Luke and Krul's apartment.
"Misaka and the others are looking for me, I'm heading out for a bit."
Krul changed into a purple hoodie and spoke to Luke before leaving.
"Ah, come back early. I've been learning how to cook lately; is there anything you want to eat?"
Luke didn't plan on going with Krul. Since Krul didn't specify what they were doing, he assumed it was a girls' gathering, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go.
Krul thought for a moment.
"How about those Cola Chicken Wings you mentioned before?"
"Understood!"
Not long after Krul left, Luke suddenly received a call; it was from Accelerator.
"It's quite rare for you to take the initiative to call me."
"Ah, those people want me to go take a look today. Are you coming or not?"
Accelerator's impatient voice came through.
Luke thought about it and replied, "I wasn't invited. Wouldn't it be a bit rude if I just tagged along?"
Accelerator felt that Luke was being truly hypocritical.
"Tsk, stop pretending. When you intervene to save people later, they'll only be even more 'rude' once they find out."
"Got it, I'll be there."
"By the way, did you tell that Misaka girl about this?"
Luke sat up abruptly.
"Not yet. It's fine, I'll just send her a message to let her know in a bit."
"Hmph! You really are unreliable."
...Misaka Mikoto had called today, saying she wanted to go buy clothes at the Seventh Mist mall and invited Krul to join.
When Krul arrived at the location, she saw the three of them waving to her from a distance.
"Have you all been here long?"
Saten Ruiko shook her head.
"No, Uiharu and I just met up with Senior Misaka. We were just thinking about calling you when we saw you arrive."
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Misaka Mikoto smiled and said, "Alright, let's go inside!"
The four of them talked as they walked.
Saten Ruiko thought of the news from the past two days and asked, "Uiharu, aren't you guys investigating the 'Void Explosion Incident'? Any leads yet?"
At the mention of this, Uiharu Kazari couldn't help but sigh.
"No clue at all. The explosions have been happening more and more frequently lately. Kuroko is still out investigating right now."
Misaka Mikoto had a look of realization.
"No wonder Kuroko said she was too busy to come. She came back to the dorm very late yesterday too. Speaking of which, after experiencing a day as a Judgment Member yesterday, it really is hard work."
Krul was somewhat curious.
"Didn't Kuroko tell you?"
Misaka Mikoto shook her head.
Krul teased, "Maybe she's afraid you'll act recklessly."
Misaka Mikoto immediately retorted, "How could that be?! Do I usually look like someone who acts recklessly in everyone's eyes?"
Uiharu Kazari thought about it; she didn't directly affirm it, but instead wore a contemplative expression and started counting on her fingers.
"Last time Misaka was handling a Bank robbery, that whole street needed to be rebuilt. The time before that, she was harassed by thugs, which led to a blackout in District 7. The time before that..."
"Alright! Stop talking!"
Misaka Mikoto's cheeks were flushed red, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Those were all accidents! Last time the culprit was about to escape, and the time before that, those scumbags actually dared to make fun of my flat chest! I'm only in middle school, I'm still developing!"
Saten Ruiko teased, "Misaka, you just care too much about your chest."
Misaka Mikoto stared with a slight grudge at Saten Ruiko's already developing bust.
"Of course you'd say that, even though you're younger than me..."
Then she caught sight of Krul, who hadn't joined the discussion, and asked curiously, "Krul, don't you care about chest development?"
Krul was stunned for a moment. How did the conversation turn to her? She then shook her head.
"No, I think this is fine. If the chest is too big, it feels like an unnecessary burden in combat."
"Eh? Is that so?"
Misaka Mikoto hadn't expected Krul to think that way and lowered her head to look at her own chest, falling into deep thought.
Saten Ruiko, however, suddenly leaned in front of Krul, stared at Krul's chest for a moment, and made a joke.
"Krul, you're wrong to think that. The chest is a powerful weapon against men! Does Luke look at girls with big chests on the street?"
Uiharu Kazari felt that Ruiko's words might affect Krul and Luke's relationship and was about to smooth things over, but Saten Ruiko continued her serious analysis.
"If I'm not mistaken, he must be a member of the flat-chest faction!"
Krul was dazed.
"Pr... probably?"
Thinking carefully, Luke indeed didn't seem very interested in large chests.
Having received the expected answer, Saten Ruiko looked smug, then became solemn again.
"Hmph, just as I thought! According to the analysis of the flat-chest faction on the forums... Krul, do you trust me?"
Krul couldn't understand Saten Ruiko's train of thought and spoke uncertainly.
"I guess?"
