This is an epilogue, of sorts to the previous chapter. Hence it being much shorter.
Somewhere in District 7, a young girl stood next to a family restaurant waiting for someone. They wore a yellow cardigan, and underneath that was a red summer dress, and their head had a bed of artificial flowers. A blue backpack hung on their backs as they held their phone, texting somebody.
'Hey it's Uiharu, I'm already here in the diner. It's been a couple of minutes, what's taking so long Saten?' Uiharu was a bit annoyed about her classmate's tendency to take their sweet time preparing for their regular hangout times.
"UihaaaaRUUUUUU!!!" Uiharu felt her skirt uplifted. "Oh, flowery print panties, you're very prepared for this occasion." The culprit said.
"S-SATEN WHAT THE HECK!? THERE ARE PEOPLE PRESENT! M-MOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!" Uiharu, with tears in her eyes, waved her arms angrily.
"Sorry sorry, it's just that your reaction's far too good to be ignored. I can't help myself, hehehehe!"
"Honestly!"
In the diner...
"At this rate I won't be able to show my face in public."
"Hehehe sorry."
"You say thay but you're secretly planning for the next attack aren't you?"
"...Perhaps," Saten said as her eyes avoided Uiharu's. The flower girl flailed her arms towards Saten, cutely pounding her tiny fists into Saten's arms.
After a while Uiharu had calmed down, and just as she did a voice reached to them.
"Hey girls, sorry I'm late, I had to help out my class." Mikoto Misaka, a student of Tokiwadai, had appeared before them.
Normally other people would be nervous whenever such a celebrity would visit them.
"Oh Misaka, don't worry about it, we know how busy you can be with school."
"Don't sweat the small stuff Misaka."
But Uiharu and Saten were already well-acquainted with the elite girl.
She had sat down with them, and ordered a bunch of drinks and desserts for the two girls. Uiharu was delighted by her Triple-Choco Sunday Deluxe, and tearfully thanked Mikoto, while Saten raised her glass of lime soda as thanks. Mikoto had a glass of iced tea, and smiled at her friend's thanks.
"By the way Uiharu, Kuroko isn't here with you two. She busy lately?" Mikoto asked Uiharu.
"Yeah she is. She and Konori were investigating the mystery web from few days back when you guys found the bomber restrained by the alley."
"Oh right. You guys got any leads for the ability user?"
"I'm not supposed to talk about Judgement's cases to civilians Misaka-san, if you must know. They dismissed me so that I can take a short break from work." Uiharu told Misaka.
"Oh come on, I helped you guys out before right, like a few days ago when I and Kuroko got those delinquents who were selling that Level Upper stuff."
"And you fried the entire electric grid overnight, Misaka. Your point?
"Haaah, as much as I like to talk to you both about what we found about this mystery guy, I'm not in the position to talk about it. I'm very tired." Uiharu said, taking a spoon of her sundae.
"Well, that just took the excitement outta you didn't it, Misaka-san?" Saten laughed. Mikoto only groaned, and blew a raspberry, which made Saten laugh and Uiharu smile.
Then the air above Mikoto shimmered, and in appeared a certain pigtailed girl landing in the Level 5's lap. "Oh my beloved Onee-Sama how I missed your loving embrace!" Kuroko hugged Mikoto fiercely, which Uiharu and Saten only smiled to their antics.
A dull sound echoed in the restaurant.
"Seriously, could you knock it off with the uncalled for jumping and hugging? It's getting old."
"Ehehehe, forgive me dear Sissy, I just can't stand being separated from you for so long."
"...You've only been gone for an hour." Mikoto deadpanned.
"Time is irrelevant to our loving bond dear Sissy." Kuroko replied casually. Mikoto sighed in exasperation, Saten giggled, and Uiharu shook her head in amusement.
"You took long enough Shirai-san, something the matter on your end?" Uiharu asked.
"Uahhh... so many reports... Can't deal with them aaaaaaaaaall... why did you have to leave early Uiharu-saaaaaaaaaaan!!!" Kuroko teleported to Uiharu's side, shaking the small girl in frustration.
"Funyaaaaaah, please stop you're making me drop my desseeeeeeeeert!!!"
Mikoto and Saten could only sigh at their friends' antics, though it was in weariness in the former's case, amusement for the latter.
They later separated the two co-workers to prevent causing a mess in the table.
"So what are the reports for Kuroko? Is that why you were late coming here?" Mikoto asked.
"Sorry I'm not allowed to tell you. And yes, even when you helped out a lot for Judgement that doesn't grant you honorary privileges." Kuroko said.
Mikoto huffed and puffed in cheeks in slight indignance.
