"...?"

Satomi blinked.

"Why are you two here?"

The sky was devoid of clouds. The sun shined brightly onto Academy City. A cool breeze occasionally passed by to freshen everybody up. It was, some may say, a nearly perfect day.

This wonderful day, naturally, did nothing to deter Satomi from what had become her daily routine - waiting hours on end to once again encounter Mr. Coatless. The weather, if nothing else, made that task a bit more pleasant.

However, once Satomi had gotten to the alleyway she had gotten oh so familiar with, she saw a pair of sailor uniform-wearing girls. And not just any sailor uniform-wearing girls, but the very two she had met yesterday. Saten and Uiharu.

Saten's face was one of faux disappointment. "Well, let's just say we wagered a little guess as to where you'd be. We were right, but that doesn't mean we're happy about it."

"You wanted to find me? Why?"

Uiharu spoke up. "Why didn't you answer Saten's text message?"

"A text message?" Satomi pondered. A few moments later, she thought back to when she was walking to this location. She had felt a light buzzing on her leg. She hadn't thought anything of it seeing as upon further inspection there hadn't been anything wrong with her leg, but she realized that buzzing had come from receiving a text message.

Taking out her phone, she went to the newest (and only) notification. It quickly brought her to a message from Saten.

'Hey Satomi! If you're free, me and Uiharu will be hanging out in District 15 for the day! Feel free to join us!'

"I see. I didn't notice that message." Satomi said, placing the device back in her pocket.

"That's what I thought!" Saten said with a smirk in a bragging tone. Who she was bragging to, neither Satomi nor Uiharu knew. "Anyways, if you're back here, you have nothing else going on, right? Come with us!"

Uiharu was a bit worried that Satomi would take that last part as an insult, but judging from her neutral expression that seemed to not be the case.

"If I were to leave, it's possible that Mr. Coatless may come here whilst I'm gone. Since that possibility remains, it's best for me to remain here."

"Oh, come on." Saten rolled her eyes, still smiling. "If he hasn't shown up in more than 2 weeks, then chances are he isn't gonna come here at all."

"I… suppose." Satomi mumbled. While Satomi was still sure that this was the most likely place for Mr. Coatless to come to, the fact was that he hadn't yet.

"There are better things to spend your time on over waiting for some guy in an abandoned alleyway. Besides, if you spend more time in the more public areas of Academy City, you'll probably run into him eventually!" Saten reasoned.

"There is… a possibility that that is the case, bu-"

Saten suddenly ran forward and grabbed Satomi by the hand, having taken Satomi's verbal deliberation as a definitive yes.

"Then let's go!" Raising a hand up as though declaring the start of an adventure, Saten began to walk out of the alleyway, dragging Satomi along with her.

"But…" Satomi's objections didn't last long as she and Saten soon disappeared behind a corner.

Uiharu, seeing this display, chuckled weakly before letting out a huge sigh.

"See, isn't this better than standing around in some dingy alleyway?" Saten remarked as she spun around while walking. The three were now in District 15, a change of scenery seeing as Satomi had only really seen District 7.

There wasn't much different appearance wise; they were still in the same city after all. However, many of the buildings were geared entertainment - sports centers, karaoke boxes, arcades, bowling alleys among many things.

The people walking through, as opposed to District 7 where many simply wore school uniforms, were wearing actual clothing. Satomi did not know much about fashion, but even she could tell that the apparel of the district was fashionable.

At Saten's words, Satomi did notice that the air felt a lot more… crisp then before.

However, she did not answer Saten's question, instead posing her own.

"Why did you come out here? Are you planning on doing an activity of some sort?" She asked.

Saten's answer was immediate. "Nope. Just wanted to hang out."

"Mhm." Uiharu added. "A nice walk in a place you don't usually go to does wonders."

"... Is that it?" Satomi said, in a sort of bewilderment.

"Yes. Today was one of the days where I don't have Judgment duty, so Saten and I decided to go to District 15." Uiharu giggled for a moment. "Actually, Saten was planning on going to the arcade, but she's all out of money and isn't getting her allowance for a few more days!"

