Disclaimer: I don't own the To Aru or the Prototype series. All characters aside from my own original characters belong to their respective owners.

In my Mindscape

I woke up again a while later expecting my dad. To my surprise, he was absent.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I called out as I sat up.

I was quickly answered by an attempt to grapple me from behind, which I responded to by throwing my would-be assailant to the ground before pinning him in a hammerlock.

"Damn it!" he muttered in a voice which I quickly realized was the same as mine. As I looked at him I realized he looked exactly the same as me right down to the clothes I was wearing before I went to sleep.

"The first time we meet face to face and this is what you do Kraft. What happened to respecting your elders?"

"B-but you said you were going to kill me!" he blubbered in a crying tone unusual for him.

"Oh come on, it was a figure of speech. Did you really think I'd actually kill you?"

"Yes?" Okay, so he's gullible. I'll make a note of that.

"I... don't know where to start with this. Up to this point you've been a dirty mouthed trash talker who took orders from no one. What's with the sudden change?"

"When you told me you'd kill me I got fucking scared alright!" At least the dirty mouthed part didn't change. Looks like it's time for a bit of a lecture. I let him sit up before I continued.

"Id-i-OT!" I told him, flicking him between the eyes.

"What the hell was that for!"

"Let's get something straight here. First, I would never hurt you without a good reason for it. Second, you're a voice in my head. I don't even know if I can kill you. Third, why are you on the verge of crying?"

"I told you, I got scared! You're afraid of dying aren't you?" A big question, at least I know the answer to this one.

"Nope! Not one bit."

"Huh? How could you not be!"

"Put it this way. My life could have been a lot worse than it is now if I never came to this city and met Jii-chan. If I didn't, I would've never have met Saten, Uiharu, Misaka, or even Kuroko. I also wouldn't have met you. I've led a great life so far, and you've had a lot of fun in the past two days right? So cheer up!"

"You're awfully casual about this."

"Hey, you're the one who told me to relax. Like you said earlier, I beat the strongest esper in the city. I can take a freaking explosion to the face. We're almost indestructible as long as we keep our wits about us. Just back me up when we're in a fight and we'll be golden."

"If you're not scared of dying, what are you scared of?"

"You really like asking big questions don't you? Since you're my little brother that's okay. I think I mentioned this earlier. I think my biggest fear is to see the people I care about get hurt. My life would be a lot crappier without them, so I can't bear to just watch if I can do something about it. I guess I got my penchant for helping people from Jii-chan too. After all, would you save a helpless monster lying on the street after he killed a dozen men?"

"No! What kind of question is that... oh."

"Yup, that's exactly how I met him. Being shot full of lead really hurts, though I think I'm slowly becoming bulletproof. Anyway, my point is that there is nothing to be scared of except fear itself. Just live every day the way you want it and it'll all be fine in the end."

"Thanks, you really are a great big-" he was cut off as I was overcome by a sudden burst of laughter.

"Pfft! Ahahahaha!"

"What the hell!"

"I'm sorry, Kraft. It's just too funny how quickly we swap roles. Just before I went to sleep you were the one giving me encouragement, and here I am doing the same for you."

"Yet you're the one who called me weird."

"I admit, I'm not quite normal either, but I can at least pass for being asocial rather than destructive. Now, what were you going to say?"

"Whatever, I take it back!"

So much for bonding, "Fine, there's still the matter of your punishment to take care of."

"Punishment? What the hell did I do wrong?"

"Simple, you tried to grapple me in here. That's direct violence, I'll need to address that."

"But we do it to other people all the time! Punishing me for something like that is bullshit!" he protested. The tears that remained at the edges of his eyes made him look adorable. Maybe I should try that some time.

"Like I said my body, my rules."

"J-just make it quick alright!" He shut his eyes as he braced himself for whatever terrible form of retribution I was about to inflict on him.

I'm not that mean though.

I knocked him lightly on the head with the side of my fist. "Bad boy."

He opened his eyes and blinked in surprise at my response. "T-that's it?! That's my punishment?"

"Come now, who do you take me for? You're not even three days old. I couldn't possibly expect you to know right from wrong yet, thus it would be unfair to penalize you heavily."

I patted him on the head, "Besides, you were acting like a really cute younger brother back there."

I smiled as I got the response I wanted, "Don't screw with me, you bastard! I am not cute!"

"That's the Kraft I know! Better?"

"Better? You're the fucking worst!" he growled angrily with clenched fists.

"It's the older brother's job to tease the younger brother. Or at least an eye for an eye!"

"Who the hell said that!"

"I did!" Like I said earlier, it's fun to tease Kraft.

"Son of a bi-"

I knocked him on the head again a little harder than last time, "Language! If I get scorned when I do it then so will you!"

"Then why did you let me do it when I was talking to you earlier?!"

"Because no one can hear you when I'm outside. Besides, it'd be annoying to tell you to stop since you probably wouldn't anyway."

He grinned, "No, I wouldn't."

"I rest my case."

"What with the damn racket?" mumbled a guttural voice I instantly recognized as my father's. He seemed to appear from nothing, a scowl transfixed upon his face.

"Hi Dad, just having a heart-to-heart with Kraft here." I answered, grabbing my little brother playfully.

"Great, now I have two brats to deal with."

"Aren't you lucky?" asked Kraft, getting in on the fun. We both smiled as our father's eyes glowed red and attempted to burn holes through us. I'll be honest, with the look he was giving us I wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly developed heat vision.

"Don't make me kick your asses until you be quiet."

"You don't need to be scared of him." I told Kraft, "He's like you, acting all mean and scary before eventually showing his good side."

Kraft raised an eyebrow, "This grouch has a good side? After you landed you landed on the van he threw me off like a piece of crap!"

I let that cuss slide, "He did that when I was younger too. I told you, he's really bad at showing affection."

"I'll show you how affectionate I am if you don't get out of here in the next three seconds!"

I heard the faint sound of my alarm clock ringing, "I was just about to leave anyway. See you later, Dad!"

"Just get out of my sight." He then turned to glare at Kraft as everything faded to white.

My Room – Heaven Canceler's Hospital

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

The skies outside were clear and it seemed like a perfectly normal and pleasant morning. All I had to do was get ready for school as usual and-

"Argh! The bastard cut off my arm!"

Naturally, I paused as Kraft began screaming at the top of his lungs (or he would if he had them, but it's a figure of speech) in pain.

"Uh Kraft, did you pick a fight with Dad?"

"Shit! He almost got my leg!"

"I'll take that as a yes. You're losing aren't you?."

"What does it sound like?!"

"I can't believe you two are having a fight at seven in the morning, but I can't do anything about him from here. Good luck, Kraft."

"That's it? You're going to let him murder me?!"

"Relax, he won't kill you. Though you'll probably be cut almost entirely in half a few times along with some occasional dismemberment. I got used to it by the time I entered fifth grade."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Not at all. Dad, remember to go easy on him. Kraft is great in direct combat but his tactical ability and planning stink at the moment."

"Whose side are you on?!"

"Yours mostly. Have fun you two!"

"God damn it!"

I tuned out the sounds in my head the best I could as I headed downstairs. Despite my efforts, the din of their not so friendly spar was still enough to give me a headache.

"Good morning, Jii-chan." I said as I walked down the stairs rubbing my temples.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked as I walked over.

"Yeah, Kraft is busy being noisy so he's giving me a bit of a migraine. What are you doing?"

"Just sifting through the usual papers and research reports. You said you're going to be out with your friends today correct?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Just be careful. If the mad bomber realizes you escaped with only minor burns he may try to attack you again."