Saten Ruiko looked like she had been injected with adrenaline, exceptionally excited.
"Today's mission is set! It's to dress Krul up so that Luke's eyes will light up!"
Krul remembered a joke Luke had once said to Saten Ruiko.
"Tears of the Blue Sea, my grandfather's wardrobe."
It seemed to mean having good taste in clothes. She hadn't cared about these things before, but now that she was living in human society, there was no harm in learning a bit about how to dress.
Uiharu Kazari and Misaka Mikoto were caught up in Saten Ruiko's momentum and began to clap.
"Oh! Good luck!"
Judgment Branch 177.
As the chief, Kōdō Mii was organizing information on the 'Void Explosion Incident' along with Shirai Kuroko, hoping to find some useful information.
"Senior Kōdō, here."
Shirai Kuroko handed over a cup of coffee.
Both of them were extremely haggard at this point, with very obvious dark circles under their eyes. It seemed they had been tormented quite a bit by this elusive bomber.
"Ah, I'm so tired. I haven't closed my eyes all night. Just who is this bastard?"
Kōdō Mii took a sip of coffee and couldn't help but complain.
Shirai Kuroko sighed, equally helpless.
"Sigh, tell me about it. I didn't even have time when Onee-sama invited me to go to the mall."
"Onee-sama? That's the one who came to help yesterday during the day, right?"
Misaka Mikoto had experienced Judgment work yesterday, and Kōdō Mii still remembered. While cleaning the streets, someone had littered right in front of her and was immediately knocked unconscious by electricity.
Shirai Kuroko nodded, then sat down at the computer to continue working.
"Where on earth is that bastard? The only person in the Bank whose ability matches has an alibi..."
Ring ring ring.
"Hello, this is Judgment Branch 177. Okay, yes, understood."
Shirai Kuroko looked at Kōdō Mii and asked, "What's wrong?"
Kōdō Mii's expression was slightly worried.
"Another Judgment Member was caught in an explosion and injured."
Shirai Kuroko frowned. How many incidents was this now, scattered across all corners of the school districts?
No matter how you looked at it, the probability of Judgment Members being injured was too high! Something was wrong!
At the Seventh Mist mall, a tall, thin boy walked through the crowd with his head down, wearing headphones and constantly muttering to himself.
Upon arriving at the Seventh Mist mall, he suddenly saw Misaka Mikoto's group, and one person among them caught his attention.
Looking at Uiharu Kazari's Judgment armband, the man's expression turned gloomy.
"It's all because of you incompetent Judgment Members. You talk about maintaining order, but every time you fail to lend me a hand. Since you're useless, just disappear!"
Saying this, he took out a frog plushie from his shoulder bag and entered the mall, blending in with the pedestrians.
Inside Seventh Mist.
"Haven't seen anything suitable yet. Where should we go next?"
Uiharu Kazari immediately raised her hand.
"I want to go look at pajamas!"
Uiharu Kazari's suggestion was approved by everyone, and they went to the pajama section.
Just as they arrived, Misaka Mikoto saw a set of pajamas that looked very innocent. While she was admiring them—
"Such childish pajamas."
"Yeah, they look so babyish."
"So gaudy."
These three sentences were like three sharp knives, stabbing deeply into Misaka Mikoto's self-esteem.
Misaka Mikoto was too embarrassed to say she liked this style and could only agree.
"Yeah, truly childish. How could a middle schooler wear this kind of pajamas?"
Uiharu Kazari walked further inside, while Saten Ruiko pushed Krul toward the fitting room.
"Try on these three sets of pajamas. With my eye, none of them will be bad!"
"Hey, wait a minute..."
Suddenly, only Misaka Mikoto was left outside. After confirming no one was around, Misaka Mikoto picked up the pajamas that had just been criticized and held them in her arms, her heart conflicted.
"I won't be wearing them outside anyway, just inside the dorm. It should be fine, right?"
Thinking this, Misaka Mikoto made up her mind and immediately ran to the mirror to hold the pajamas against herself. But just as she reached the mirror, she realized someone was standing behind her.
"What are you doing, Biri-Biri?"
"Ah!"
Misaka Mikoto was startled by the sudden voice. She reflexively hid the pajamas behind her back and turned around.
What met her eyes was a boy with spiky hair like a sea urchin.
"It... it's you. Why are you here?"
Misaka Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief.
This spiky-haired boy was, of course, the "weakest" Level 0 in Academy City—Kamijou Touma.
Because Misaka Mikoto was always discharging electricity at the slightest provocation, Kamijou Touma called her Biri-Biri.