"Uiharu, don't mention that! You already know how much that stings!" Saten complained with a pained expression as though Uiharu's words had actually hurt her.

"Do you need money?" Satomi asked, making the two stop. Moments later, she pulled out a black purse, opened it and casually pulled out 10000 yen, which looked as though it was barely a dent in the vast forest of green inside her wallet. "Is this enough?"

They both sputtered in shock, but Saten was the first to react. "Of course! I'll finally be able to beat that damn boss! Maybe we can get a few turns at that new DDR game they set up, too!"

As Saten began to plot, Uiharu decided to ask Satomi something. "Hey Satomi. We appreciate this, but did you have any intention of playing with us?" She had a sneaking suspicion of what her answer would be.

And of course, she was right. "Not particularly. I don't care much for games, nor do I feel like I would enjoy them if I tried them." She answered.

"Well then, try it with us!" Saten said simply.

"No." Satomi answered, just as simply.

"Why not?"

"I don't feel like it."

"Damn it Satomi, don't start giving answers like that! How am I supposed to refute that!?"

Uiharu frowned, shaking her head. "If you're not going to join us, we can't accept that money. It'd just feel like we're taking advantage of you. We can accept it once you decide to participate with us." Saten looked as though she had been dealt a fatal blow, though she wasn't opposed to what Uiharu said.

Upon hearing those words, Satomi put the money away, if confusedly. "Then, what will you do?"

Quick to recover, Saten jumped back to her feet, extending a finger. "That's simple! We're gonna get money as quick as possible! We'll find a way to get enough money for a decently long game session, and have that done at least two hours before the arcade closes!"

Uiharu's expression was doubtful of her words. "Saten, you can't actually think that that's possible, right? Earning money in one day with no planning is hard enough as is, but we haven't even been in District 15 that often."

"Or so you'd think!" Saten said, before pulling out her phone and scrolling through some things before stopping. "But apparently, there's a way that we can get money not only in next to no time, but without even working!"

Uiharu's eyes widened temporarily, before they furrowed a little. "I hope this isn't one of those rumors you keep finding."

"Nope! Well, I got this piece of information on the site, but never mind that." Saten added, before beginning to elaborate. "As it turns out, some artist is looking for a girl to draw a portrait of. Thing is, this guy is apparently super intense when it comes to art and he's looking for the 'perfect' cute girl or something."

"Perfect cute girl?"

"Don't ask me. All he said is that once he finds her, he'll draw his portrait and pay you a ton of money. If not though, he just makes you leave. Meaning, we might as well go there! It's a chance at free money with no consequence!"

Uiharu put a finger to her chin. "That sounds… too good to be true."

"There's pictures of the place, though." Saten showed the two her phone. It was a fairly small building that seemed to be close enough to other buildings to not come across as out of place or suspicious. A few girls were lined up in front of the door, with a few leaving via the staircase. "Doesn't seem dangerous to me."

"I guess. If the worst case is true and this is some sort of trap, I'll be able to report it." Uiharu said, before shrinking back a bit. "Though, if you're going to do that, I'll just stay in front of the place and make sure everything's alright. It's not like the artist would ever choose someone like me."

Sensing Uiharu's nearly self-deprecating words, Saten did what only she could do in this situation.

"U~i~ha~ru!"

A skirt flip!

This time, it wasn't in an abandoned alleyway, rather in the middle of a fairly packed district. Luckily, the fact that so many were around helped mask what had occurred, but those who had front row tickets had been able to get a full experience.

"... Is light blue a standard color for panties?" Satomi of all people was the one to first break the silence that had formed.

"Sorta! It really helps that cute Uiharu look!" Saten pointed out matter-of-factly.

"How does an article of clothing one doesn't normally see add to one's outward appearance?"

"Well Satomi, it's called-" Before the rumor loving girl could get into her explanation, Uiharu snapped out of the shock of the skirt flip.

"Satennnnn!" She yelled out extremely flustered, pushing her hands against her skirt, scared that it would get flipped up again. "What was that for!?"

Saten slinged an arm around Uiharu. "Just proving that you're cute enough for anyone to want to draw! Anyone would be convinced after seeing what we just saw!"

