I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Mii~ Miiuu—!

A soft, pitiful sound buzzed from the bedside table, accompanied by the phone's vibrating hum.

Hugging Moyu tightly in her arms, Kurumi pulled the blanket higher, burying herself further beneath its warmth.

Mii~uuwuuu—! The ringtone persisted.

A delicate hand reached out from the cocoon of blankets, fumbling across the table before finally grasping the phone.

Kurumi's movement disturbed Moyu, who wriggled uncomfortably, squirming around in Kurumi's embrace.

"..."

With a sleepy hand, Kurumi pressed the call button. Still half-dreaming, she used her other hand to shove Moyu's head back under the covers.

"Kurumi-senpai..." A familiar yet slightly different voice came through the phone.

Kurumi's eyes snapped open.

"What are you doing!?" Moyu pushed away the hand pressing down on her head, grumbling in protest. Her face was still drowsy.

Yesterday, they had sent off the Misaka Sisters, and every single one had demanded a head pat before leaving.

To avoid creating too much of a spectacle, Kurumi had sent only a few dozen of her clones.

At the various research facilities, the Sisters had lined up neatly, forming perfectly straight queues. With identical faces, expressions, and postures, the scene was eerie beyond words.

Kurumi had tried to sneak away, but her clones had promptly blocked her path, making it clear that if she tried to escape, they would immediately disperse as well. Her hopes of slacking off were utterly dashed.

Returning late and playing games with Moyu until the early hours, Kurumi was now facing the phone screen with the time glaring back at her in silence.

Swatting Moyu's hand aside, Kurumi waved her own hand lightly, and the curtains slid open.

Sunlight poured into the room, bright and warm, almost blinding.

It seemed... she was running late.

Ah, well. No big deal.

Taking her time to freshen up, Kurumi left the dormitory.

Since Misaka Mikoto would be heading to Russia next week to participate in a demonstration of abilities for Academy City's collaborators, they had planned to enjoy a day out together.

Their destination was the Sixth District, home to a world-class amusement park.

Thus, their meeting point was in the Eighteenth District, at Nagatenjouki Academy.

...

Misaka Mikoto led Kuroko expertly to the gates of Nagatenjouki Academy.

The two of them, lively and lovely teenage girls, wore the standard Tokiwadai light sweaters and pleated skirts, instantly drawing attention.

Seeing how familiar Mikoto was with the area, Shirai Kuroko grew suspicious.

"Why does Onee-sama seem so familiar with this place? I've never seen you visit the Eighteenth District before."

"Uh..." Mikoto hesitated, realizing that if she admitted to having stayed overnight here once, things would definitely escalate.

"Oh~ Onee-sama is acting very strange today. Are you hiding something from your dear Kuroko?" Kuroko pressed, sensing an opening.

"If anyone's acting strange, it's you!" Mikoto's eye twitched. "I made plans to go out with someone. Why are you tagging along?"

"Doesn't Judgment have any work for you?"

"Not today~" Kuroko wagged a finger playfully. "Today's duties are just wrapping up reports and uploading files. My adorable colleague has taken care of everything."

"Hearing the word 'friend' come out of your mouth feels so weird," Mikoto shot back.

"Humph." Kuroko retorted, "As if Onee-sama has more friends than I do."

Then, she shifted the topic.

"But it's fine~ Onee... Onee-sama! As long as Kuroko is here, everything will be okay!" Kuroko spread her arms wide and launched herself at Misaka Mikoto.

"You... You're rotten to the core, aren't you!" Blue and white electric sparks crackled at Mikoto's bangs as she hammered her fist onto the oncoming Kuroko's head.

Kuroko, struck down, landed in a duck-like sitting position before collapsing face-first onto the ground, wisps of black smoke rising from her head.

Mikoto sighed, raising her head only to realize more and more people had stopped to watch. They whispered among themselves as they stared.

Gulp—

Mikoto swallowed nervously. The impeccable Tokiwadai image was likely beyond saving now.

"Speaking of which... why hasn't that sneaky little flirt arrived yet?" Kuroko grumbled. "It's getting hotter."