"I'll keep that in mind. Would you like anything from the mall?" I began slurping a couple of blood packets from the fridge.

"I'm afraid not, but thank you for asking."

"There's got to be something you'd like."

He chuckled, "Maybe a few women's magazines would do."

I frowned, "Jii-chan... don't tell me you have those kinds of fetishes." I know he's was probably playing around, but these little dirty remarks of his were starting to change my perspective of him.

"I'm only joking. You're far too chaste for a boy your age."

"W-well, it's just not decent to think of things like that."

"Too bad, you're not going to enjoy life if you always stick to the social norm like that."

"I break too many of them already just by existing, you know."

"Then it couldn't hurt to break a few more."

"You're a doctor Jii-chan. Isn't it your job to follow the rules?"

"I suppose you're right, but would I have been able to help you then?"

I flinched, "Do you have to pull that on me every time the topic of rules comes up?"

"Why, it's my way of winning arguments. Now, off to school you go."

"See you later Jii-chan."

Streets of Academy City

The annoying teacher kept off my back today, leaving my time at school peaceful (aside from the fight my dad and little brother were having in my head) and incident free. At this point, the sounds of slashing and screaming had died down so I decided to try and start a conversation on the way to the mall.

"Are you alive Kraft?" I asked as I took a shortcut through an alleyway.

"Dad... is fucking scary! It's a freaking miracle he didn't kill me!" He sounded winded, which is both a good and a bad thing. He might be quieter due to lacking energy, but he might also complain more as a result.

"Give him some time, he takes a while to warm up to people. On a side note, it's nice that you've finally accepted the fact that you're my younger brother."

"Let's not get fuzzy here. I still have to get back at you for leaving me there."

"I had to go to school Kraft. At least you got some valuable combat experience."

"Combat experience my ass! You left me to die!" Somehow I could imagine him sobbing over the incident.

"I wouldn't do that and neither would Dad. He's just showing you his version of affection. See what I meant about him sucking at showing it?"

"If that's affection I'd hate to see what anger looks like!"

"I think we can both agree on that." I don't think I've ever pissed off my father that badly, but who knows what he could try when he is in a really sour mood.

"My, my, we meet again little boy." said the voice of a certain arrogant scientist from behind me.

I turned around to see the heterochromatic, rabbit ear wearing lady walking up to me. Her face was brimming with confidence and energy, as if she were ready to present some groundbreaking discovery she made.

"What do you want, Rabbit Ears?" It's not really a nickname, as that's literally what her name (Usamimi) means when translated into English. Whether she changed her name to that or was born with it is another story, one that I don't want to hear about.

"Is that the way you should be speaking to the lady who helped you develop your esper ability?" she told me in her usual condescending manner.

"I suppose I should be grateful, but that look on your face tells me you're looking for something more than gratitude." She is also the lady who tried to control my mind, but I put her in her place before.

"Aren't you a clever one! You are correct, I'm looking for additional data so I may make improvements to the Booster. Since we agreed that you would allow me to collect data every time you earned a new power, I believe our appointment is long overdue."

"You've been stalking me haven't you?" There's no other way she could have found out about that.

Her poised persona cracked, "W-well I needed to make sure we could meet to conduct research!"

"I also recall that our agreement involved a no stalking rule."

"T-then how am I supposed to collect data?" Unfortunately, she had a point. I didn't give her my Judgment cell or my home address, so it's obvious that she would be unable to contact me at all.

"Fine, do you have a phone?"

"Of course not! Then they would be able to track me and-" she stopped as I gave her a questioning look.

"Track you? I believe that another part of our agreement was that you wouldn't delve into anything that could get the both of us in trouble."

"Let's just say that my research and the potential of your ability could shake the very groundwork of this city. It's no surprise that I've made some enemies."

"That doesn't sound good. What is this potential you are talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? The ability to copy the power of almost any esper could render the entire Power Curriculum Program pointless. I have also theorized that you may be able to tap into the arcane with no ill effects should you watch it happen."

"Do you mean sleight of hand, hocus pocus and what not?"

"No, I am referring to real magic. The ability to create supernatural occurrences without an esper ability... or abilities such as yours." This sounded ridiculous. Then again, I'm a zombie virus with a conscience passing for a human law enforcement officer who also happens to have a split personality. Who am I to complain?

"I'm going to humor you for a bit and say that magic is actually real. Where would I find someone who practices magic?"

"There is an entire society of them, but that's not important right now. We need to collect data immediately so I can immediately begin my research and experimentation!" She hasn't lost any of her pushiness since I the time I met her in the park.

"Then let's make this quick. I'm hanging out with my friends today and I don't plan on being late."

"Agreed, I'd like you to use your water manipulation ability first."

At this point I made it a habit to wear the power-boosting glove at all times in the event of an emergency. I raised my right hand into the air and calculated how cold I needed to refrigerate the air in order to create water. It sounds easy, but you have to take into account the humidity as well as the atmospheric pressure in order to pull it off with minimal effort.

About thirty seconds later an orb of water the size of a basketball appeared in mid-air and I brought it in front of her to let her examine it.

"Is it possible for you to manipulate it quickly?" I nodded as I maneuvered the orb quickly in straight lines before bending and stretching it into different shapes as a demonstration.

"Fascinating, can you turn it into ice?" I considered the possibility earlier but I never actually attempted it. But hey, there's no time like the present after all.

I concentrated harder and focused on lowering the temperature to zero degrees Celsius (or thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit if you prefer) or lower. It was difficult with it being the middle of July after all, but I eventually managed to freeze the orb solid. Getting it to turn into a barrage of ice needles would be even more troublesome, but practice makes perfect.

"Now, use the orb as a target for that shock wave ability you exhibited yesterday." I gently laid the orb down on the floor before concentrating on the air itself this time. I modified the air pressure to create a forceful concentrated wave aimed directly at the orb. I was off target, and it hit a nearby trash can instead, leaving a large dent in it.

"It looks like I still have to work on accuracy and hitting my targets reliably."

"Perhaps, but this is still excellent progress. You still have your Electromaster and teleportation abilities correct?"

"Yes, are they important?"

"Then I have all the data I need to begin constructing a new and improved Booster!" She looked positively ready to explode from excitement.

"So, when do you expect this Booster will be done? It'd be nice to test it to make sure I can actually rely on it."

"I expect that it will take at least a week to complete, but ten days minimum to perfect it."

"That's good. With all of the crazy things I've been encountering a boost in power would be very welcome."

"I do expect a thank you the next time we meet."

"I can agree to that, but I would also appreciate it if you keep the two of us from getting in trouble."

"Point taken, I'll do my best to keep anyone from finding out about my activities."

"Just try not to get anyone killed."

"Who do you take me for, an incompetent?"

"I'm just saying, what you're doing sounds dangerously shady."

"If I couldn't set an example for my apprentice then what kind of scientist would I be?"

"Apprentice? I thought I was your partner in this."

"Meaningless semantics, but I've wasted enough time already. See you around little boy." She then threw down some kind of pellet which exploded, releasing a dense, completely opaque smokescreen. I probably could have chased her with thermal version, but it wasn't worth my time and I was running late as is.

"So, who was that weird bitch?" asked Kraft in his usual eloquent tongue.

"She told me her name is Usamimi, or Rabbit Ears. Despite her looks she seems to be pretty brilliant and helped me find out what my esper ability is."

"You mean you didn't know you had one before?"

"Nope. I passed off my normal powers as my esper ability in order to blend in."

"Do you attract weirdos like that on a regular basis?"

"I think we're the last ones to being calling other people weird." Come to think of it, everyone I met has their strange personality quirks, so I guess it's true.