"Saten, I'm not going to show my p-panties to some stranger!"

"That goes for you too, Satomi! Both of my friends are cute!"

"A-Are you listening to me, Saten!?"

As the two normal girls continued to banter, Satomi did nothing but watch. Though, she did hang on to what Saten had said, and an odd feeling came to her.

Cute?

The building itself was fairly inconspicuous; its appearance and the architecture of the staircase leading up to it nearly looked like a miniature museum. When they had arrived, there was absolutely no one lined up in front of the currently closed door, as opposed to the picture that had shown close to a dozen of girls waiting on the staircase.

"Hmm… That's weird." Saten commented at the seemingly deserted building. Uiharu, meanwhile, had already pulled out her Judgment armband and was fastening it on her arm. "You sure that's not jumping the gun?"

"It's our duty as members of Judgment to be overhasty and to make sure no one's in danger." Uiharu stated, looking up at the building. With the new context, it seemed almost imposing.

"It'd be fairly odd if girls that had been lined up never left the building and not a single person besides us noticed." Satomi abruptly commented, bringing up a good point. It was true. While it was far from the heart of District 15, it was still in a region where a few people passed by every minute.

Uiharu pursed her lips. "Even so, I have to-"

Suddenly, the doors of the buildings flew open, banging against the wall and catching the attention of the trio immediately. A girl wearing a school uniform ran out the building, loudly sobbing. She ran down the stairs, nearly tripping, before running off in the direction opposite to where the three had come from.

Uiharu was the first to react to this, and she did so with a serious and professional tone of voice. "I'm going in now. If I don't come out in a few minutes, call some other Judgment members for backup. Got it, Saten?"

Saten, however, shook her head. "I'll go in with you!"

"What? Why!?"

"To make sure you stay safe, obviously!"

"Saten, you know that as a Judgment officer, I have more experience!"

"Well duh, it's not like I expect to out-do the trained Judgment officer Uiharu or something crazy like that."

Uiharu's face flushed a little at the off-handed compliment. "T-then why are you-"

"Well, normally I'd… have to admit I'm out of my league." Satomi managed to pick up a hint of sourness in that statement. However, she did not know what to think of it. "But in this case, the fact that someone managed to escape while crying means that the culprit probably isn't an esper. In which case, I can definitely help!" Saten reasoned. Uiharu paused for a few moments, likely parsing through her options and her want to keep Saten safe. However, eventually she acquiesced - in this case, the risk of Saten getting injured due to her lack of experience was outweighed by the usefulness having another person helping her, even if she did not want to admit it.

Uiharu nodded hastily, before turning to face Satomi. "Satomi, can you make sure the girl that ran away wasn't injured badly? And if she was, can you bring her to the nearest hospital?"

Unknown to both Uiharu and Saten, ability-wise Satomi was much more capable than them, as she was a Level 3 while they were a Level 1 and Level 0 respectively. However, the two girls did not know this yet, and Satomi did not have a reason nor motivation to inform them of such.

Thus, assuming Satomi to simply be a Level 0, as was the case for more than half of the population of Academy City, Uiharu made sure she was out of harm's way. While it was true that Saten was a Level 0, not only would Uiharu rather not have her come with her, but at the very least they had known each other for a long time. There was no way Uiharu would endanger someone they had only just met; more than going against her duties as a member of Judgment, it went against her beliefs as a person.

Satomi, meanwhile, had a much simpler thought process. That being - 'Uiharu asked me to complete a reasonable request, so I will.' The idea of telling her that she would be of aid to their operation did not come to mind whatsoever. Not out of any sort of malice, but rather because she was not feeling any sort of tension about this situation, unlike Uiharu.

Thus, with the two sides having an incorrect assumption about the other, Satomi ran off as she began to chase down the girl.

Uiharu couldn't help but sigh in relief as she left, though that relief quickly turned into determination as she looked back at the building.

"Saten, stay behind me. Just enough so that we're closeby, but still far enough apart to where you can dodge if they try to do anything against me." Uiharu carefully instructed, with Saten nodding in response. She was taking this deathly serious. "The door was left open when the girl escaped, so we'll go through there. Our priorities are making sure that anyone that's in there is unharmed and getting them out."