Kuroko for her part managed to restrain herself from jumping the very cute visage of a pouting Railgun on her side (she was recovering from the mental torture that was paperwork, and had just been hit in the head earlier).
Kuroko could only smile.
"Maybe next time," she sardonically said to Mikoto.
"Hmph."
"Hey guys have you guys heard of this new story going around online lately?" Saten piped in.
"What do you have for us this time, wasn't the Stripping Lady enough to satisfy your hunger?" Uiharu snarked, which made Mikoto and Kuroko snicker.
Saten for her part, only lifted the small girl's skirt.
"As expected, with the color of your panties no wonder you're very snippy today."
"My attitude's got nothing with my panties okay!? Please cut it out!" Uiharu's smug aura from earlier shattered as a teary flushing visage showed itself to the girls.
After she calmed down, Uiharu repeated the question, albeit without the snark, and a slight bit of rage at the end.
Saten could only shiver as she told the girls, Kuroko and Mikoto doing the same.
Uiharu might be cute, but even cute things can be dangerous.
"There's someone going around and saving people from thugs. Dressed in red he patrols the streets, searching for people in trouble, and when he swoops in they get saved in less than a minute.
Some say, he took on a group of 30 thugs, and came out unscathed."
Saten narrated her showings to her interested audience.
"I don't know about this," Mikoto said. "I mean, one man against a bunch of SkillOuts, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, for both parties involved."
All 3 girls turned to Mikoto, with weird looks.
Mikoto flinched at their queestioning gazes.
"W-What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"Some embellishments aside there was someone going around doing exactly that. Swooping in, saving students from harassment by thugs in the alleys." Kuroko opined. "And that's the only thing I'll say about that."
"Oh? So you've heard about them? Have you met them? What are they like?" Saten's eyes practically twinkled as she asked.
"No I've never met the guy in person, and even if I did, you know what Judgement's stance is on vigilantism." Kuroko said.
"Whoever they are they're going far beyond a civilian's responsibility, and should be held accountable for the damages."
"Aren't you a bit hard on this guy Kuroko? I mean they're helping people out from so many scumbags. We might as well give them the benefit of the doubt." Mikoto piped in.
She doubted that this "Vigilante" would go around, attacking people without reason.
"Sissy, you should be the last person to say that, considering your blatant violation of the law. Seriously, you should've joined Judgement if you wanted to keep up your hero business." Kuroko said.
"Nah, I'm not cut out for that. Following rules ain't my thing, you know that."
"Exactly my point, Sissy."
Mikoto groaned. It's not that Kuroko doesn't have a point, it's just that, she just can't comprehend that someone can't do something about those scumbags.
She did the city a favor, by cleaning the trash.
"Well, here's some juicy news about the Red Man in here, according to this-" Saten started to tell her story, but she was interrupted.
"Wait wait wait, "the Red Man"? That's what they're calling him now?" Uiharu asked her.
"Yeah. It says here." Saten showed her phone to the three girls.
"Gotta say, not a very original name." Mikoto deadpanned. "I mean, they could at least put some thought into the name."
"I actually think it's kinda cool, it makes him sound mysterious."
"Well, what did this story about the 'Red Man' tell about him?" Kuroko asked Saten.
Saten grinned like a child.
"Well, it says here, that a couple of days ago, he had fought against more than 50 thugs. It was apparently because they were involved in some underground fighting ring.
He got in, saved the guy who was getting beat up, and went to town with them. Apparently he got out of it unscathed."
"They must be really strong then, to take on that many thugs," Mikoto bared her fangs, crossing her arms. "It makes me wanna face him on and see what he got."
"Sissy, no. Whatever you're thinking, cease immediately."
"Hmph, you're no fun." Mikoto huffed and pouted.
'...I've held in my feelings for as long as possible but it seems that the seal has been broken...' Kuroko thought as she jumped Mikoto.
The lights within the restaurant flickered slightly.
"Seriously, Kuroko, can't you read the memo, stop jumping me."
"It's not my fault you're so cute."
"Oh brother." Mikoto sighed, while Uiharu and Saten sat at the background wearing amused smiles in their faces.
Across the court, away from them, a spiky blonde haired boy with shades, sat alone on the table, the events of 3 hours ago still settling in his mind.
'What does this mean? With Kami becoming a Spider-Totem, he's sure to be placed into a world of suffering. Add to the misfortune he faces everyday. Every damn day.' Tsuchimikado thought to himself. 'This doesn't feel right. Nothing about this feels right.'
Tsuchimikado sat in silence. He could barely muster the energy to take a glance at the food placed on his table.
'This... will not be easy to deal with.'
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