"You're the only weird one."

"That's subjective!" Though I can't say that it isn't true.

"Ha! You even admitted it!"

"Look Kraft, I went easy on you last night because of how young you are. Dad is scary but do you remember who has the power to control electricity around here?"

He gulped, "Um... sorry!"

I sighed, "Now I forgot what I was in the middle of doing because of you." I haven't a clue why I've been so scatterbrained lately.

"You were going to meet with your crush and the rest of your harem at the mall."

"I don't have a harem! You're starting to sound like Jii-chan."

"The geezer's right. You really are too innocent! Come on, indulge in your desires for a bit!"

"Honestly, I don't know if I should even have these desires." I'm a virus after all, it's beyond me as to why I can even feel emotions in the first place.

"Well you do, so act on them and move on already!"

"I don't even know why we're still talking about this."

"You're being boring again..."

"Oh well, get used to it. Unless something crazy happens I plan on letting this be a completely normal day."

"Please let something crazy happen. Please let something crazy happen. Please let something crazy happen."

"You're a real handful you know that?"

"A handful of fun that keeps your life from being too boring!" I could imagine him saying this with a goofy smile on his face.

"Yet somehow I've quickly grown to enjoy having you around despite this."

"It's all thanks to my natural charm!"

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Hey!"

"We've wasted enough time as is Kraft. Let's go meet up with the others."

"Okay, at least it'll be a shit ton more interesting than us talking to ourselves all day." Could he speak normally without cussing?

"Tonight I have to work on scrubbing your mouth out. You swear in at least one out of every five sentences."

"Stop treating me like some shitty brat that needs to be disciplined... Oops."

"When you learn to speak properly without cursing so frequently I will."

"I get it Mom! Just get going already, sheesh!"

I teleported out of the alleyway and landed on top of the building to my right to get a better view of my surroundings.

"The meeting spot should be around here somewhere..." It took me about fifteen seconds to find Saten, Misaka, and Uiharu waiting at the corner.

"Is he coming?" muttered Saten impatiently.

"Maybe he had something sudden to do." noted the Level 5.

"Sieg-san is kind of busy sometimes." said Uiharu.

I didn't realize I was that late, "I'm teleporting in Kraft. Be on your best behavior alright?"

"Now I really have the urge to pull something."

I ignored that statement as I landed in front of the trio, "Sorry I'm late!"

"Man, what took you so long?" asked my crush.

"I uh, had an appointment with a teacher about my ability." Not really a lie, but not the whole truth either.

"Which teacher?"

"I um, didn't catch her name. She doesn't work at our school after all."

"You're a crappy liar you know that?" At least I've been able to get by for the past six years!

"Don't tell me you're into older women!"

"No! Why would you even think that!" You're the one I have feelings for, damn it!

"Did anyone tell you that you're easy to tease Sieg?"

"My grandfather does it all the time..."

"That reminds me, I got this amazingly funny picture yesterday!"

"Really? Saten-san what is it!" asked Uiharu, always ready to get in on something juicy.

"Please don't show it to them Saten! It's embarrassing!" I begged.

My pleas fell on deaf ears as she pulled out her phone to show my other two friends, causing them to break down in a fit of giggles after a mere glance at the photo.

"Pffft! Sieg-san, why were you pink?" asked Uiharu as her attempts at hiding her laughter out of politeness went poorly.

"Yeah, not many people get sunburns like that around here." agreed the electromaster.

"That again! Ahahahaha!"

There's a spectrum of colors you can blush when you're embarrassed. At the minimum it's a light pink. At its worst your face turns the color of crayfish becomes when you leave it in the pressure cooker for a whole day. The latter was the current color of red I was blushing at the moment.

"I... took an explosion from the mad bomber at point blank range for Saten okay!" I managed to say despite how mortified I was.

"Eh, an explosion from the mad bomber? Then how are you still unharmed?!" asked Misaka with a mix of disbelief and shock.

Well crap, there's no weaseling my way out of the truth this time. "Um... I heal fast. All I need to do is peel off the burnt skin and I'm usually fine in a few minutes. Unfortunately, that explosion burnt me well enough that I looked like a piece of seafood until this morning."

The two of them continued to stare at me, frozen at my almost casual way of brushing off the events that transpired yesterday. If I were to name my greatest talent other than fighting, it'd be getting that kind of response from people.

"I-It wasn't a big deal, really! Let's just go to the mall!" I said hurriedly to try and change the subject.

"Y-yeah..." agreed Uiharu, finally snapping out of it.

The Seventh Mist wasn't that far away, and my friends had resumed their happy conversations as we made the rest of the way there..

"Come to think of it, Shirai-san didn't make it, did she?" noted Uiharu at the teleporter's absence. I for one was glad she wasn't here, or she would've teased me almost as relentlessly as Kraft.

"She said she wanted to look further into the mad bomber case." replied Misaka

"Now guys, let's not worry about that. We're here to have fun remember?" Saten interjected.

"Saten-san is right, let's just relax for today." Afterwards we walked in through the doors of the mall.

Seventh Mist Shopping Mall

Being the only boy in the group I was the one being dragged along as my friends journeyed from store to store. To my relief, they didn't buy anything so I wasn't stuck being the shopping cart. Still, I was starting to wonder why I even came along in the first place since I wasn't doing any shopping myself.

I managed to take a breather on the third floor near the music store.

"Why do girls like shopping so much? It's boring! I want to break something!" my other self whined.

"Since I'm not a girl I can't answer that, sorry. We're not going to break anything either."

"Then can't we do something other than wait for them? Maybe we could go look at one of these shops. There's got to be something interesting!"

"We're sitting right next to the music store, so I don't see why not."

"What's music?"

"You don't know what music is?"

"Nuh uh." Well, it's to be expected since he's only three days old.

"How do I describe it..."

"Could you just show me rather than give me another lecture?"

I complied and walked into the music store. Noticing that there was an electric piano I sat down in front of it and stretched my fingers in preparation to play.

"Music is essentially a bunch of sounds that sound nice when you play them in order." I started slow by playing Hot Cross Buns, which came surprisingly naturally thanks to the memories of people the people my Dad and I ate who did know how to work a piano.

"That's nice... but still boring!" He was trying really hard not to make his fascination with it evident in his voice. Under that volatile, destructive demeanor he's pretty sweet and innocent.

"I am not sweet and innocent, damn it! I'll break you in two shithead!" The sweet and innocent part is hard to find.

"Anyway, that's the easy stuff." I borrowed some sheet music off the rack labeled, "Battle to the Death on the Big Bridge", a piece from an old role playing game a little under two decades old.

"Yup, this looks hard." I remarked as I looked over the long array of notes, particularly the right handed part which consisted of a tied series of sixteenth notes at an allegrissimo tempo. In layman's terms, there's a ton of notes to play at an almost ridiculous speed of one hundred and seventy-six beats per minute. Nothing I couldn't handle with a little practice though.

It was still tough, mind you. Even having years of piano experience at the ready doesn't mean a thing if you never use it. I fumbled, a lot. Even having superhuman reflexes and finger dexterity doesn't change the fact that playing a piano is damn hard. I finally nailed it after about a half hour.

"So, how was that Kraft?"

"..."

"Kraft?"

"Huh? Wait, what?" he sputtered, as if he just awoke from a trance.

"It's a pretty good sounding piece. I'm not surprised if you got lost in the music. Like I said earlier, how was it?"

"It was... it was... um..."

"I told you, you don't need to act like a tough guy. Just say how you feel, no one is going to judge you. Maybe except Dad, but otherwise no one."

"Fine, I thought it was awesome. Happy?"

