Had to revise the chapter a bit, so if you read it before, I made some edits; mostly grammar and spelling errors. Sorry about that haha, I just want the best for my audience - D.O.G (I hate that acronym so much).

"So, Kamijou-kun? What are your friends like?" Wannai questioned the Level 0 high school student; gazing at him with curiosity. The three of them: Wannai, Awatsuki, and Touma were on their way to Judgment via Touma's request to witness Shirai Kuroko's "workplace".

"My classmates now...?" Touma sighed. He was unbelievably exhausted by the number of questions that the two of them had been asking him ever since they left the school. It was not as if he was annoyed at them, he was just somewhat overwhelmed by how much they were interested in his life.

"Well, I guess to start with-there are my two friends at school: Pierce and Tsuchimikado." He looked towards the sky as they walked on the sidewalk. He wondered if Misaka had run into them yet - hopefully not, more so worrying for their safety rather than Misaka herself.

"So they are your fellow classmates I take it?" Awatsuki asked, placing her hand on her chin.

Touma nodded. They were indeed his friends, well, he believed they were anyway. Sometimes, especially in Tsuchimikado case, he wondered if they really were his friends.

"May we meet them? I know you and your classmates are in the middle of a summer science project, but I'd very much like to meet these friends of yours!" Wannai chirped.

"Umm, how about...no," Touma concluded, as he stopped them from walking on to the street as cars were passing by rather quickly. There was no way in hell he was going to let these kind, innocent girls he literally just met, meet with his friends; who Fukiyose Seiri told him that they were, by her words: "Perverted Fools". Apparently, Touma was branded that too, but recently Fukiyose had told him he was on the bridge of reaching "Accidental Perverted Fool". He considered that sort of a compliment, but it pissed him off that he was on the bridge of something he would unfortunately say was accurate. Instead he was labeled just like his friends are, which didn't annoy him that much, but it wasn't true.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Wannai said, looking quite sad. Touma noticed this of course.

"N-No! It's nothing personal, it's just that they uh...are just really...shy." He lied, putting his hands up. If anything, he didn't want to make the poor girl upset.

"R-Really?" Wannai asked with a bit of hope in her voice.

"Yeah, they're a bit uncomfortable around girls," Touma informed her, although that was far from the truth when it came to those two.

Wannai, had a breath of relief, hoping she hadn't intruded on personal ground. "Thank goodness. I was worried if I was being too annoying."

"What? No, of course not! If you were trying to be annoying...you're sort of doing an awful job." Touma told her scratching his hair.

Wannai blushed, and look to the other side, appreciating the compliment, even if he wasn't trying to do so. Although, the adorable smile on her face wasn't really helping her hide her flushed face.

"Well, I suppose we wouldn't to make them uncomfortable Wannai-san," Awatsuki told her. They didn't want to intrude just because they were simply interested in meeting his friends.

"Ah, you're right Awatsuki-san." Wannai smiled at her friend, not wanting to pry into Touma's life that much. The road seemed clear of cars, so the three of them continued to walk across the street.

"Well, let's see, aside from those two, there's also my friend Himegami. She's mostly aloof, but we get along at least. Honestly, I sort of wish I hung out with her more, but we hardly ever see each-other other than at school." He informed them.

"Despite that, she does have this weird sense of humor at times. It's either self-deprecating, dark, or even towards me." He laughed once he said that, but then remembered that she had taken pictures of him in Sensei's bunny outfit.

Then again, that was all because his other friend Tsuchimikado; believed that it would be a nice "bonding" moment between him and Sensei if they were both wearing matching bunny outfits.

Why was he friends with them again?

"Your classmates seem to all be very interesting Kamijou-kun." Awatsuki commented.

"I'm starting to realize that myself…" He hasn't really had the time to reflect on the friends he has made over the past year. He was now just realizing how different each of them was, and how colorful their personalities were.

He wondered if that was a good or bad thing.

"What are your other classmates like Kamijou-kun?" Wannai asked as they continued walking on the path to Kuroko's office branch of Judgment.

"Other classmates?" Aside from his friends and Fukiyose, he hadn't really given much of his other classmates much thought. There's also the fact that he barely knows any of them, since he's hardly in school (the hospital could be his school for all he knew). The only person who he could say at the moment was his Sensei, but of cours,e that wasn't his classmate.

"Well, there's my classmate Fukiyose." He answered.

"What's she like?" Awatsuki asked.

