Mikoto Misaka stormed over, brimming with fury.
"You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting to my mother?!"
This was simply intolerable—something even an aunt couldn't let slide.
Stealing people's trust was bad enough, but stealing her mom's trust? If it had been anyone else, Misaka Mikoto would've already fired a rail of lightning straight at them.
But before Haruto even spoke—Misaka Misuzu stepped forward.
"Mikoto, that's rude, you know?"
Hearing that, Mikoto immediately choked on her words.
She didn't have the courage to throw out her classic retort at her own mom: "Mom, I don't have manners!"
And just then, Haruto added fuel to the fire:
"Exactly, exactly—super rude!"
Right now, Mikoto wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into Haruto.
Why bite instead of electrocute? Don't ask. It was just the feeling.
"Heh… we'll have a nice little chat later, just the two of us."
She muttered under her breath, voice low.
Haruto, of course, ignored her.
"Madam, thank you for your help. Since Miss Mikoto is here, I need to prepare for the next match, so I'll take my leave."
And with that, he bolted.
Mikoto gritted her teeth hard enough to crack.
That guy—he only had a borrowed item relay. What "next match"?!
Meanwhile, she still had to participate in the obstacle race later.
"Mikoto-chan, do you and Haruto get along well?"
Misuzu suddenly asked with a warm smile.
She had the habit of calling those younger than her—boy or girl—"little so-and-so," in a very affectionate way.
But Mikoto's face flushed bright red.
"Of course not! W-Who would ever get along with that kind of guy?!"
She stammered out her denial.
Misuzu gently patted her daughter's head.
"It's okay, Mommy supports you! Go and bring Haruto home."
"Ahhh! I already said it's not like that!"
Mikoto nearly collapsed—betrayed and cornered by her own mom.
Meanwhile, Haruto had already slipped back into the stands.
"Haruto-oniisan, you were amazing—not only did you win, you even broke the record!"
Shouko exclaimed in awe.
Haruto just smiled.
Pure luck, really.
At that moment, Misaki stood up.
"Now then, time to enjoy my performance. Then you may celebrate me."
She said it with absolute confidence.
Haruto blinked.
"…If I recall, you signed up for the obstacle race, right? Are you sure your stamina can handle it?"
It was well-known.
Shokuhou Misaki's physical ability was atrocious.
Two steps of light jogging, and she was already gasping for air.
But she puffed up her chest proudly(creating quite the rippling spectacle), and headed toward the competition field.
Haruto watched her back as she left, and for some reason, she looked like an opera diva right now—flags practically sprouting from behind her.
At the starting line of the obstacle race, Shokuhou Misaki gave a smug glance toward the hovering drones filming.
"Ara~ everyone's overflowing with youthful energy, so passionate, so fiery. Unfortunately for them, no matter what happens, I must dazzle Haruto today. All it takes is a little Mental Out—hypnotize all the contestants, referees, even the broadcasters. With that, victory is mine, without even breaking a sweat. So easy~"
Just as she basked in her fantasy, a staff member approached.
"Sorry, but you may not carry items unrelated to the competition. We'll hold them for you. Please collect them after the race."
As he spoke, he reached out and took her shoulder bag—and the remote control in her hand.
Misaki: "…Eh?"
Misaki: "Wait!!"
Misaki: "???"
Misaki: "HELP!!!"
After the obstacle race…
Misaki couldn't even walk back to the stands on her own.
Haruto had run ahead and was waiting at the finish line.
He caught the utterly exhausted girl, and in a princess carry—before the eyes and whispers of the crowd—brought her back.
She buried her face deep in his chest, as if never wanting to show her face again.
Truth be told, Misaki had zero athletic ability.
Now, she was nothing more than soft jelly, bones seemingly gone, melting into Haruto's arms.
He wanted to comment.
Didn't you just walk in with so much "flags sticking out of your back" energy?
Hilarious—you planned to cheat, and then your cheating tool got confiscated. But, seeing her embarrassed face and limp, fragile state, he swallowed the words back.
Instead, he quietly channeled energy into her cells, helping her recover.
The day ended peacefully.
Mikoto dropped her mom off at the hotel, then tried to go after Haruto—but he was already long gone.
Misaki, too, had wanted to drag Haruto back to Tokiwadai for the night.
Rejected, of course.
Haruto thought, if he could avoid Tokiwadai, he really should.
Night fell.
There were no matches in the evening.
The night of the Daihasei Festival, there were some fireworks and a night market—but only in the bustling districts.
Elsewhere, darkness prevailed, as usual.
And within that darkness—Haruto received a message.
From Ruiko Saten.
Just a location ping.
Haruto frowned but activated Kamui, rushing straight there.
It was an alleyway in District 10.
The moment he appeared—he saw it.
Saten Ruiko, dragging along a little girl, running in panic.
She wasn't even paying attention to direction anymore.
A sudden figure appeared before them.
Ruiko let out a startled cry, colliding right into Haruto's chest. She quickly scrambled up, tugging the girl to keep running—until Haruto grabbed her arm and spoke.
Only then did Ruiko calm down.
"So… what mess have you gotten into this time?"
Haruto asked, brows furrowed.
Ruiko scratched her head awkwardly, then quickly snapped back.
"Don't make it sound like I always cause trouble, okay?!"
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't that the case though? Twice now, both times I met you, things didn't look good for you, Miss Ruiko."
That shut her up.
And then—the little girl she was dragging suddenly leapt forward.
Until now, the child had been wrapped in a ragged cloak, hood covering her head completely.
So Haruto hadn't noticed her face.
But as she threw herself at him, the hood slipped off.
Haruto froze.
It was Misaka.
To be precise—a loli Misaka.
"Haruto-oniisan! I know you! You're the one who saved us Misakas!"
She cried out happily, hugging his leg.
Misaka Misaka.
Clearly—this was a clone of Misaka Mikoto.
But—
she wasn't just any Sister.
She was different.
She was called Last Order.
Designated specimen number 20001.
Originally meant to be the command tower for all Misaka Sisters, a failsafe to prevent them from rebelling or going out of control.
Unlike the other Sisters, she showed rich expressions.
And on her head—one ahoge swayed.
Because her body was unfinished, she was smaller than the others, looking only about ten years old.
Haruto recognized her, but couldn't understand.
Why had she been made at all?
The Sisters had long been taken under Haruto's wing.
A command tower was unnecessary.
They would never betray him.
And Aleister wouldn't allow more Misakas to be produced anyway. By all logic, Last Order shouldn't even exist, yet here she was—appearing like a fugitive.
It made Haruto want to call Aleister immediately and demand answers.
But for now, he picked the little one up.
From Kamui space, he pulled out a child-sized coat, and dressed Last Order.
Despite being a "command tower," her body was no different from that of a normal ten-year-old child.
She'd only been wrapped in a rag—completely exposed underneath.
On this night, she could easily have gotten sick.
Once she was dressed, Haruto turned to Saten, expression grave.
"So—what exactly is chasing you two?"