"I managed to teach you something without a complaint, so yes I am happy." I pulled off the headphones and began browsing through the rest of the store's wares. There were actually a lot of good songs in stock, but I didn't have a mP3 player or the money to buy one.

I sighed, "Allowance can only go so far. I'll have to come back another time."

"The way you're looking at my stock means you don't have a mP3 player is that right?" said the store owner as he walked over.

"Uh, yeah. Where are you going with this?"

"Business has been slow lately with all of those internet download sites. To be honest I'm surprised you're shopping here in the first place."

"My Jii-chan told me to try and stay out of trouble, piracy included."

"Then he's a good man. Tell you what, how about we strike a deal. I'll give you the best music player I have and two songs of your choice for two thousand yen."

"T-two thousand! Are you sure this is okay?" The music player alone would easily come out at over ten thousand!

"Don't worry about it, you're my first real customer in a while. Plus, you're quite the piano player."

"You were watching?"

"Like I said, people generally don't come around my store anymore unless they're looking for a cheap music player. I had nothing better to do, though I wonder why you were talking to yourself while you were playing."

"Um, I tend to think out loud." A complete lie, but a believable one.

"A lot of us do. So, do we have a deal?"

"Deal!" I ended up picking two new singles, Gloria by Meigo Arisa and Shooting Star by Hibiki Misora, both of whom were new pop stars rising on the scene. Meigo in particular is said to be so amazing that she can produce miracles when she sings. I'm a little skeptical but anything can happen in this city. I laid them on the table along with two thousand yen in bills and coins.

"Here it is." he pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal the mP3 player, which wasn't the latest model but a very good one regardless from what I've read. He then tossed a pair of ear buds on the table next to it along with some spare parts for them.

"Consider it a bonus. You're a pretty nice kid. Got a girlfriend?" Why does everyone keep asking that?

"Ack! Uh... Um... Well..." I took a deep breath to try and calm down. "I don't, but I do have a crush on someone. The problem is I have no idea how to tell her because of my... dangerous past."

He leaned on the desk, "Relax, I'm not going to pry. I'll tell you what I think though. If you really think she's the girl for you, just tell her. I'm sure she'll understand." That made me feel a lot better.

He then handed me a plastic bag and I put everything inside, "Thanks for everything!"

"Don't mention it, it was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Same here!" I waved good bye before running into Saten as I exited the store.

"There you are! I was wondering where you ran off to. Come on, we're heading upstairs now!" she dragged me over to the escalator where Misaka and Uiharu were already waiting.

"Everyone's here! Onward ho!" She ran up the escalator, taking me with her. "Over here, over here!" she waved with her free hand before leading me over to the... lingerie shop.

"Ui-ha-ru! Come here!" she called.

"W-what is it?" my fellow Judgment member asked.

"Ta-da!" she revealed a pair of erotically pink panties she took out of a bin and shoved them in our faces, "How do you like these?"

"No way, no way, no way! I couldn't possibly wear those!" cried Uiharu as she shook her head, her face as red as mine.

"If you have these on, you could proudly show off to everyone when I flip your skirt, right?"

"I don't want everyone to see them! Please don't flip my skirt!"

"What do you think, Sieg?" she asked, turning to me and putting the pair even closer.

"W-why are you asking me? I'm a boy!"

"Hey, they actually look pretty good. You should get her to wear them." Oh for crying out loud!

"Aw, what a shame. Ah Misaka-san, is there anything you're looking for?"

"Eh? Well... I could use some pajamas."

Uiharu piped up at the occasion, "In that case, it's this way." she gestured.

"We've been wandering around for a while, yet they don't seem to have anything good." commented Misaka as we followed Uiharu down the hallway. The electromaster stopped as we passed by a children's clothing store, gazing at a set of pink pajamas with colorful floral patterns all over like a kid in candy store.

"Hey, hey, aren't these really cute?"

"Wow, look at these pajamas Uiharu. No one would wear something this childish these days."

"I wore something like those until I entered elementary school, but now..." Misaka's gaze fell as she heard those words.

"Y-Yeah, that's right! Now that we're in middle school there's no way we could wear these. Nope, no way!" I think it was pretty obvious to all that she wanted to try them on.

"Oh, I'm going to look at swimsuits for a minute."

"Ah, the swimsuits were over this way." Our two friends then ran off towards the swimsuit section.

I read the mood and excused myself, "I'm going to look over there. We'll meet up later!"

"Now what? Are you going to look for toys and shit for the geezer and Ina?"

"I would appreciate if you left the shit part out, but that's my plan in a nutshell. The problem is that now I only have about fifteen hundred yen left after I bought the music player and CDs. I feel so selfish..."

"Meh, don't worry about it. You'll find something. It'll be freaking funny to see their faces if you don't though!"

"Thanks, I guess..." Kraft began laughing in his usual manic way.

I went over to the toy section again. I didn't want to get another Gekota plush, it'd just seem cheesy to get Ina a ton of frog merchandise just because her older sister loves them. There was also the issue of getting something for Jii-chan. What could I get for the two of them without breaking fifteen hundred yen?

"The geezer has a sense of humor. Get him something that will make him laugh." That was the first piece of helpful advice he'd given me all day.

I wandered over to the aisle covered in Gekota and pulled a small frog sticker off the rack.

"Do you think this will work?"

"Uh, that's not exactly what I meant. You do remember you're shopping for the geezer and not the electric chicks right?"

"Everyone says that Jii-chan looks like a frog. You told me to get something that will make him laugh."

"Didn't think of it that way. The geezer will probably like anything you get him anyway. How much is it?"

"About two hundred yen."

"You're not just being cheap are you?"

"Of course not! I'm just taking your advice to heart!"

"... You are?" he replied, sounding positively surprised.

"I'm stuck with you so I've got to start doing it at some point. Better sooner than later."

"I-It's not like I'm happy you're trusting me or anything..." Did he seriously just turn tsundere on me?

"Moving on, what should I get for Ina?"

"Girls like cute things right? Get a stuffed animal."

"Yeah, but which one?"

"What about the yellow one?"

"Yellow? Oh, a Pikachu doll. It's only a thousand yen too."

"Pikachu?"

"It's a mouse from the Pokemon series that shoots lightning out of its cheeks."

"Ha! Then it's perfect! You should start listening to me more often!"

"Maybe I should, but don't get full of yourself."

He simply ignored me and continued muttering to himself about how well he's been doing lately, seemingly forgetting the fact that he had his ass handed to him by my dad. In return, I simply ignored him while going to the cash register to pay for everything.

When I walked back to where Misaka was I was surprised to see Touma there. He noticed me as well and greeted me with this wonderful statement:

"It's the psycho kid from last week!" he exclaimed while pointing straight at me.

"Nice to see you too, Touma. I have a name, you know."

"You two know each other? Why does he call you psycho kid?" Well isn't this lovely.

"Um, about a week ago I went out for a walk at night. On the way I noticed him running from a bunch of delinquents. I decided to help out and beat them to a pulp. When they pulled guns on us, I took the gunfire for Touma. Then I got the weird idea that it'd be funny if I coughed up the bullets and threw them in front of the gang to freak them out. It worked too well and I ended up making myself look like a complete lunatic." I summarized quickly and neatly. I wonder if I should have lied.

Once again I got the dumbstruck look from my peers at my actions. I've got to stop getting into situations like these, lest I want people looking at me this way 24/7.

"Ne ne, onii-chan! I want to go look over there." piped the voice of an innocently oblivious young girl with a small pink handbag. This is my chance to change the topic!

"Oh, okay." he responded.

"Is that your little sister?"

