I'mmmmm back with more heartache and emotional trauma! Yay... This chapter actually goes somewhere unlike the last one. But it's not as sad... It's still pretty sad.

Note: Okay, people, about the harem thing. I was joking. Please don't take me seriously on that... So yeah. Any interaction between Mikoto and Ruiko or Mikoto and Touma is purely FRIENDSHIP. Look in the summary, people. It says, "MikoKuro". Besides...

Isn't Touma a little too old for Mikoto?

OKAY... Onto the story now.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Toaru Majutsu no Index, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, or the like. All rights go to the wonderful J.C. Staff and brilliant Mr. Kazuma Kamachi.

Blood-Stained Roses Chapter 3: The White Rose Burned Into Ash - Part One

Ruiko stares at me, wide-eyed, like she doesn't know who I am.

"H-Huh?"

"Whoever killed Kuroko," I repeat. "I'll kill them."

She stands up and walks over to me, grabbing my shoulders tightly. "Mikoto, I realize what you're going through is tough, okay?" I nod. She takes a deep breath, exhales, then starts again. "But, you can't let your anger take control of you. Don't do something so irrational!"

I stare at her for a second, processing it. She's right. I am letting my anger take control of me. Could I really have the need for vengeance so much as to kill someone?

"You're right," I say, grabbing her wrists and prying her hands off me. "I won't stoop to their level."

She smiles, a relieved smile. "Thanks, Mikoto."

"But-" She sighs, cutting me off. "Of course there's a catch..." She mumbles. I furrow my eyebrows at her until she gives in and says, "G-Go on..."

"I do want to catch whoever did this, and bring them to justice." I finish.

She puts a finger to her chin, thinking for a second, then grins at me. "In that case, I'll help you!" She exclaims.

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'll help you!" She repeats, grabbing my wrists and swinging my arms around wildly. "It'll be cool! We'll be like detectives!"

"Ruiko, it's dangerous." I say firmly, as if scolding her.

"Your point?" She asks, tilting her head at me.

"I'm saying, we don't know who did this. They could even be stronger than I am." I say.

"Then, we'll bring someone else along, too!" She says, obviously dead-set on this.

"No, Ruiko." I say. "I'd rather do this alone. I don't want you getting hurt." Suddenly her face turns angry again, taking me off guard. What did I say? I'm trying to protect her!

"You always say that, Mikoto." She says. "That it's your mess and you don't want your friends getting involved and getting hurt. But, it's not just your mess! It's my mess, too! And Uiharu's! And even Konori-senpai's! We were all Shirai-san's friends!"

I step back as much as I can with her stone hard grip on my wrists. She's right.

"I-I-" My voice catches in my throat for a second, and I gulp to steady it. "I just don't want any more of my friends dying!"

"Then, I won't die." She says, a determined look on her face.

"It's not that easy." I assure her.

She narrows her eyes at me. I sigh. Guess I won't be getting out of this one.

"...Fine."

"Yay!"

Ruiko and I wander around, thinking of how we're going to be able to catch the killer.

"Our first step," She says. "Is to check the security cameras. That's probably the easiest way, right?"

I nod. "It is, but we'd need Uiharu's help." "No problem!" She assures me.

"Oi, Biribiri!" I jump as soon as I hear that blasted nickname. Why now? Of all times?

Ruiko looks curiously over to the source of the noise; Touma. "Huh? Do you know him, Mikoto?" She asks.

I shake my head furiously. "No. He's just some pervert."

Touma makes a disappointed face at me. "Hey, don't treat your friends like that, Misaka." He says.

"'Friend'? 'Misaka'?" Ruiko questions, looking from me to him, then him to me. "Ohhhh... I see..." She grins evilly at me.

"Wh-what?" I ask.

"This is your boyfriend that you wouldn't tell me about before!" She concludes, smiling wide. I blush furiously. "N-No he's not!"

"Awww..." Ruiko whines, looking down. Touma laughs awkwardly. "No, Misaka and I are just friends," He says, waving it off.

Ruiko looks at me and makes a pouty face. "How boring..." She says. I give her a threatening look. Touma clears his throat to get our attention.

"Anyway..." He says, dropping the smile for a more serious look. "Misaka, I heard about what happened to Shirai." I tense up. Are there rumors going around or something?

"I just wanted to say, I'm really sorry for your loss. I didn't know her very well, but... I know she was one of your closest friends." He says, smiling softly. "So, if there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask."

I nod. "Th-thanks..."

"We were actually going to go on a hunt for the guy who's responsible!" Ruiko blurts. "H-Hey!" I scold her.

Touma sighs. "You sure about that? Two middle school girls..." He trails off when I give a look that tells him to shut up.

"We'll be fine!" Ruiko says, waving it off. "Mikoto's a level 5, after all!"

Touma is hardly convinced. "I could help you guys out, if you want."

"You're a level 0." I point out.

"Maybe so, but my Imagine Breaker could be of use," He says, lifting up his right hand and balling it into a fist. "Plus, you need some kind of male there to protect you. You don't know who this guy is."

"He really does sound like a pervert." Ruiko whispers in my ear. "He's not a pervert so much as he is an idiot." I whisper back. Touma gives us a questioning look. "Umm... So, what do you say?" He asks.