"Eh, well, she sort of reminds me of Kuroko in a few ways: obnoxious, uptight, and doesn't really like me all too much. They both berate me on practically everything I do." Touma chided. Both of them were literally the same person in his eyes, though they do have their distinct differences. At least currently, Fukiyose was starting to treat him more like a friend after saving her life and being worried for her at the Daihasei Festival.

Also, she was his classmate, who he saw usually every day. That would also contribute.

With the way he and Kuroko's relationship had been proceeding once this bet had started, it doesn't seem like they'll ever be on friendly terms. If he had to pick between the two of them, he would probably pick to hang out with Fukiyose rather than Kuroko. After all, he'd rather pick his poison. Even if the choices were both not that great.

"Oh Kamijou-kun, don't sound so negative about it. I'm sure they both care about you." Wannai reassured him. He liked that, it was nice to have someone be so positive to him for a change.

"Thanks. Well, I can sort of see that for Fukiyose. Kuroko though, I don't see how that'll become a thing, considering how much she loves Misaka, and I basically took her spot." He told her. "Besides, umm, if you didn't see it this morning, she sort of slammed a tray in my face."

Awatsuki's face turned a shade of blue, as she recalled that is what happened in the cafeteria earlier.

"A-Ah yes. That did happen, Wannai-san was not paying attention, but I did happen to see…" Awatsuki relayed, as she was really surprised at how he was still in perfect condition after that. "I'm surprised to see that you're relatively unharmed Kamijou-kun."

"Trust me, I've had worse." He replied. Not too proud saying it either.

"Oh, my." Wannai was somewhat shocked, but then retained a face of reassurance.

"Well… ah… t-these things take a while haha…" Wannai said, as she awkwardly laughed. Touma wanted to laugh at that honestly too - even she felt not so confident in their relationship developing in any way.

"But anyway, Kuroko seemed worried about your friend earlier," Touma remembered. "You don't think she's in any kind of danger do you?"

"Ah, I was just thinking about too. I... was hoping you wouldn't bring that up actually, I'm starting to become concerned." Wannai worried.

"She told us she would come right back after taking care of some errands. But then again, normally whenever she has errands to run, she notifies us through texts to make us not worried." Awatsuki informed.

"And well, it's been two hours since we've even heard from her. " Wannai confirmed. It was not like Kongou-san to not message them after so long. Normally she would send the two of them all sorts of texts, ranging from pictures, or simply just telling them about her day. "We've sent texts, but she hasn't read them yet. All it says is that they have been sent."

"I do hope Kongou-san is alright. She's a bit passionate sometimes, but she's really sweet and kind and our friend." Awatsuki relayed, to which Wannai nodded to. Touma placed his hands in his pockets and started to process all this information.

"If she hasn't been able to text them back like usual routine, then she is definitely in some kind of danger. She could've run into a corrupt esper or even magician. Her phone could have potentially been damaged and that would explain why she hasn't been able to text Wannai and Awatsuki". Touma thought to himself, quite worried about her current condition. He glanced over to Awatsuki and Wannai, who looked quite pale and were probably thinking of all the worst-case scenarios that could've happened to their friend.

"I'm guessing this is what Kuroko was worried about earlier, and why she was so eager to head to Judgment. Maybe something came up over there. No, that wouldn't be it, it's not like she received an alarm back at the cafeteria. Could she just have a hunch, or maybe it'll actually come up when we get there? He glanced back over to them. Clearly, they were concerned, and understandably so.

"Cheer up," He gave them both a thumbs up. "Given that she goes to Tokiwadai, surely she can handle herself, right? I'm sure even if she's in danger she could handle it with ease."

Despite knowing very little about the current situation revolving around Kongou Mitsuko, he at the very least wanted to get their morale up.

"A-Ah of course. She is a Level 4 Esper after all." Awatsuki looked over to Wannai. "We shouldn't worry Wannai-san."

"You're right Awatsuki-san." Wannai placed her hand on her chest. "She wouldn't want us to worry about her after all, that's the kind of person she is."

"See, there you go," Touma commented on their resolve. He was happy that he was able to get their spirits up.

"Ah, we're here," Awatsuki said, as she pointed to the Judgment 177 Office building, and once that happened the three of them stopped in front of the place. For something Kuroko had described to be so special, it didn't seem all that special to Touma. It was a building of five stories and looked similar to that of an everyday apartment to his eyes. He had expected Judgment to be a more grand-like place, but it seemed a lot different than what he imagined.

"So, this is Judgment?" Touma asked, looking up at its top floor.

"Yes. Ah! I'm sorry, I suppose I never really informed you on that this is just the branch Kuroko is enlisted in." Awatsuki apologized.