"Like I told Biri Biri, this girl just wanted to look for a clothing store so I brought her here." The girl began leading him away.

"See you later, onee-chan! Bye-bye!" Misaka waved back with a smile on her face until the pair went around the corner, upon which she clenched her fist with an irritated expression on her face. She then realized she was still clutching those pajamas from before.

"If you want to try those on just do it. I'm not one to judge someone just because of their tastes. After all, I'm the last person to be calling someone weird."

She sighed, "Thanks, but there's no point anyway. No one would take me seriously if I wore this."

"Huh, is something wrong?" asked Saten as she and Uiharu walked back after browsing through swim apparel.

"It's nothing..." Misaka replied as she hung her head in a depressing way, "I'm going to the bathroom to wash my face." She then walked off out of sight.

"So... where to next?" asked our peppy friend with the flower hair clip.

"There isn't much left to explore and I have what I need. Anywhere you haven't visited I guess." I already had what I needed so any more searching would be totally unnecessary.

"More clothes then!" She's a girl, it's to be expected.

"Good thing we don't have to shop for any fucking clothes. We get to save a ton of money for other shit!" He certainly likes the words "shit" and "fuck" doesn't he?

"They're the best words for emphasis!" There are dozens of better words...

I then heard a camera go off, causing me to turn around. I saw the outline of a male slip into the employee's only area along with a barely audible, "Shit, I think it saw me!"

"Uh guys, I have to use the bathroom. I'll meet up with you later!" I'll be honest, I've never used the toilet since I've never needed to. My body processes everything I eat down to the last molecule, a fact that only a few people know about. This makes bathroom breaks a convenient excuse for pretty much any situation that requires a vanishing act.

"Alright then, don't take too long!"

I quickly ducked out of sight before teleporting past the double doors of the off-limits area.

"Now, where did he go..." A quick thermal vision scan revealed him hiding behind in a janitor's closet. A janitor's closet. Is Blackwatch going to take me seriously or what? It only took the sound of my short, leisurely walk for the guy inside to start squirming.

I decided to be polite and knock, "I know you're in there. Either you're going to come out or I'm going to come in. Take your pick." No response came from inside. I repeated my statement in English to see if it was the language barrier. It took about three seconds for me to get tired of talking to a wall, so I ripped the door ajar with force.

"I'm going to be borrowing you for a bit." I grabbed his head and teleported to the roof where there wouldn't be any kind of surveillance.

"Now, who are you and why were you spying on me?" I asked with my business face on.

This time I did get a response, he pissed his pants.

I sighed, "Look, we can do this two ways. Either you tell me what I need to hear or I eat you and get the information anyway. Either option is unpleasant for the both of us so just pick one damn it!"

"Or you could torture him." Kraft added with glee.I was actually considering that but doing so would attract unwanted attention.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about! I'm just a tourist!"

"Don't give me that bullshit! You called me "it", meaning you know exactly what I am. So either you spill the beans or I spill your guts all over the pavement." I let my eyes glow red as I turned my hand into a claw to show that I wasn't going to take another flimsy lie like that one.

"Torture! Torture! Torture!" He's having too much fun with this.

The man still refused to respond. I usually have a compunction against needless killing, but I'll make an exception for people like those in Blackwatch.

"Too bad. Don't worry, this is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you." I raised my claw, poised for the killing blow.

"Wait! Stop! I'll talk!" he cried as my talons stopped a centimeter from the left side of his torso.

"Then do it already! I'm getting impatient."

"I'm not part of Blackwatch! I'm a freelance reporter they hired to take pictures of you as evidence!"

"Evidence for what? That I exist? Who my friends are? Answer me!"

To my irritation the man once again became unresponsive and only gaped in horror as I interrogated him.

"I never thought I'd be the one to say this, but calm down Sieg! Unless you eat or torture him you're not going to get anything out of the wuss if you keep scaring him like this!" For once, he's right.

I took another deep breath before continuing, "Look, sorry If I scared you, but I don't want Blackwatch on my tail. If you tell me what you know I'll let you leave scot-free."

He looked unconvinced, "I promise, as little as that probably means to you."

"They didn't tell me what the pictures were for. My only instructions were to track you and take pictures. They only told me what you were, nothing else I swear!"

"Of course they did, it's a damn black ops battalion for a reason..." I muttered at the lack of info. I have got to copy a telepath one of these days.

"I don't think he's lying but should we torture him to make sure?"

"I don't think that will be necessary. We don't need Anti-Skill and Judgment breathing down our neck either."

"I was joking! Are you going to take everything I say seriously?"

"Until I fully understand your incredibly morbid sense of humor the answer is yes." I then realized that the man was giving me one of those blank stares, the same expression I've making everyone give me all week.

"W-who are you talking to?" he asked meekly.

"None of your business." My Judgment cell rang a second later.

"I'm here."

"Sieg-san! Shirai-san just called!" Uiharu screamed into my ear.

"Calm down I can hear you! What's the issue?"

"An acceleration of gravitons has been detected at this shopping mall. We need help to evacuate everyone."

"I'm on my way." I then hung up before turning back to my prisoner. "You're free to go, I have work to do."

"More shit to deal with?"

"Sounds like it. I think I'm getting used to it though." A completely normal and peaceful day is becoming damn near impossible in this city isn't it? On the bright side there's never a dull moment here.

I teleported back downstairs to see a group of people being escorted by Misaka towards the stairwells.

"I've got this group, get the west entrance!"

I ran to the other end of the hallway, where a large group of people were crowding towards the exit in an unorganized and chaotic manner.

"Everyone!" I called, "I'm from Judgment. There will be plenty of time for everyone to get out. Please allow me to calmly escort you to the numerous available exits." I ended up playing traffic cop as I got everyone to head towards a number of staircases in a single line fashion. Considering the fact that no one was trampled to death I think I did a pretty good job.

"That takes care of that. Now to find the mad bomber."

"You need to give the bastard a piece of your mind right?"

"Exactly. I have the urge to turn him black and blue for what he did yesterday."

"Pffft! That's just too funny!" This incident is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

"Will you ever let that go?"

"Not in a million years!"

"I expected that kind of response from you."

My Judgment cell rang again, "Hello?"

"Sieg! Are you wearing your Judgment band?!" yelled Kuroko, blasting my sensitive hearing with a panicked voice.

"Ow! Kuroko slow down! Why does it matter if I'm wearing my armband right now?"

"The mad bomber isn't targeting random places! His targets are any Judgment members he sees in the vicinity!"

"Wait, so you're saying..."

"Yes, you are a possible target!" So he planned on attacking me this whole time, all the more reason to catch him.

"I got it, I'll be careful." I calmly replied. Getting riled up wasn't going to fix anything. Besides, I could survive an explosion or two, I am pretty adaptive. She hung up afterward and I was about to go hunt down the bomber when Kraft stopped me dead in my tracks with one statement.

"Wasn't one of your friends wearing the armband too?" Well, crap.

"Uiharu is the target!" I immediately activated thermal vision to track her down before the bomber did. She was standing in the middle of an intersection a ways down apparently holding her phone to her ear.

I immediately took off down the hallway at my max speed. "This is bad, this is bad..."

When I arrived the little girl from earlier was handing Uiharu an ugly looking frog doll with a loincloth. I almost felt relief for a moment, it wasn't the bomber.

Almost.

The frog's head began to collapse just like the teddy bear from yesterday, prompting Uiharu to throw it away as it continued to warp in preparation to explode. I rushed in to try and protect the pair from the explosion, but there was no way I was going to be able to deploy a shield sturdy enough to block it in time. Misaka then appeared, pulling out a coin to railgun it away. The coin, however, slipped through her fingers and fell to the floor. There was no stopping the bomb now.

