away her concerns in mentioning The Railgun's name to Kuroko.

"Mm…" Kuroko hummed after a few moments, her expression drawing flater. Misaki could feel the discomfort pulsating from Kuroko, like she had opened the oven door at full blast. Still, Mental Out felt the need to say a little on the topic, at least to bind the two together over the threat that was Mikoto Misaka.

"Admittedly it is not extensive, but my clique has been keeping tabs on her when and where possible." Misaki commented, her starry eyes locked onto Kuroko's near-red ones. The teleporter nodded.

"Do you…" Kuroko let out a strained sigh as she tried to push out the words in her throat. She started again. "Do you know why she became so, just… unstable?"

Misaki could feel the pain and sadness through her passive powers, though the strained and sorrowful look on her partner's face would have told her that already. She had seen it before. Misaki could remember those very rare moments where Kuroko's mood would suddenly shift, when she thought she was alone or when some kind of nostalgic comment was made about the past.

There was a distinctive emptiness within her aura, as if she was missing something deep within her. Kuroko would be looking out the window with that troubled, torn-up look painted across her face, or be staring directly on into nothing in particular, or even into her cup of tea or whatever beverage she had before her at the time. Misaki would look on, her own sadness mixed in with something else, some kind of feeling that she could not put her gloved fingers on or use her remote to determine…

Or refuse to admit to.

"We don't." Misaki replied regretfully. "Our best theory is that something snapped inside her after the Level 6 Shift Attempt, but even that is a very weak hypothesis." She elaborated, leaving Kuroko disappointed. The teleporter sighed again, her eyes glancing downwards.

"I see…"

"I have another idea but I don't like the idea of it." Misaki then admitted, uncomfortable with the premise and what it could mean for the present and the future. Kuroko looked up, curious, beckoning her to continue with a few words. Misaki obliged.

"There is a pattern of mental health between the Level 5's, which even stems from the lower levels. A kind of narcissism, or a disregard of the humanity of those around them." Misaki explained; her words are slow, concise and carefully chosen. A part of her wants to jump down the route of simply saying that Level 5's have a tendency to be 'crazy', but she felt there was a more precise way of saying it. Kuroko had her own thoughts on that matter.

"I've experienced this before when confronting suspects and criminals, a kind of power craze, a feeling of invincibility." Kuroko had no such qualms invoking the insanity aspect. "Power warps people, even you have admitted to having a different code of morality with your powers."

"Ah, I suppose."

"I'm not calling you insane, of course!" Kuroko quickly interjected, leading to a finger being placed on her lips and a cute muffled noise being locked within her mouth.

"I know what you mean, dear, don't worry✨." Misaki said with a smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes, one that Kuroko knew signalled a new way for the blonde to tease her. Kuroko smiled a little, placing a kiss on her partner's finger before it departed from her lips.

"But yes, being a high-level Esper changes you, a Level 5 even more so." Misaki continued the conversation, agreeing with her lover's sentiment. "It does not help that most of those who have become a Level 5 were already unhinged at best, and I thought that Misaka-san was one of those exceptions."

"Me too…"

"Indeed." The mood turned a little sombre, but Misaki forced the conversation back on track. "But the mind is a fickle thing, and it is so easy for it to change. Perhaps she was destined to change, or perhaps it was an external factor." Misaki said, offering a kind of out to the worst case scenario. It was not like the blonde did not hope that it was reversible because she had viewed Misaka as a friend herself, at least by the end of their time together in Tokiwadai.

"I've always hoped and assumed it was the latter…" Kuroko commented with a voice that felt distant, almost as if she were reiterating the thought to herself and to herself alone. She glanced away, thinking for a moment, trying to look back at the memories that now gave her such pain and sadness.

"We'll have to wait and see, I believe." Misaki said softly, bringing her hand up to cup Kuroko's cheek. The teleporter melted into the touch, closing her weary eyes and enjoying the loving, physical contact.

"Yeah, we will."

There were a few more moments of silence as the topic eroded away. Misaki guided Kuroko closer to her, moving the hand on Kuroko's cheek further forward towards the back of her lover's neck, pulling the teleporter towards her. The two closed their eyes as their lips softly met, deeply enjoying the moment after talking about such a difficult subject for the pair. It only lasted for a dozen or so seconds, the two women too tired to go any further.

They pulled away, the pair looking affectionately and longingly at each other with small, loving smiles on their faces.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you." Misaki said apologetically, and Kuroko slightly shook her head.

"It's fine, I never asked about it. It's relevant now." Kuroko dismissed the apology quickly, leaving another peck on Misaki's cheek before pulling back to her side of the bed. Misaki withdrew as well, humming and nodding.

"You're heading into Judgement tomorrow?" Misaki asked nonchalantly, a final thought on her mind. Kuroko hummed in affirmation, her head tilting. She figured that the blonde had a follow-up question, so allowed her girlfriend to express it.

"I talked to Kazari-san. She and Junko will be working together with data gathering while Misaka-san is on the move." Misaki said, telling Kuroko of the outcome of her conversation with the dark-haired girl a few days ago. Kuroko hummed again, nodding her head, though she looked a little unconvinced at the collaboration.