"Oh no, it's fine. I was actually worried that I was going to need to navigate through like an organization or something." Both Wannai and Awatsuki smiled. They really appreciated how laid back and kind of a person he is.

"Still, I'm here - not sure how to approach this actually. Do I just walk in and say: "Hey, I'm Kuroko's roommate, can I stay for tea and cookies"? I have a feeling I'm going to die if I go in there without a good reason." Touma told them. Instead of talking about his friends, they really should have been thinking of a way to let Touma gain access to Judgment.

"Ah, that's a good point." Awatsuki agreed, but before she could suggest an idea of what they could do; she sighted someone coming out of the building.

"Oh, dear… Saten-san, why haven't you called me…?" A girl with short black hair wondered as she exited the building, looking at her phone.

"Ah, Uiharu-san?" Wannai asked.

"Hm?" The short black hair girl glanced over and saw Wannai and Awatsuki, and had walked over.

"Ah, Wannai-san, and Awatsuki-san." Uiharu bowed. "Good afternoon."

"Yes, to you too." Awatsuki bowed in response, as did Wannai. Through Kuroko, Uiharu was good friends with Wannai and Awatsuki. And they have hung out together on several occasions as well.

"It's nice to see you three again." Uiharu said but then realized she just said "three" instead of two. "Three? Ah…"

She looked over and saw the slightly taller high school student who was accompanying both Wannai and Awatsuki.

"Umm… I don't believe I know you actually." Uiharu acknowledged. He did look quite familiar though.

Touma put his hand out for a handshake. He felt like he's seen her hang around Misaka before, so they must be friends. It would be impolite to not introduce himself. "Name's Kamijou Touma. I'm one of Misaka and Kuroko's friends."

"Kamijou...Touma? Ah, so you're Kamijou-kun?" Uiharu asked, shaking his hand in return.

"Wait, you know who I am?" Touma was surprised. Then again, he probably shouldn't, perhaps Misaka had mentioned him to her before.

"Shirai-san told me to be wary of you. She said you were: "The Troglodyte Who Is A Bane To Her Existence". Also, a huge pervert." Uiharu told him. Granted, she didn't seem to believe it full heartedly, but the pink sweater was not helping.

"Figures," Touma muttered. If his reputation wasn't bad enough, it was spreading even outside school grounds.

"Well, that is not true Uiharu-san. Kamijou-kun is a very kind person." Wannai disagreed.

"And dresses nice too. He looks cute in his pink sweater." Awatsuki added.

Touma looked like he was about to cry out of tears of joy. "Wannai-san, Awatsuki-san, you're too good to me."

It was official. Whenever he ran into trouble, he was going to find a way to contact them to act as the mediators.

"...wait, I'm not sure I agree with that last part." He had forgotten he was forced to wear a pink sweater. In fact, he even forgot he had it on in the first place. Although, that explained why he was getting weird looks from people ever since he had left the school.

Awatsuki giggled. "Oops, sorry Kamijou-kun, you just look very adorable wearing that."

Maybe he would hold on trying to find a way to contact them whenever he was in trouble. They might do more harm than good.

"Anyway, how have you been Uiharu-san?" Wannai asked.

"I've been well, thank you," Uiharu replied. "I was just going to meet up with Saten-san. What are you three doing out here?"

Wannai and Awatsuki explained the situation to Uiharu: such as the switching of roommates, Touma wanting to get into Judgment and etc.

"Ah, I see. No wonder Shirai-san had been so moody today. You've been the source." Uiharu said.

"Hey, I've been trying to get along with her! Maybe if she was more like you and my friends over here, we could establish a friendship." Touma crossed his arms; disappointed in Kuroko's disability to get along with him.

"Is there a way you would be able to show him around, Uiharu-san?" Awatsuki asked.

Uiharu placed her hand on her chin; looking quite indecisive. "Hmm… well, I suppose if he just wants to look around, it wouldn't be a problem. Although, I don't know how Konori-senpai would feel about this."

"Please Uiharu-san? Kamijou-kun would really appreciate it." Wannai pleaded.

"Well, I suppose I can try." Uiharu decided. "You don't seem as bad as Shirai-san said, especially with that cute sweater."

"Thank you, Uiharu-san." Wannai appreciated. Touma, while happy, was also not very pleased.

"Ugh...you too?" Touma lamented. While he was busy feeling saddened by his attire situation, Awatsuki had come close to his ear and had whispered something.

"Well, we hate to depart, but we're going to go take a look for Kongou-san."

Touma nodded. After all, it'd probably help if they were to split up. They also didn't want to let Uiharu know, considering they weren't even sure if something had happened to Kongou.