The last remnants of the doll then vanished, seemingly into nothingness. I held up whatever I had on my arms to brace for the inevitable heat and impact.

It never came.

Through the blinding light I saw that Touma had jumped in front of us. He held out his right hand like he did the last time I saw him, diverting, no, negating the explosion to my amazement. As the light faded I saw that everywhere except where we were standing was burnt to a crisp with a visible crater in the floor.

"Phew... I can't believe that worked." muttered the spiky-haired teenager as he scratched his head.

Misaka and I could only give dumbstruck stares as Touma surveyed the damage.

"Why are you two staring?"

"How did you do that? How did you negate the explosion like that?!" I asked bewildered by Touma's display.

"Oh, that? Any esper power I touch with my right hand is negated." he replied nonchalantly.

"How can you just say that as if it were a blatant and common power! An ability like that is game breaking for crying out loud!"

"It really doesn't matter much does it?"

I sighed at Touma's failure to grasp the enormity of such a power, "I give up."

He simply shrugged and slung his bag over his shoulder before starting to walk away. Someone with an absolutely incredible power saves the day only to walk away without asking for recognition or reward. Only if we had more altruistic people like that in the world.

I turned around to check on Uiharu, who was still attempting to shield the girl in her arms. She too was unscathed, but she looked as though she were still anticipating an explosion. The girl opened her eyes and felt herself as if she couldn't believe she was alright.

"Thank you for saving us, Tokiwadai onee-chan!" she cheered.

"Well, actually..." Misaka began.

"Hey, isn't there a bastard who needs the shit beaten out of him?" Oh right, the bomber.

"Sorry to interrupt, but don't we have a bomber to catch?"

"Oh, right!"

I grabbed her hand as I prepared to teleport, "Hold on!"

I sent us outside into open air before rapidly teleporting a few more times until we landed on the tallest building on the street after the Seventh Mist itself.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to teleporting with Kuroko. Why did you bring me here anyway?"

"One of my powers is called thermal vision. It's kind of like Clairvoyance but I locate people based on the outline of their body heat instead of just staring right through something. From up here I can see if anyone is trying to slink away from the crowd."

"So the guy who's sneaking away by himself is the culprit."

"Precisely, and I think I see him now." I grabbed her hand again and started teleporting towards the suspect who was in an alleyway not far from the mall. I guess he wanted to watch his work.

We eventually arrived next to the alleyway the mad bomber was walking through. I gestured for her to go in first. "I think you want a piece him as much as I do. I'll be on standby out here."

"Thanks, but you're making me out to be someone who likes to pick fights..." she replied in a strange mixture of gratitude and displeasure.

"There's no need to be ashamed about it. Now go before he gets away."

She simply nodded back before heading inside the alleyway. I leaned on the wall and peered inside to watch what happened. The guy was a scrawny teen with glasses wearing a white dress shirt and black pants like most male students in the city. From what I could hear he was in the middle of giving some sort of triumphant monologue.

"Once I have enough power I'll take those useless Judgment bastards and those assholes blow them awa-"

It was cut short as Misaka casually walked up to him and kicked the sucker from behind, knocking him into a pile of trash.

"What just happened?" he asked as he tried to get up off the floor.

"Hi!" greeted Misaka as she stood over her next victim, "I don't have to tell what this is about, right Mr. Mad Bomber?"

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." he denied, but Misaka and I weren't convinced.

"Well, the damage done was pretty extensive. But, unfortunately for you there were no casualties, not one person had a scratch on them."

"T-That's impossible!" he sputtered, "That was my full power!"

"Oh?" insinuated the electromaster.

"I mean, I meant that I saw the incredible explosion from outside, and I doubt anyone inside could have survived it." Well I could, but getting attacked with the newest in military technology (and more recently superpowers) has almost become a hobby for me at this point so I don't really count.

He then pulled an aluminum spoon out of his duffel bag, probably to use it as a bomb. Misaka simply blasted it away with a railgun shot, blowing the would be bomber backwards from the force of the projectile.

"R-railgun... And now the great Ace of Tokiwadai. No matter what I do, it's always like this. I get beaten to the ground and crushed by force. I'll kill you! It's people like you who are the problem!" he cried in rage, "And Judgment is no different! All of you people with power are the same!"

"Power, power you say..." mumbled Misaka, now irritated by the bomber. She let out a burst of electricity that sent the nearby trash flying and the bomber reeling.

She then grabbed him by the collar, "Clench your teeth!" The bomber was once again on the floor after Misaka landed a hard right cross on the guy's cheek.

"That's gotta hurt."

"No kidding."

Misaka continued to give him a cold glare, "Did you know that Tokiwadai's Level 5s were just Level 1s? Regardless, they just kept trying, and trying, and trying until they obtained they power they call Level 5. Just so you know, even if I remained a Level 1 I'd still have tried to stop you."

She then turned and walked away with a disdainful look on her face, "Geez..."

"I guess it's my turn." I said as I walked in after Misaka left.

He crawled back as he saw my armband. "Now, there are a few things I want to tell you. As you probably guessed by now, I'm from Judgment."

I walked behind him to use my handcuffs."First is the usual, you have the right to remain silent, if you can't afford an attorney one will be provided, yada yada yada."

"The second thing I want to say to you, do you remember me?" His eyes widened as I said those words.

"But I..."

"Yeah, you hit me at point blank range with that bomb. Burned me pretty badly too. I was bright pink until this morning."

"How is that possible?"

"I'm tougher than I look, but I couldn't care less about that. You pissed me off by targeting two of my only friends, and you're going to have to answer for that." Like before with Misaka, his face turned into one of fear and shock.

"I can't exactly brutalize you due to my position, but I think this will do for now." I spun him around before knocking him to the floor once more with a left cross."

"Ah, that felt good. But let me ask you this, did any of your bullies ever tell you that Judgment wouldn't intervene because they were too busy because of the bombings?" His expression said that my inquiry was on target.

"Sounds like I hit the bullseye. You were the source of your own problem. Understand why your actions are wrong now?"

He didn't respond, so I just continued.

"On your power rant I have something to say too. I don't understand your plight very well at all. I was lonely, but I had power, lots of it. Yet there were some days I wondered, what would it be like to be normal? I've been thinking about this question my whole life. If anything, the only thing that makes having my powers bearable is the fact that I got to meet a lot of wonderful people because of it. What I'm trying to say is, it doesn't matter if you have a strong power or not. In the end, it's just a tool that you use, not who you are."

I decided to whisper something one last thing into in his ear, "Now, a fair warning. Should you ever target my friends again, I have ways of getting rid of someone without a trace."

His face turned even more fearful, "Are we clear?" He nodded.

I began leading him out of the alleyway, "That's the end of my lecture, time to call Anti-Skill."

"That lecture was fucking boring, but nice finisher." Like I said, I have my moments.

About an hour later I was back at the crime scene with Kuroko. The place was now swarming with members of Anti-Skill doing your usual crime scene investigation work and as a member of Judgment I was required to help collect evidence. Even though Touma saved us from being injured by the explosion, it still went off and dealt massive property damage. Oh the paperwork I'm going to have to work through tomorrow.

"Shirai-san! Sieg-san!" called our friend with the flower hairband.

"Oh, I was so worried!" replied the teleporter.

"I'm sorry. But thanks to Misaka-san, see for yourself." My classmate twirled to show that she was completely unharmed.

"The Tokiwadai onee-chan saved us!" she cheered.

"Right!" the two of them agreed.

I decided not to burst their bubbles and let that train of thought remain.