"Hmm… I'm not sure about that, but alright, I guess it makes sense." Kuroko's sense of professionalism was strong, and she was not a big fan of working with an organisation outside of the law.

Even if, by loose extension, she was a part of Misaki's clique.

"Thank you for understanding, but I do apologise for the overstep."

"Hm, I'll let it slide because I love you so much." Kuroko said semi-sarcastically, a little chuckle escaping her when Misaki rolled her eyes at the sappy, teasy attitude of her partner. The blonde playfully shoved her girlfriend's shoulder with her hand, and Kuroko's giggle became a full blown laugh. Misaki grinned and giggled, a genuine sense of happiness filling her for the first time in weeks.

She almost did not want to bring up the other problem.

When the two calmed down, now feeling very, very tired, Misaki went to speak up again. Misaki cleared her throat, her soft and happy expression slightly dropping, replaced with a half serious frown on her brow.

"But one more thing." Misaki started. "Keep an eye on Yoshika-san."

"Eh, her? Why?" Kuroko now looked confused, though her playfulness was still on display. "You think she's some kind of secret agent for the oh-so-mighty Railgun?" Kuroko smiled through the weird twinge of discomfort from mentioning Misaka, though her welcome happy energy got her through it. It was a bizarre request from her partner, something that did not fit the dorky demeanour of the newbie, but she was always happy to hear the blonde out.

Misaki did not respond right away, seemingly trying to get across the seriousness of the situation. Kuroko's enthusiastic look faded away, and her confused brow furrowed into something more concerned.

"Misaki?" Kuroko uttered, her voice a little sharper.

"I couldn't access her mind."

Now Kuroko was shocked. Her mouth went ever-so-slightly agape and her eyes widened a little. She would have found it comical, given the subject in question, had it not been for the weight of meaning behind that simple, short sentence.

"How..?"

"I'm not sure. I used a higher setting as well, nothing happened." Misaki explained, shrugging her shoulders. Kuroko still could not believe it.

"I highly doubt her Esper power can block you out, but she only wears her glasses… I don't see how that can have the technology inside it to shield herself." Kuroko tried to find a logical explanation for it, but nothing was fitting. "Even if it did, the expense would be enormous…"

"Which is why I'm concerned." Misaki added. "Either she's lying about her power and level, or she's working for someone." Misaki finished, her bias leaning on the latter. However, she highly doubted that she was working for Misaka, and that made the blonde even more worried.

"You keep an eye on that development race, don't you?" Kuroko suddenly asked. "You've told me before about your clique keeping an eye on 'Mental Out Blockers'." She clarified, just in case the sleepiness within Misaki was stopping her from piecing together what Kuroko meant. Misaki nodded.

"Yes, why?"

"Have there been any new developments? Any raids or the like?"

Misaki had a think on that. From what she could remember, neither Junko or any other operatives had mentioned anything new coming out or any facility raids as of late. Given the nature of the feud-of-sorts between the authorities and Mental Out, it was a topic that she received bi-weekly reports on, and nothing had come up.

The latest one came in just a few days ago…

"No." Misaki said simply, leaving Kuroko to stew in her own thoughts on the matter. She hummed, resisting the trope of stroking her chin.

"But my information is likely to never be perfect. Having a group dedicated to you is not a magic bullet." Misaki argued, which Kuroko considered to be a pretty fair opinion. The secrecy within the Windowless Building and the various sects and facilities that reported to it was renowned, and often completely air-tight. The Shokuhou Clique was powerful, but they did not have a cheat code to reality.

"Understandable." Kuroko finally said, letting out a breath and slowly pulling herself down into the bed sheets. She was really tired now, and very much wanted to get some sleep before her first day outside the campus in over a week.

"I'll keep an eye on her."

"Kazari-san is too, I told her the same." Misaki reassured her partner, ignoring the buzz of her phone on the desk. 'Who is texting me at this hour…?' She thought in annoyance.

"Mhm, good." Kuroko mumbled within the sheets, tucking them over her neck and the lower part of her head. "Good night, Misa."

"Good night, my lovely Kuroko." Misaki said, full of affection and love. She could not help but smile as she looked down at the cosy teleporter, feeling a deep sense of comfort at the simplicity of the moment. If only every day was like this, and their lives were more normal.

Misaki turned away and laid on the cushioned headboard of the bed. She allowed the fatigue of the day to wash over her now, staring ahead into nothing as her body relaxed and her eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier.

A few moments passed, and her curiosity over the phone vibrating a few moments ago won out over her sleepiness.

She reached out, grabbing the smartphone.

The lock-screen lit up, presenting a selfie of herself and Kuroko enjoying a day out in the cafe, their cheeks squished together.

In the middle of their chins was a text message icon.

An eyebrow raised, Misaki unlocked the phone. The main menu screen appeared, and the message app displayed a single red dot protruding from the corner of the icon.

Misaki tapped it.

It was from Misaka.

Z#: "Oh, I see…"

Just like that, all that warmth and positivity was buried by a deep sense of complete, utter dread.

'She knows…'