Ruiko grasped Mikoto's right hand in both of hers. Mikoto was yet to regain consciousness, but the doctors had reassured her that the injury was not life threatening. Even in sleep, Mikoto had seemed to be in pain, with creases in her forehead and slightly panting. Ruiko gingerly held the limp hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, praying for her friend to recover quickly.

Kuroko was dozing in her chair on the other side of the hospital bed. Her teleport ability had exhausted her, but she refused to go back to her dorm. Ruiko had promised to wake her when Mikoto did. Uiharu was sitting beside Ruiko, forehead creased in worry for their friend.

It had been an hour since Mikoto had been wheeled from the surgery room. Ruiko thought back to when the fate of her friend was unknown.

.

The three of them had waited in suspense for a couple of hours outside the operating room, the bright red light above the doors remaining unchanged. It had undoubtedly been the worst time of Ruiko's life, not knowing whether Mikoto would make it despite Kuroko's assurances that her Onee-sama wasn't as fragile as she seemed. Still, when the light above the doors turned green and a single doctor emerged, all three of them had jumped to their feet with fear and hope in their hearts.

"I'm glad to tell you that you friend will live."

Those words, short as they were, lifted a huge weight off Ruiko's shoulders and she felt faint with relief.

"She'll wake up in an hour or so, and she'll have trouble moving her arm for a while. There'll be a scar, but she'll regain full functionality of her arm over time."

They thanked the doctor, and helped wheel the gurney to a private room. Mikoto's face had signs of pain written all over, and Ruiko's heart twinged. It felt as though she herself was feeling the same pain as her friend.

No, not just friend. In that moment, Ruiko realized that she actually loved Misaka Mikoto. It wasn't just a crush. Gazing at Mikoto's face, she realized she would do anything to help her, protect her.

And it was a good feeling, warm and fluttery in her heart.

.

Suddenly, Ruiko was jolted from her memories by a slight movement against her forehead.

"Huh?"

Uiharu stirred beside her

"Her hand moved!" Ruiko exclaimed.

"Really?!" Uiharu asked elatedly. Together they anxiously leaned over Mikoto's face. Kuroko woke, and joined the two in their vigil over their friend.

"Misaka-san, can you hear me?"

"Onee-sama, please wake up."

"Misaka-san…"

And as if answering their hopes, Mikoto's eyelids fluttered open, squinting against the orange afternoon sun pouring in through the window.

"Uhh… where am I…?" Mikoto mumbled.

Another layer of worry and fear melted off Ruiko's shoulders, and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Instinctively, she dove down and hugged Mikoto firmly, taking care not to touch her left shoulder. Tears were now coursing down her cheeks and staining the sheets, and she couldn't stop sobbing aloud. Uiharu was in a similar condition, clutching Mikoto's body and crying in relief.

Mikoto smiled, feeling their sincere relief for her. She stroked Ruiko's hair softly, murmuring that she was just fine. She noticed Kuroko sitting to her left, wearing a torn expression. Mikoto immediately sensed what was bothering the strawberry haired girl.

"Kuroko?"

The girl looked up, tears of relief welling in her eyes, but also reflecting guilt.

"Onee-sama, I… I…"

"Kuroko, it's okay. You did your best."

"I couldn't… help when it counted…" Kuroko sniffed, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. "It was my fault you… you…"

"Kuroko." Mikoto said a little more firmly. Kuroko looked up.

"You did your best. It's because of you we're all alive. Don't blame yourself." As Mikoto remembered the events at the diner, she realized that Kuroko had teleported them all out of the danger zone the moment she had lost consciousness. Kuroko had been just as instrumental in keeping the group alive as she herself.

"Thank you, Kuroko."

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko's eyes filled with more tears and she threw herself forward onto the bed, hugging her roommate's body close.

Mikoto stared up at the ceiling, feeling comforted and happy that she had precious friends who worried about her. Her shoulder hurt, but she knew she'd come out relatively lucky. It also seemed as though nobody else was hurt, and that made Mikoto very relieved herself.
She'd protected her friends.

.

After everyone had calmed down, the four friends decided to talk about the event of the day. Mikoto used a controller to raise the backrest so that she could face her friends.

"Now, first order of business." Kuroko began. "Who were those people?"

"They looked like street performers at first." Ruiko replied thoughtfully.

"The security cameras couldn't pick up their faces." Uiharu added, tapping away at a borrowed laptop.

Mikoto thought carefully.

Did I piss anyone off that much?

Well, she'd certainly electrocuted a bunch of thugs, but it was always in self-defense.

Maybe I messed with a prideful gang, and they're out for revenge.

Kuroko changed the question.

"Okay then, next, do we know their motive? Was it specifically against Onee-sama, or were we in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Ruiko raised her hand.

"I'm pretty sure it was targeting Misaka-san."

"What's your reasoning?"

"Well, if they'd wanted to just hurt people, they could have fired on the people in the streets, right? Besides, they used Capacity Down because they knew that otherwise, they wouldn't have stood a chance."

Hmm, that's true, smart. Mikoto caught a slightly dreamy expression on Ruiko's face. What is she thinking about?

Ruiko continued. "If Misaka-san and Shirai-san weren't stronger than they had expected, they would have succeeded, but…" She turned an adoring gaze on Mikoto. "They were wrong!"

Mikoto blushed. "It was nothing, really."

"No, it wasn't nothing. You were so brave. You saved our lives." Ruiko declared, gazing into Mikoto's eyes. "Misaka-san, thank you. Shirai-san, you too. Thank you both."

Mikoto and Kuroko stammered their responses, blushing and avoiding eye contact. But for Mikoto, Ruiko's words had a larger impact. When Ruiko had stared into Mikoto's eyes, the world seemed to stand still for a moment.

What was that? The pure adoration in Ruiko's dark, soft eyes seemed to imply something meant for Mikoto alone.

But what could it be?

Then, Ruiko turned away to stare at the floor, but Mikoto caught the redness in her cheeks.

She's cute.

Wait, where did that come from?

Mikoto was surprised. Of course, Saten-san was a pretty girl, and so were Kuroko and Uiharu-san, but she had never thought of it like that.

Maybe the pain medicine is making me think weird.

Yeah, that must be it.

It's not like I like her, I'm not even gay.

Mikoto told herself, and nodded.

Must be the medicine.