Kamijou Touma was somewhat speechless.
"What do you mean by that? Am I not allowed to be here?"
Before Misaka Mikoto could say anything more, a shout came from nearby.
"Onii-chan!"
A little girl came running over with a smile from not far away, looking very cute.
When the little girl reached them and saw Misaka Mikoto, she looked excited.
"It's the Tokiwadai Onee-sama!"
Misaka Mikoto also recognized the little girl.
"Oh, it's the girl who lost her bag."
Yesterday, while she was experiencing Judgment work, this little girl had lost her bag, and Misaka Mikoto had helped Kōdō Mii find it.
Misaka Mikoto suddenly thought of how the little girl had just addressed Kamijou Touma and was slightly surprised.
"Onii-chan? You have a sister?"
Kamijou Touma waved his hand.
"No, this child wanted to find a dress shop, so I brought her here."
The little girl also chimed in, "Mm! Big brother brought me here. I can finally wear a dress like the pretty ladies on TV!"
As she spoke, the little girl even twirled in place while holding the hem of her skirt.
Misaka Mikoto had the least resistance against cute things. Looking at such a cute little girl, she couldn't help but pat her head.
"Yes, you'll definitely look very pretty in a dress!"
Kamijou Touma couldn't help but snark.
"Quite different from someone who wears shorts."
Hearing this, Misaka Mikoto immediately became annoyed.
"What do you mean? You want to fight?"
Kamijou Touma gave a sheepish smile, then looked around.
"What do you plan on doing in a place with so much foot traffic?"
In the end, Misaka Mikoto could only let the little girl pull Kamijou Touma away.
Misaka Mikoto glanced at the pajamas in her hand and sighed; she decided not to buy them after all.
However, her conflicted expression had already been seen clearly by Krul and Saten Ruiko inside the fitting room.
Krul frowned.
"Is it really okay to peep like this?"
Saten Ruiko shook her head.
"This isn't peeping. I just didn't expect Misaka to like this kind of style."
Krul pulled her head back.
"Let's buy it and give it to her as a gift."
"Good idea!"
Just then, the mall's announcement suddenly rang out.
"Notice received. Please evacuate the mall immediately!"
Saten Ruiko didn't know what was happening and looked confused.
Krul was also unsure. She had read 'a certain magical index', but she hadn't seen 'A Certain Scientific Railgun' yet, so she didn't know what was supposed to happen today.
Hearing the announcement, everyone in the mall began to run outside.
Once outside, Krul noticed that Uiharu Kazari hadn't come out yet and frowned slightly.
After a moment's thought, Krul ran back into the mall.
Misaka Mikoto noticed this as well. Seeing Krul's figure, she also rushed in without hesitation.
At this time, inside the mall, Uiharu Kazari was confirming that all customers had left and was about to leave herself when she received a call from Shirai Kuroko.
"Hello, Kuroko. I've checked; all the customers have left."
"Uiharu, run! The culprit's target is Judgment!"
Uiharu Kazari was stunned. Just then, a little girl came running over holding a frog doll.
"Onee-sama! A big brother outside just told me to give you this doll!"
The moment Uiharu Kazari saw that doll, she thought of the descriptions from previous reports about soda can explosions and plushie explosions. In an instant, she knew—this was a bomb!
"Danger!"
Uiharu Kazari pulled the little girl into her arms to protect her with her body, then threw the doll away. But at this distance, they would still be caught in the blast.
Just then, a purple figure flashed by, grabbed the doll, and threw it out the window.
The terrifying force gave the doll extreme speed. In the blink of an eye, it smashed through the window and flew into the air outside the mall.
Boom!
The sound of an explosion rang out. The doll exploded in mid-air, causing no casualties.
Krul let out a breath. Luckily, she made it in time.
Misaka Mikoto and Kamijou Touma, who had followed behind, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Krul went to the window and looked down at the pedestrians below.
There was fear, relief, and worry on their faces, which was normal. But among them, there was one boy whose face showed only resentment.
Krul narrowed her eyes.
The boy looked resentful and didn't dare stay long, turning to walk into an alley.
However, just as he stepped into the alley, a sudden pain hit both his knees. He knelt down directly, and two blood spikes pierced out from his knees.
"Ah!"
Just as Krul was about to have his heart pierced as well, Misaka Mikoto's hand rested on her shoulder.
Krul looked at Misaka Mikoto, understood her meaning, and turned to leave.
A short while later, the arriving Shirai Kuroko arrested the culprit of this incident in the alley.
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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