Kuroko looked back on the damage with a questioning look on her face. I guess she didn't know how Misaka could have saved the day in such a way, or that it wasn't her Onee-sama who saved the day in the first place.

"Um, Sieg-san. Didn't you have a pair of bags earlier?" noted Uiharu as she saw me empty handed.

It was then I realized that I had dropped my bags somewhere during the commotion and I had no idea where they were.

"Aw, crud!" I took off again in search of my lost items. I checked every floor, the explosion's epicenter, the alleyway, and even the bathroom (I didn't even go there) but still no luck.

After about an hour and a half of searching I slumped against the wall. "I can't believe I just lost over ten thousand yen worth of stuff in a few hours. I'm such an idiot!"

Over my self-loathing I could hear Kraft snickering as if there was something funny he was hiding. "Spit it out, what are you hiding?"

"But it's fun seeing you squirm a bit, onii-san!" Is he mocking me?

"What does it sound like?"

"If you know where my stuff is just tell me!"

"What's the magic word?

"You are not pulling this on me."

"Just say it."

"Fine, could you please tell me where my stuff is?"

"Call me the coolest person in the whole world, the most badass, the best, the strongest...

"Kraft..." I growled.

"...Uh oh."

"Tell me, now!"

"You left them on the roof jerkass!" he said with a huff.

"Thank you. Did you have to make me go through all of that?"

"I told you, it's fun watching you squirm!"

"I wonder if I should say the same thing when I start forcing you to dodge lightning tonight."

"Would you stop threatening me with that!"

"Only when you learn to behave and cooperate!"

"I'll do that when you stop threatening me!"

"Would you really?"

"Hell no, but it was worth a shot!"

I sighed again before teleporting back to the roof. Sure enough the bags and the things they contained were there completely intact.

"Thanks for telling the truth at least. I might have to start using you as my planner with how forgetful I am."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It is. I'm saying that for some reason your memory is better than mine."

"I still think it's some kind of stealth insult."

"However you want to interpret it. On a side note, thanks for earlier."

"Earlier?"

"You told me to calm down earlier when we were questioning that guy. If it weren't for that I might have gone overboard and killed him. So thanks."

"Oh that... I-It wasn't much... I have to keep us out of trouble somehow!"

"So you do have some humility, thank goodness! Though you're the one who gets me into trouble in the first place though."

"I do not... most of the time!"

"That's okay. Just keep being yourself, you're my adorable baby brother after all!"

"I-I'm not adorable! Stop teasing me, bastard!"

"We have the same face though. Come on, that has to count for something."

"Yeah, you're right! You've got to have a harem for a reason right?"

"I-I don't even know how to respond..." I was too tired to argue anyway, "Ah, what the heck, let's just go with that!" I didn't want to take the stairs, so I slid down the side of the building instead.. I was then pleasantly surprised when Saten ran up to me with her trademark smile.

"I was wondering when you'd get out."

"You waited for me this whole time?"

"Yeah, I wanted you to walk me home."

"M-Me? Don't you remember what happened the last time I walked you home?"

"Hey, you saved me right?"

"I'd prefer it if you were just safe at home."

"You're such a worrywart, it'll be fine. Come on, it's almost curfew." She grabbed my arm again and started pulling me away as usual, almost causing me to stumble as she did so. She then took off in a run, dragging me along with her.

"Hold on, you're going to make us trip!"

"Sorry Sieg, but I've got energy to burn today!"

We ended up at her apartment a little over a half hour later. She was panting and caked with sweat, but was otherwise looking just fine.

"That was a good run! See, I have been running laps in gym class!" she declared after she caught her breath.

"I can see that. I can also see that if you keep doing this my left arm is going to be longer than my right." I replied as I rubbed my sore shoulder.

"Sorry, I just felt like running all of a sudden."

"As long as you're okay it isn't a problem."

"Oh, I've still got to do something to thank you for yesterday!"

"You don't need to give me anything. We're friends right?"

"That's exactly why I want to give you something! Close your eyes!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"O-Okay..." Why does she need me to close my eyes?

"I think I know what's coming next..."

I felt my face heat up like a kettle on a stove top as a warm, slightly wet sensation permeated across my right cheek. It could have only been one thing...

"D-Did you just k-k-kiss me?!" I stammered as I reeled back in shock and surprise.

"Yup. It's the best thing I could come up with to thank you. You didn't like it?"

"Ha! I knew it!" exclaimed my little brother in triumph.

"N-no it's not t-that. I-It's just that I didn't e-expect it a-and it s-shocked me." My ability to articulate words properly without stuttering failed as I struggled to wrap my head around what just happened. If I had a brain I'd say that it's shorting out right now.

"Oh I get it, the kiss left you speechless didn't it? Maybe I should give you another one just to see how you'll react!"

"W-what!"

"Just kidding! You're pretty cute when you act all embarrassed like that, you know?"

"Y-You think I'm cute?"

"Yeah. Why is your face so red anyway? It's not like you have a crush on me or anything right?"

"A-Actually I-"

She yawned, "It's getting late. Good night, see you tomorrow." She then closed the door before I could come up with a response.

I felt myself sigh yet again as I lamented my failure to confess my feelings. "At least she thinks I'm cute." I muttered as I began heading down the stairs.

"You're too damn shy! You should have confessed right after the kiss!"

"I know, I know! It's harder in practice than on paper though!"

"It'd be easy if you were more like me!"

"Homicidal and destructive, that will definitely win me points with her. Though I guess I could use a bit more of your outgoing nature."

"Exactly!" he paused, "I'm not that homicidal and destructive!"

"Weren't you the one screaming for me to deal some torture earlier?"

"I told you I was joking!"

"Sure you were."

"Maybe I was a little serious but you know I didn't mean anything that bad..." He sounded hurt, I guess I was being too hard on him again.

"You think?"

"Sorry if I hurt your feelings. You're a lot nicer than I thought you were at first, you know that?"

"I'm not nice..." he mumbled in an attempt to maintain his tough guy image, "Stop grinning like that! You look like you're high as shit or something!"

"I am?" Heh, I didn't even realize it.

"You've been doing it since you left the chick's house."

"Then I just want to keep at it then!" I felt my own right arm punch me in the face immediately afterward.

"Okay, I deserved that."

"You can bet your ass you did."

"Alright, I'll stop. Happy?" He didn't respond, but I got the feeling he was giving a smile of his own.

"It's getting late. We should probably go home and do our homework."

"Ugh, fine."

"Thanks for not making an annoying noise in response."

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Now he's just trying to spite me for fun.

I think I spoke a bit too soon about the nice part. In spite of his antics I couldn't help but let a smile cross my face.

Heaven Canceller's Hospital

"You seem unusually cheery, did something good happen?" asked Jii-chan as I walked in through the doors. He was sitting in his usual spot in lobby, going through the paperwork that came with his profession.

"We caught the bomber and I got a sweet bargain at the mall."

"What kind of bargain?"

"The nice music store owner gave me a mP3 player and two songs for only two thousand yen!"

He raised an eyebrow at the incredibly low price, "You didn't threaten him or anything did you?"

"Of course not! You know I wouldn't do that!"

"You did it to the reporter guy and the bomber bastard didn't you?"

"That's completely different Kraft!"

"No need to bicker, it was only a tease. Did you perhaps buy anything for us?"

"Well, I only had fifteen hundred yen left for the both of you so I got you this." I pulled the frog sticker out of the bag and handed it to him.

He gave a short chuckle, "Poking fun at my appearance I see."

"It was Kraft's idea. He said to get something that would make you laugh."

"It certainly worked. Thank you. Both of you."