"Right. Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it." Touma said to them, to which they smiled in response.

"Hopefully we'll run into each other again," Wannai said, looking somewhat red.

"Oh yeah, I hope so," Touma said, who also blushed. He's never met someone who was genuinely interested in him before and was very kind too. Although, she still saw her as a doting mother, to which made him embarrassed.

"Well, ahem, Wannai-san, shall we go?" Awatsuki lightly tapped her friend's shoulder.

"What? Ah, I'm sorry. Yes, let's go." Wannai said, looking a little flustered. They bowed and then headed in the opposite direction, making sure to wave them goodbye.

"Man, Misaka and Kuroko could learn a thing from those two…" Touma trailed off.

"Right?" Uiharu agreed but felt guilty saying it. "Ah, but don't tell Misaka-san or Shirai-san I said that."

"Lips sealed," Touma promised.

Uiharu giggled. "Well, then I'll show you up to the office."

Touma nodded, and they both entered the building. It was quite dark on the first floor, so Touma had trouble navigating around the various empty boxes, that were scattered about. This was a norm for the Judgment Office, as so many shipments came into the office, and it was quite hellish to organize them. Luckily he had Uiharu with him, and she practically had the mapping of the first floor ingrained in her memory.

"The building, unfortunately, doesn't have an elevator. We'll have to take the stairs." Uiharu instructed.

"Fine by me," Touma said, not really caring about it that much. Uiharu located the stairs and Touma followed suit.

While the place was not as he expected, Touma still found it to be a decent looking building. Aside from the boxes, he found the place to look very neat and tidy. Clearly, cleaning management is a thing around here; the walls were free of dust, and I'm sure if the boxes were organized or removed the place would look amazing.

They walked up the stairs in silence, not until Uiharu sighed. She found it hard to walk up the stairs with so many things on her mind.

"Something wrong?" Touma asked, wanting to break the silence.

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just wondering about my friend." Uiharu answered.

"Are you talking about Saten Ruiko?" Touma queried.

Uiharu pointed at Touma as if he was on a game show and had just won the 1st place prize. "Ah, yeah! Wait, how did you know?"

"Misaka and I were talking about her yesterday actually," Touma revealed.

"Well yeah, it's about her. She hasn't been responding back to me lately. It's not like we had a fight or anything, it's just that she hasn't responded back to me at all. It's starting to concern me." She confessed.

"Oh, that. She's probably busy binge-watching anime." Touma answered. From what Misaka told him yesterday, Saten Ruiko had really gotten into watching anime, so she was most likely using her summer break to watch all the anime she can.

Although, this would be at the expense of not spending any time with her best friend.

"What?" Uiharu let out a breath of relief. "Oh, I see. I-Is that what she's doing? I knew it… that's all she's been doing lately."

"Ever think about joining her?" Touma asked, with genuine curiosity. Maybe she wanted to watch anime with her friend?

"Well, it's not like I don't like anime, or that I don't want to watch it with her. I just miss when we used to do other things. I guess I'm just feeling down about it."

"Hm…" Touma hardly knew the relationship between the two, but from what Misaka had said about them, they were very close. He would like to help these two out, but he figured he should focus on the Kongou Mitsuko situation first, considering that one was more urgent.

"Oh yeah, by the way, this has been bugging me for a while. What's the deal with that flower headband on your he -"

"We're here," Uiharu announced as she interrupted him from finishing his question.

"I guess I won't be getting the answer to that question." Touma thought to himself, a bit disappointed.

When the two of them finally entered the room, it was definitely like that of an office setting, Once again, Touma noticed the various boxes that were placed throughout the entire building. He did, however, spot Kuroko at her workstation; looking as though she was inspecting something on the computer.

"Shirai-san!" Uiharu called out. Hearing her voice, Kuroko turned her head around to say hello back.

"Ah, Uiharu-san you're ba -" Those words were silenced once her eyes had locked on to the man who had been standing next to her. Yes, that man who she had labeled as "The Bane Of Her Existence".

"Yo, Kuro -" Out of the corner of Touma's eye, he spotted one of her darts come rapidly at his direction. The dart had barely missed him, and had struck the door instead. As Touma was used to this treatment, he was more so unamused. He figured she wasn't completely serious with the dart throwing; he's aware Kuroko had amazing accuracy and she wasn't planning on actually throwing her dart at him.

After throwing the dart though, Kuroko was practically hunched over with rage and was breathing angrily.

Uiharu, however, was completely stunned.

"A-Ah…" Uiharu could barely even speak from what had just happened.