With another nod from Saten, Uiharu mentally prepared herself to adapt to whatever the situation would be once inside the building.

"Okay, let's go!"

With that, the two girls quickly climbed up the staircase and ran through the doors. They had entered.

"This is Judg-"

Uiharu's eyes widened. Even with her earlier mental preparation, she was not expecting what she was seeing.

What was it, exactly? Well…

It was absolutely nothing.

There was no sign of a struggle. No sign of a conflict. No sign of some insidious plot. The only thing of note was a middle-aged man with graying hair who was shaking his head with his eyes closed. The man had an almost stereotypical artist look, beret and all. He was sitting by a table with a canvas nearby, with a few dozens bills of money sitting behind him.

"-ment…" Instead of being alarmed or on edge, Uiharu and Saten were only confused. "Uh, hello?"

"Yes?" The man sighed, still with his eyes closed. "I suppose you would like to present yourselves in the hopes that I shall draw you and you may receive the yen I have behind me? At this point, I would pay to have you leave me alone."

"Actually, I wanted to know why that girl ran out… crying." Uiharu questioned tentatively, still boggled at the situation at hand. The man sighed once more.

"Just a bit of criticism."

Uiharu flinched. 'A bit of criticism' wouldn't have made even the most emotional of girls sob like that, so clearly it was much more than that. However, she could tell that the man wasn't lying. Chances were, he delivered some harsh words to the girl, but that was it.

"And where are the other girls that were lined up here?"

"They left." He answered simply. "I was more willing to give a chance at first, but as the rabble grew, my patience did the opposite, so the line moved quite quickly."

At that moment, Uiharu suddenly understood the situation fully.

The man was just extremely elitist and pompous and dismissed the whole group of girls waiting in such a short amount of time that when they had arrived it looked deserted.

There wasn't any sort of problem. Uiharu had just assumed the worst.

"... Uiharu?" Saten said concernedly, looking at the girl in question. It looked as though she had blue screened. "Come on, snap out of it!"

The man then finally opened his eyes - he wasn't expecting anything, but he might as well have one look at them before he dismissed them. However, the hail of disappointment he was so used to was replaced by surprise, the pleasant kind.

"Ah! You two definitely are far above any of the girls I've seen today!" He complimented, shooting upwards as enthusiasm filled him. "You both each have a simple yet cute look. The flower accessories are a welcomed touch as well."

Suddenly remembering that this man was the key for getting the money needed for an arcade trip today, Saten swiftly turned to face him.

"Of course! We'll even be kind enough to let us draw the both of us!" Saten exclaimed, smirking proudly.

However, the man's next words shattered that smile.

"Unfortunately, you aren't what I'm looking for." He stated in a rather sad tone of voice.

"Eh!? Didn't you just say we're cute!?" Saten grabbed the still flabbergasted Uiharu and placed her hands on the sides of her face, squishing it a bit. "How does this face not get your creative drive moving!?"

"It usually would. However…" The man spoke the next words in an extremely dramatic tone. "I simply cannot stand those clothes anymore!"

"...What?"

"Everyday in this blasted city, most of the citizens wear nothing but those school uniforms! Even in this District that boasts having the most diverse fashion, every single one of the girls that have come up here are wearing those damned sailor uniforms!" He lamented, banging his hands on the table. "Is no one able to provide me a new sight!?"

And then, almost on cue, Satomi walked into the building.

"The girl was uninjured. She stated that the cause of her crying was emotional distress." She reported back to Uiharu and Saten, unaware that the former was likely not going to answer her anytime soon.

"Well… that's good." Saten responded, more of an automatic response considering she had already learned that a few moments ago.

However, oddly enough, the one that reacted the most to Satomi's entrance was not the two that knew her, but rather the middle aged man sitting behind the table. His expression shifted into one of pure joy as he pointed at her wildly.

"You! You are the one!" He yelled, causing only confusion to Satomi. However, Saten managed to catch on.