Me and Ruiko exchange looks. "Fine," I say. "Under one condition."

"What's that?" He asks.

"You'll become our servant!" Ruiko exclaims.

"Y-You're kidding... Right?"

"Yeah."

"Geez..." Touma mumbles. Ruiko and I laugh. It's the first time I've laughed ever since Kuroko left my life.

Ruiko and Touma walk on opposite sides of me. We're not really going anywhere, just figuring out how we are going to catch the one who killed Kuroko and bring them to justice. Ruiko is trying to figure out a name for our trio.

"Why do we need a name?" I ask her.

"Because, it makes it even cooler!" She explains. "How about 'The Three Musketeers'?!"

"That's kind of copyright infringement..." Touma says.

"Ah! Then how about 'Double 0 5'?"

"That's also copyright..."

This is really going to be fun with the two of them... And yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Touma sighs and stops walking. "Well, I'm gonna head home, it's getting late... I'll call you at some point." He waves and walks off.

"He has your number?" Ruiko asks.

"No." I say. "What an idiot..."

"Do you want to stay at my place again?" She asks, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shake my head. "No, I think I'll be fine." I say, putting on my best fake smile.

She smiles back. "Whatever you say. See ya!"

I wave as she walks off. When she's completely out of my vision, I run back to the dorm.

When I make it back to the dormitory, I immediately drop down onto, not my bed, but Kuroko's. I can still find her scent on her pillow. It makes me feel like some kind of pervert, but I don't care. I slide off her bed after a couple of minutes and walk over to her desk. All that sits there is her laptop and a little notebook.

Curious, I pick the notebook up and flip through it. Obviously, a diary. I slam it shut and put it back on the desk. Don't do it. I tell myself. I walk over and sit on my bed, cross-legged, tapping my index finger on the mattress. It's too tempting.

After a couple of hasty glances over at the book, I can't stop myself. I walk over, sit at her desk, and open it to a random page. There's, of course, a bunch of stuff about me. In her diary, she seems less perverted and more... mature.

I'm reading through a long, drawn out entry all about me when I notice that a page before it had been ripped out. Why would she rip a page out of her diary? It's not like anyone would read it.. Except for me.

I walk over to the trashcan and, sure enough, find a crumpled up piece of paper. I unfold it and flatten it out the best I can. It's a very short entry, and the handwriting is very sloppy. She was obviously in a hurry. But it's not a diary entry. It's a note.

Onee-Sama,

If you're reading this, I've probably left you. You need to know something.

I did it for your sake. They were going to kill you.

It was a case I had been working on in secret for a while now, but I never told you. Not even Uiharu knew.

If I hadn't have done it, they would've killed you.

If I'm gone now, it's a little late to be saying this, but-

I love you.

There is some kind of jumbled up message after it that I can't make out, and I don't try to. I clutch the paper tightly into my hand and shut my eyes tight to keep tears from coming out. What was she talking about? Who is 'they'? What has Kuroko been doing lately?

All I know is, Kuroko died protecting me.

I clutch my forehead when a headache forms as the tears come out and slump down onto Kuroko's bed. You've got to be kidding me.

Through my headache and sobs, I hear a loud, crashing sound. I jump and wipe my eyes. It's obvious that it came from in here. I stand up and look around, letting a spark fly from my bangs to warn any possible intruders. All I get is silence. I look out the window. Nothing, except for the beauty of nighttime Academy City.

"I'm just being paranoid.." I assure myself, leaning my forehead against the cool glass.

The next day, Ruiko, Touma and I meet up to discuss the trek to find Kuroko's killer. When I show them the note, Ruiko is dumbfounded and Touma can't seem to say anything.

"You're kidding. Who is she talking about?" Ruiko asks.

"Hell if I know," I say, sighing. "Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse..."

Touma puts a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Misaka," he says. "We'll get through this."

"Yeah!" Ruiko exclaims. "After all, we're Double 0-"

"Don't even say it!" Says Touma, cutting her off.

I let a smile form on my lips, yet deep down inside, I feel awful. Not only did Kuroko die in order to protect me, but she died because she loved me. Why didn't I realize before that she loved me so much? And why did it take her leaving me for me to realize that I didn't want her to leave me? That I wanted her by my side forever? That she was so important to me?

Why did it take me so long to realize that I loved her?

Well, I'm reeeaaallyyy mad at myself for this chapter. Want to know why? IT'S TOO SHORT. By the way, anyone who didn't get the 'Double 0 5' thing: It's because Touma and Ruiko are both level 0s and Mikoto's a level 5. Hahaha... I'm so original, aren't I? *SARCASM INTENDED*

Alright, guys, I'm gonna try something new here, so bear with me. I call this a "Pick-your-own-way-the-story-goes" Kinda thing.

Basically, on my profile will be a poll with a couple of choices of how you guys want this story to go. I have a lot of ideas but I want to see what you dudes and dudettes think.

So far I've got:

-Kuroko is resurrected

-Kuroko was never really dead

-Kuroko and Mikoto get together in Heaven (I really hate this idea though lol please don't vote for it... or if you do I won't hate you or anything...)

So go vote or give me suggestions in reviews and PMs! After all, the readers' satisfaction is most important!