"V-Vicious…" Touma muttered.

Kuroko clicked her tongue, and then exited the room. Coincidentally, Konori Mii, the chief of the branch, happened to just enter the room as Kuroko had left.

"Ah, Uiharu-san, you've returned," Konori said, as she walked up to the two of them. "And oh? Who is this?"

Uiharu was still stunned. Touma lightly nudged her shoulder, which meant: "Hey, your turn…"

"Ah, well…" Uiharu then explained the situation she had just been informed about to Konori. It was a good thing she had gotten out of that stunned state so quick-otherwise, Touma would have had to explain the entire situation to her himself.

That wouldn't have gone well at all.

"A simple tour of Judgment? Well, nothing has been assigned today so it shouldn't be much of a problem," Konori then had an exalted look on her face. "Were you thinking of joining Judgment?"

"No, no no no no! I just wanted to see what my roommate does." That was pretty much it for him. He had no plans on actually joining the organization, after all, he already has enough on his plate.

They moved outside the working room and headed to a more free area, that wasn't obscured with boxes.

"Well, you're roommate just exited the room. I can go and get her if you want." Konori suggested.

Touma waved his hands in defense rapidly. "No! I'll just wait for her to umm… come back."

"Oh, well, please, sit down in that chair. Normally I wouldn't allow this sort of thing, but since reports seem to be less frequent, why don't I get some tea ready?" Konori asked.

"Sure, that'd be pretty nice," Touma said as he sat down in a chair, as did Uiharu. While they were seated, Konori was about to exit the room to make them some tea, but then noticed something strange about Touma.

"So umm… well…" Konori trailed off.

"Yeah?" Touma asked, curious as to what she wanted.

"So, you're a fan of Gekota just like Misaka huh?

"What?" He then had forgotten once again that he was wearing one of Misaka's old sweaters, and this particular one had the Gekota logo smack dab in the middle.

"No no no, let me explain: there was nothing else for me to wear, honest. I don't care about Gekota, you have to believe me!" He cried out.

"Sure…" Konori remarked, and couldn't help but hold in a laugh. From what she could infer, he seemed to be the same age as her, so it was kind of silly seeing someone his age wearing something so childish.

"I am not joking! I'm serious!" He countered.

Konori giggled and ignored his attempts to deny her, and then left the room.

Touma sulked, realizing he could not win this fight of his. Uiharu had the urge to want to pet his shoulder but was too busy working on stuff on the lounge's computer at the moment.

The table they were seated in was quite big. The room they were in was something like that of a lounge, and it was quite incredible, to say the least. There were six seats on each side, and there was even a couch all the way to the left.

Touma sat on the far left seat, while Uiharu sat in the middle; next to him. They waited a few minutes, but then Konori arrived back with the tea she had decided to make for them.

"Here you two go." Konori handed their tea, to which they both took with gratitude.

"Thank you Konori-senpai." Uiharu thanked, and decided to take a sip of her tea; to which she regretted as it was really hot.

"Ah, I burned my tongue!" Uiharu cried out, although it was somewhat hard to comprehend what she said.

"Uiharu-san, you should blow on it first!" Konori-senpai warned.

"I-I know…sorry." Uiharu regretted, and proceeded to simply blow on it, before taking another sip. While Uiharu was sipping her tea (making sure to blow it this time), she was working on some files for Judgment on the computer.

"Is this where you always work?" Touma implored, taking a sip of his tea.
"Ah, no," She told him. "We actually have an office, this is just the lounge for guests and members."

Just at that same moment, Kuroko came into the lounge - looking quite upset, and then lazily placed her bottom on the chair, next to Uiharu with a water bottle in her hand.

"Oh, hello Shirai-san." Uiharu greeted.

"Uiharu. Why did you bring him in here." Kuroko questioned angrily, as she pointed to him. Touma thought it'd be a great idea to just not say anything. That way he wouldn't get darts thrown at him again.

"He just wanted a tour of Judgment. He didn't ask for anything else, and besides, he seems nice enough. Shirai-san, aren't you overreacting a little bit?" Uiharu asked.

"Yeah, Shirai-san, aren't you overreacting a little bit?" Touma repeated Uiharu's words in a humorous tone. He's aware he wasn't going to say anything, but he just couldn't help himself this time.

"Tch, whatever," Kuroko muttered, and then had seen that Konori had seated herself in front of them. "I'm not going to bother talking to someone wearing such a childish sweater."

"You!" Touma cried out. She forced him to put that sweater on, and she knows it. Touma wanted to throw his cup of tea so badly at her face, but since Konori went out of her way to make them tea (and well, it wasn't his cup), he decided to just let it go.