"Told you he'd like it!"

"I get it, you were right Kraft I concede. So what are you going to do with it, Jii-chan?"

"I'll probably stick it to my ID card. It ought to get a few giggles from my younger patients."

"That sounds good. I'm going to give Ina the plush I got for her." I started heading for the stairwell, only for Jii-chan to grab my collar again.

"What two things are you forgetting?"

"Whoops, dinner and homework. I've been really scatterbrained lately."

"We all are from time to time. Just remember to finish everything you need to do."

"I will!" Grabbing two packets from the fridge I ran upstairs to my room.

"You're not going to tell the geezer about the kiss?" Kraft asked as I pulled out my books.

"I still think it's a bit of a sensitive subject to talk about. Plus he'd just tease me endlessly too."

"I could do it for him!"

"No, thank you. Time for homework."

"Grrrrrr!"

"If you hate it so much stop distracting me so I can get it over with."

My homework wasn't hard, so I finished it in under half an hour. After emptying the blood packets I left for Ina's room.

I peered in to see her sitting upright in bed. Her complexion had improved and she wasn't wrapped in as many bandages. She instantly turned her head towards me as I stepped into the room, as if she were expecting me. Her face looked as neutral as ever, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that she was happy, maybe even excited.

"Feeling better?" I asked as I sat down on the chair next to her. She nodded in response, her eyes drifting towards the bag in my hands.

"I guess you're really curious about what I bought for you. I knew it'd be cheesy just to get you things that your older sister likes so I decided to get something different." I pulled out the Pikachu doll, which she immediately snatched from my hands. She began feeling it much like her older sister does with her toys. Some habits run in the family.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, I enjoy its soft cotton exterior the most. What creature is it? Asks Misaka at the toy's unfamiliar appearance."

"It's called a Pikachu. It's from a video game and anime series that's particularly popular here. They didn't teach you about pop culture did they?"

"All of the knowledge necessary for the experiment was programmed into Misaka's brain. Irrelevant information was excluded from the process. Explains Misaka."

"Programmed? Like some kind of learning helmet?" If they have those why are we still going to school?

"ZXC741ASD852QWE963. Says Misaka as she tests you."

"Um, I'm not entirely sure what that is supposed to mean." Is it a code of some kind?

"Your inability to decode the password means that Misaka is unable to divulge that information despite the measures taken to bypass it. I am sorry. Apologizes Misaka as she cannot provide the information you seek."

"I'll have to ask Uiharu about that password then. What about your sisters? Do you know where they are?"

"It is likely that they are still in their incubators. Answers Misaka as specifically as she can." Damn, stupid passwords and brain conditioning.

"That's enough interrogating for now. Anything you want to say Kraft?"

"Can't think of anything."

"Alright then. I think we should both go to sleep, it's getting late and I still have school for another two days." I was about to leave when Ina grasped my hand tightly.

"Wait. I have one more request. Says Misaka as she plots her next move." Uh, I don't like the sound of that. Still, it'd be rude to refuse her after inviting her to my home and all a few days ago.

"Sure, anything."

"Sit near me. Orders Misaka as she waits with bated breath."

"Okay..." I sat down on the bed next to her. Then the unthinkable happened.

She quickly wrapped her arms around my torso and brought my face into her... bosom.

"W-wha re ou oing?!" I said with my mouth muffled by her clothes.

"I read in a magazine that this is a method of showing one's affection. Explains Misaka."

"No lik thi!" I couldn't struggle as it would've exacerbated her injuries, leaving me stuck in that position. Made worse was the fact that she slowly tightened her grip on me, bringing me even closer to the sensitive area.

"You're a lucky bastard you know that?" How the hell is this lucky?

"Was it a false statement? Asks Misaka at the displeasured sound of your voice."

"I's no tha, you'e doin it n an wkward ay! Coul pleas le me o?"

"I see, my apologies. Says Misaka as she releases you."

I took a deep gulp of air as I finally earned my freedom back. I wasn't suffocating or anything, I don't have a respiratory system or even plain old lungs. It was just really uncomfortable and socially reprehensible for me to be in such a position. At least no one saw it...

"My my, you're becoming quite the lady killer aren't you? My little boy is growing up so fast." Jii-chan was leaning on the door frame, a mischievous smile on his face.

"You didn't see that, did you?"

"On the contrary, I witnessed every second. Who knew that you'd be attracting girls left and right? I hope you have a good explanation for it. I wouldn't want my patients to think of my grandson as dirty-minded."

I felt the blood rush back to my face again, "It wasn't on purpose I swear! Ina read about hugging in a magazine and she decided to do it with me and I got into that awkward pose and I'm really sorry!"

"You're far too serious and polite, Sieg. Maybe I was a bit too thorough in raising you."

"Huh?"

"I was only joking. It seems that my conservative methods have left your ability to catch the humor in such situations... lacking."

"It really wasn't that funny..."

"It was." Do you guys find having your face being forced onto a girl's chest funny?

"Relax, you're practically glowing in embarrassment. More seriously, I would advise you to teach your friend more about the social norms so that situations like this don't happen again."

"Can't argue with that. Summer vacation is coming up so it shouldn't be too hard to make time for some lessons."

"Now that's settled, it's time for the two of your to go to bed."

"My circadian rhythm won't be thrown off by staying up a few minutes late, Jii-chan."

"Perhaps not, but it's a poor habit to do so. You only have two days of school left before summer break. You might as well make them productive." Doctors who double as parents or guardians like Jii-chan are really serious about your health and grades. They won't stop nagging you until you follow their instructions.

"Yes, I know. Good night, everyone." I got up and headed for the bathroom as usual before heading off to bed.

"I wonder how you do it."

"Do what?" I asked as I lied down.

"Get girls to cling to you like that!"

"Um, girls do not cling to me."

"Ina sure did."

"W-well that was a misunderstanding caused by a magazine! It doesn't count!"

"Didn't the Saten chick also kiss you?"

"Yeah, but that was just for yesterday."

"Was it?"

I shook my head, "Just stop pestering me like this! I'm trying to sleep!"

"But it's what I do best!"

"You could use some lessons on the social norms too."

"No lectures! I hate fucking lectures!"

"If that's what it takes..."

"Not listening!"

"Just go to sleep!"

"Fine, sourpuss! Good night!"

"Good night."

I then let my already heavy eyelids finally close, thus ending just another crazy day in my life.

Sorry for the wait guys! Summer homework is a bitch (44 journal responses)! I consider this chapter somewhat of a low key chapter in terms of actual action, but I hope you found it exciting enough.

I hate to say it but later chapters will probably come out even more slowly as I'm officially back in school. I apologize, but I will try to write with quality to make up for quantity.

A while back after my Armstrong cameo one of my readers requested that I write in a Tokyo Ghoul cameo. I never touched the series up to that point, so it really wasn't of interest to me at the time. After a little research I thought that it'd be interesting to pit monster vs monster in such a crossover. As a result, I was thinking of writing a oneshot in which Sieg visits Tokyo and comes into conflict with the local ghoul population. I'll probably post a poll (my cousin just pointed out to me how it works) so I want to hear what you guys think.

About my usual rant for reviews, I've sort of come to a realization after I read the profile of "Just Another Indonesian Writer". In the end, having a ton of reviews doesn't really matter, it's the quality. To make my stories better I need hard, critical reviews as opposed to praise. That's not to say that I don't appreciate your support, I enjoy it very much. However, a pat on the back doesn't exactly tell me anything you think aside from the fact that you like it. As a result, I'd like you to be harsh and critical on any plot/continuity/grammar errors.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again next chapter!