As someone who didn't attend school, Satomi naturally wasn't wearing a school uniform, instead wearing some casual outdoor clothing.

Nothing too crazy, but for this guy, it probably was.

"The one?"

"Of course! Your beautiful black hair! Your short stature! Your emotionless yet cute face! And the lack of the terribly mundane school uniform! It's all close to perfect, a cuteness on a whole other plane of reality!" The man passionately ranted, his status as an artist being the only thing keeping him from sounding like a harasser. "The only thing I would add is a flower accessory like those two, but even so, you are still clearly the one I have been destined to draw today!"

As Satomi was overloaded with compliments, she didn't really know how to process it. The feeling she got was lesser than the one when Saten had called her cute, but the sheer volume made up for it.

A slight, nigh unnoticeable tint of pink came to her cheeks. "... Draw? Perfect? Cute?"

"Of course!" The man quickly moved past the tables and unceremoniously pushed Uiharu and Saten outside (though not enough to wear they fell down the stairs), before locking the doors. From there, he went back to his seat and grabbed his canvas.

"Please stand there and move as little as possible, young lady. This will take a few hours, but only because I wish to capture your cuteness as accurately as possible." The man instructed. Satomi nodded her head.

Meanwhile outside, Saten was just about ready to enter a similar state as Uiharu.

"What just happened…?"

A few hours later, and the three were back in District 15, having left the building. Uiharu had managed to recover from her stupor, though she was extremely embarrassed about it.

"So, Satomi? I bet today was way more fun than it would've been just waiting around in the alleyway." Saten commented, hands behind her head.

"Actually, aside from getting to the building, I ended up not moving for several hours anyways in order for the man to… draw my portrait." Satomi brought up.

"Ahaha…" Saten laughed dryly, realizing that Satomi had a point.

"Well, I'm sure she still had fun." Uiharu said. Satomi didn't respond to this, but also did not deny it.

"Right! And the best part is, we managed to get the money! There's still more than an hour left before the arcade closes, so if we get a move on we can make it!" Saten exclaimed, pumping a fist up. This rush of excitement was then swiftly ended by Uiharu.

"Saten, you remember who actually got the money?" Uiharu asked, which made Saten stop in place.

The one who had her portrait painted and thus received the cash prize was Satomi - the only one of the three who initially had money to spend in the first place. And as she wasn't interested in going to the arcade, Saten (albeit dejectedly) and Uiharu decided to not borrow any money. At least, not until Satomi wanted to play too.

Looking at her, Saten could tell that Satomi, even with the extra bills of cash in her wallet, still wasn't interested in playing any games at the arcade.

Meaning, going to the arcade today was now but an impossible dream.

"Ack…" Saten's head flung down in defeat.

"Well…" Ignoring Saten for a moment, Uiharu moved to speak to Satomi. "It sure was nice for that man to give you the portrait. And for no cost, too!"

Satomi's eyes went to the canvas she was holding; the completed monographic drawing of herself. "Apparently, he didn't actually want to complete a portrait for himself. He simply wanted to draw to fuel his motivation."

"I see. It's really pretty! He was weird, but he's extremely talented. The portrait looks just like you!" Uiharu commented in wonder, gazing at the drawing. "Though, I wonder why he did that…"

"Did what?"

"Well, look here." Uiharu delicately placed her finger on the canvas, specifically on the face. "You can see some kind of tint near your cheeks. I can't tell what that's supposed to be. Or maybe it's just his own style. Either way, I think it's a cute touch."

"Cute?"

"Ah, Satomi, did you say something?"

"... No, nothing."

June 22nd.

Uiharu and Saten confronted me in the alleyway and brought me to District 15 in order to 'hang out'. They had no real reason to go there, as it turns out. However, Saten wished to go to the arcade, but didn't have any money to do so. I offered them some - but for whatever reason, they declined.

And so, they found that an artist was trying to find someone to draw and was willing to give them cash in return. For some reason, he chose me. And called me cute.

Saten also called me cute. Uiharu, though indirectly, also called me cute.

Even Yoshikawa, when she saw the portrait, called it cute.

It's just one word.

So why does it continue to ring in my head?