Kuroko wanted to insult Touma more but then decided to ask Konori an important question.

"Konori-senpai, are you sure didn't gather any new intel on Kongou Mitsuko's location?" Kuroko implored.

"Shirai-san, I already told you earlier that nothing came up. Uiharu checked, and she was still at her home, she wasn't anywhere else." Konori informed her.

"I-I see…" Kuroko said; looking quite disappointed. She was hoping her hunch was correct, but it seemed like Kongou was perfectly fine.

But she couldn't help shake this feeling that she wasn't. She didn't like her that much, but she wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her.

"Nothing turned up for her too huh? Figures." Touma thought to himself. Kuroko most likely asked when she arrived at Judgment about Kongou Mitsuko's whereabouts. Meaning, he probably wouldn't get much information either.

It still didn't hurt to ask though.

"Umm, actually, Konori, I wanted the ask that same question. Wannai and Awatsuki seemed really worried about their friend Kongou. I was wondering if you had heard anything about her recently." Touma requested.

"He's asking about her too…?" Kuroko thought to herself. She was surprised he knew about Kongou Mitsuko "disappearance". Although, last time she saw him, he was with Wannai and Awatsuki, so that explained why he knew about her situation. She figured he was only asking this question because two pretty girls asked him too, so she turned her head the other way; having a lackadaisical expression on her face.

It's not like he himself actually cared if she was in danger or not.

"Hmm… well, I suppose Uiharu could check her location again. The last time we checked she was back at her home." Konori stated. "Uiharu-san, would you mind checking again?"

"Sure thing Konori-senpai." Uiharu was in the middle of organizing some documents, but checking on Kongou Mitsuko wouldn't take too long.

"Her friends told me her actions of today had been unusual than normal. She hasn't contacted them at all in the past two hours, and it's making them worried. Something tells me that this isn't something we shouldn't look into."

Kuroko, irritated, took another quick look at Touma and was flabbergasted to see the expression on his face.

His face had been filled with sweat. As if he could sense a murder was in the process of occurring.

"He's that worried about the situation…?" Kuroko thought to herself, once again shocked. Apparently, he was quite concerned with what could happen to this middle school girl he hardly knew. Touma sensed that someone had been staring at him so he took a quick glance at Kuroko; to which she quickly turned around, not wanting to look at his face.

"I don't believe this… he actually cares?" Kuroko thought to herself. She shook her head violently. Of course not, she thought to herself. Any normal human being would, of course, be worried for one's safety. Even a troglodyte like him.

"Oh no!" Uiharu shouted out loud.

"Uiharu?" Kuroko looked over at her friend, confused.

"What's wrong?" Touma asked.

Uiharu looked like she couldn't form the words properly in her mouth. "K-Kongou-san's, location has… changed!"

Konori practically ran over to the other side of the table, "What…? But when we checked almost ten minutes ago, you said she had been stationed at her home!"

"Well ten minutes ago, she was at her home, but now her location is somewhere else. Far from home in fact!" Uiharu cried out.

"I knew it," Kuroko commented. She had a feeling back at the cafeteria that something wasn't right, and it seemed her hunch was actually correct.

"Uiharu-san, where is she now?" Konori asked.

"Her current location…" She trailed off and checked Kongou Mitsuko's new location on the monitor. "Apparently, Kongou-san is in a large sewer, near the entrance to Academy City."

"A sewer? Why there out of all places?" Konori wondered out loud.

"If that's the case, then it would make sense for why her phone wouldn't be working. It could have easily fallen into the sewer's waters." Touma explained.

"Also she's not alone… there's someone else there too." Uiharu pulled up another individual on the monitor. His appearance looked like someone who was in his early 20s, and he had messy long black hair.

"His name is Kazuma Riot. He's a man of age 22; height of 185cm and is a Level 4 Esper." Uiharu informed everyone.

"So… he's the bad guy I take it." Touma guessed. He figured he was the one behind Kongou Mitsuko sudden disappearance. Why else would they be the only two people in that sewer?

"Something is still bothering me though…" Uiharu said out loud.

"What is it?" Kuroko asked.

"Assuming that she wasn't at her house the entire time, then why was her location fixed to her home?" Uiharu wondered. Both Touma and Kuroko thought that was strange as well. If she had been away from her home, then her location should've automatically been picked up to where she was now using Uiharu's system. After all, Uiharu was considering to be one of the - if not the best when it comes to using computers.

Just why was it set to her home? And just why did it change now all of a sudden? If they were trying to keep it so that her location was hidden, why bother having them find out at all?

"Could there be an… accomplice?" Kuroko asked. "Generally speaking, if this Kazuma person is working with someone else, perhaps showing the location now is some type of ransom-or a message?"

Touma placed his fist in his hand, agreeing with Kuroko's claim. "That's it! It must be someone he's working with, who has an ability that is specifically used for hacking. The only reason the location would change now is if they wanted us to come to them."

"That would make sense. It's not like my esper ability is primarily hacking-it's something completely different." Uiharu commented. She was an expert at using computers, yes, but that was just from her own skill. If someone's esper ability were to be specialized in advanced hacking not by normal humans, then it may overpower Uiharu's natural talent.

"But, Uiharu-san's hacking abilities are phenomenal. Someone being able to outsmart her system is impossible." Konori pondered.

"Well, that's the only conclusion right now. What else would explain her change in location?" Touma questioned.

"As much as I hate to admit it…" Kuroko sighed. "His point is indeed valid."

"Aha! I thought something was strange!" Uiharu looked at the back of her monitor and pulled off some sort of sticker stuck to it. It was in the shape of a cross.

"What the hell is that?" Kuroko asked.

"I don't know… but it was attached to the computer that I use in the office too. Although, that one was a different shade of red than this one."

"Can I see that?" Uiharu handed Touma the dark red colored cross sticker and examined it.

"...This could potentially be a Magician's ability as well. Even though Magicians and Espers don't really see eye to eye… a hybrid maybe?" Touma thought to himself. It could be a case like with his friend Tsuchimikado who was also a hybrid of being Half Magician Half Esper. Having the powers of a Magician would explain why Uiharu couldn't find Kongou's true location at first, as she wouldn't know much about the abilities of a Magician.

"So… in short, Kongou-san's location was thought to be at her home, but in reality, she was at the sewer the entire time? Fighting against some man?" Konori asked.

"Seems like it," Kuroko confirmed. "All of what we figured out comes together quite nicely."

"So he's a Level 4 Esper? Then he's the same Esper level as both Kongou and Kuroko." Touma stated. If both Kongou and Kazuma were to engage in combat, then certainly they'd be on equal ground. Although, that's hypothetically speaking, not factoring in their weaknesses and the environment of a sewer. After all, he's not aware of Kongou's esper ability at all, so he wasn't sure if the sewer was the best place for her to fight in.

That just meant they had to get there as soon as superhumanly possible.

"I see…" Kuroko finished her water bottle and tossed it in the trash. "I'll be on my way then."

"You're heading out now Shirai-san? By yourself?" Uiharu asked, a bit worried.

"Yes, Uiharu," Kuroko answered her. "We don't have much time to lose, and besides, I can get there rather quickly anyway. I have a feeling Kongou Mitsuko is going to have trouble fighting in a sewer of all places…"

"Yes… but…" Uiharu was still a bit worried about sending Kuroko by herself. Given that it's the summer, most Judgment members aren't as active, so most likely Kuroko would be the only one taking on this case.

"Don't worry, Uiharu. It's not like I'll be by myself. You'll still be able to contact me, we're partners aren't we?" Kuroko told her as she pointed to the communicator in her ear.

Uiharu looked a bit worried but then gave her friend a small smile. Touma patted her head, causing her to become slightly flustered.

"You don't need to be worried, she isn't going alone!" Touma declared. "I'm going too!"

Konori looked at him with disapproval.

"Absolutely not.. We cannot just send a regular high school student to investigate this, you could be in serious danger!" Konori denied.

"I can't just let this go! I promised Wannai and Awatsuki everything would be fine, and I'm going to make sure their friend is safe!" Touma shouted.

"Like I said, you can't just interfere in Judgment matters!"

"Biribiri has probably helped out before, hasn't she? And she's not even a member of Judgment!"

Konori looked a bit stumped to who "Biribiri" was, but then remembered earlier when Uiharu explained the roommate situation, and she put two and two together.

"That's different. She's a Level 5 Esper; while we don't approve of her help, it's acceptable because of her rank. You're not a Level 5 esper, so we can't send you on this mission."

As Touma and Konori were in the midst of arguing, Kuroko just stared at Touma in both irritation and confusion. It just seemed odd to her; why was he so interested in saving the life of one he hasn't even met yet? She's aware that her "Onee-sama" was interested in the boy-much to her dismay anyway-meaning he had to have some good traits to his character. Obviously, that's evident right now, but she just wanted to know why.

"Why do you want to go so bad? Clearly, you have no relation to this at all!" Kuroko questioned.

"You expect me to just walk away while I know that someone could get killed?" Touma challenged. "Just forget this happened? Act like I had no part in this, despite the fact that I have the power to help? That shouldn't even be something that should cross anyone's mind!"

"Oh please, as if you…" Before Kuroko could finish, Touma said something that caught her off-guard immensely.

"Besides… you could get killed too. And well… I don't want anything to happen to my new roommate." Touma finished.

His words left Kuroko silent. Not only was he worried about Kongou Mitsuko's life… he was….worried about her life as well? Worried that she wouldn't get out of this fight alive? Was he belliting her, thinking she couldn't handle saving Kongou and defeating Kazuma by herself?

Or did he actually… care about her wellbeing?

"I understand how you feel Kamijou-kun, really I do. But like Konori-senpai said, we can't just send a non-Judgment member to handle the situation, and it's not like we know much about you at all." Uiharu relayed.

Touma grunted. He wasn't just going to let these people tell him if he could save innocent lives or not. He would walk out this very building right now, if he wasn't going to get his way. Childish yes, but he's handled situations on his own before, and he was willing to do it again. Misaka had warned him about wanting to take on more than he could chew, but clearly, he wasn't going to get any help here.

"Well then, if you're not going to let me go, then I'll just-" Before he could finish his sentence, someone had cut him off.

"-Konori-senpai, Uiharu-san, let him ally with me on this mission."

Touma turned around to see who had interrupted his statement, and much to his surprise it was the teleporter esper who had slammed a tray in his face earlier this morning.

"What?" Touma was shocked. Literally, when he entered this building, she had thrown a dart that could have easily cut his face. Now she seemingly had no problems working with him, despite him not even being a member of Judgment?

"Wait, Kuroko, you want me to ally with you?" Touma asked.

"Shirai-san?" Konori asked shocked.

"It really, really, pains me to say this, but, he has a rather… impressive esper ability, that could be incredibly useful. Plus he seems to know his way around a fight, he would prove to be a tremendous help."

"Kuroko…" Touma said. He was actually quite moved Kuroko was actually on his side. Perhaps, what Wannai and Awatsuki had told him before could potentially come true.

"Alright, fine," Konori didn't like the idea, but it's not like they had a lot of time on their hands. She went over to a bin, and took something out of it, and made her way back to Touma, and put it on his arm.

"Judgment armband…?" Touma questioned, to which Konori nodded.

"Yes, if Anti-Skill were to show up, then we wouldn't want matters to become even more complicated. If you fake being a Judgment member, then surely there won't be any questions about you being there. I know it's a bit of a drastic measure, but I just don't want them asking any uncomfortable questions. You could be labeled as either a victim or accomplice."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure this armband stays on. Besides, I've met with Anti-Skill before, there shouldn't be too many problems…" Touma recalled that during the situation with Sherry Cromwell, he had met with Yomikawa Aiho, one of the members of Anti-Skill, and they had assisted him in battle.

"Are you ready? Kamijou Touma?" Kuroko puts out her hand. She really didn't like the idea working with him, but he seemed willing to do anything in order to make sure a fellow student of hers, who he didn't even know in the slightest, was safe. He also wanted to protect her as well, which she was quite intrigued about. She was interested in his resolve, and she wanted to see how long it would last, before he ditched the scene in order to save his own life.

"Heh," Touma smiled. It seemed like she was willing to actually call him by his name-it was only fair to consent.

"I hope you are: Shirai Kuroko." He said as he shook her hand.

With Kuroko and Touma setting out to the sewer, will they be able to rescue Kongou Mitsuko? And will they be able to take out the unknown assailant known as Riot Kazuma?

Next Time: VII - Deadly Fight In The Sewer I

I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I guess I got a...little lazy? Sorry, I can't help it haha. Also, I was busy other things as well, such as real life, school and well, you know, normal things. I'll try to get more chapters out; at least be more consistent. I actually liked how this chapter came out; it's kind of a coincidence since well, this is the sixth chapter, and six is my favorite number haha. But man, was this a pain to write, I've checked over a few times, but there's still probably spelling or grammar mistakes. Also, uh, wasn't really sure how to have the Judgment thing play out actually. Even in the Railgun anime, they don't really explain how things work that well. It probably is explained rather well, but I'm just too slow and lazy to get it, so don't get mad if I wrote explained something wrong. I'd be a bit upset… I've only been a Toaru fan for like a year, give me a break lol.

Anyway, 'till next time. Hopefully, I can get that chapter out as soon as possible. This one was pretty long after all.