"It's not even time yet. If you're too impatient, just head back," Mikoto said to Kuroko.

"Fine, I'll grab a cold drink. I noticed a vending machine over there," Kuroko said as she straightened up and elegantly dusted off her skirt. She then turned to Mikoto. "What does Onee-sama want? Coconut soda?"

"Yeah."

...

She stood nervously at the gates of Nagatenjouki Academy, her hands twisting anxiously.

Despite her usual carefree, boyish demeanor, Misaka Mikoto was actually quite impatient and easily flustered.

With Kuroko gone, leaving her to wait alone, Mikoto's unease grew.

Her eyes kept darting toward the direction of the dormitory, and for a moment, she even considered heading to Kurumi's dorm herself.

But remembering how Kuroko would react to that, she reluctantly set the thought aside.

...

From a distance, Kurumi spotted Mikoto standing at the gates.

Feeling slightly apologetic, Kurumi walked toward her.

She pulled out her phone to check the time—thankfully, she wasn't late.

Seeing Kurumi from afar, Mikoto's eyes lit up. The irritating wait was finally over, and her mood immediately brightened.

"Kurumi-senpai!" she called out, waving enthusiastically.

"Sorry, am I late?" Kurumi apologized as she approached Mikoto.

"No, no. You're right on time," Mikoto quickly responded.

Unexpectedly, Kurumi smiled and reached out to pat Mikoto on the head.

The unanticipated action left Mikoto momentarily stunned and unable to react.

What Mikoto didn't know was that just yesterday, Kurumi had spent an entire day encountering thousands of faces identical to hers. Each of them had queued up in front of Kurumi, awaiting their turn for a head pat.

Oops... got a bit too used to it... Kurumi thought to herself.

But since she had already patted her head, there was no reason to stop. Kurumi nonchalantly continued, ruffling Mikoto's hair into a mess.

Clang—

The sound of a soda can hitting the ground drew both of their gazes toward the source of the noise.

"Two-timing cat!"

Biting her handkerchief, an utterly heartbroken Kuroko stood before them, her expression full of deep resentment.

Kurumi looked at Shirai Kuroko, whose teary, resentful expression seemed to radiate pure jealousy.

Not only did Kurumi not let go of Misaka Mikoto's head, but she also took it a step further by sliding her hand down to pinch Mikoto's cheek.

As Mikoto stared at her in shock, Kurumi smiled with narrowed eyes.

"As I thought, this expression is the best."

"K-Kurumi-senpai," Mikoto stammered. Although she was somewhat accustomed to Kurumi's mischievous antics, having her face suddenly pinched still made her blush.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mikoto could see Kuroko sinking into a gray, lifeless state, her jaw seemingly dropping alongside the fallen soda can on the ground.

"Maybe… don't bully Kuroko," Mikoto murmured softly, assuming Kurumi was doing this just to provoke Kuroko.

What Mikoto didn't realize was how ecstatic Kurumi felt after enduring an entire day of blank, expressionless faces from countless Misaka clones. Seeing Mikoto's lively, genuine reactions was like finding an oasis in the desert.

"Ahhh! You sneaky little cat! I'll fight you!"

In Kuroko's eyes, a pink aura of romantic bubbles surrounded Kurumi and Mikoto. Her beloved Onee-sama was interacting warmly with this flirtatious woman! With a teleport, Kuroko disappeared from sight.

But Mikoto, long trained in handling Kuroko's antics, could now sense her presence almost instinctively.

Detecting the disturbance in the electromagnetic waves around her, Mikoto twisted away from Kurumi's grasp, her clenched fist sparking with blue and white electricity.

The moment Kuroko reappeared mid-air, lunging at her, Mikoto swung her hand down like a basketball dunk, slapping Kuroko out of the air and into the ground.

"What are you even thinking about all the time?" Mikoto complained.

"Wuu... Onee-sama has found a new love and abandoned poor Kuroko," Kuroko whimpered pitifully, lying sprawled on the ground, looking utterly dejected.

"Hahhh—You're hopeless," Mikoto sighed, crouching down to comfort her distraught junior.

But just as Mikoto bent closer, Kuroko, still lying prone, began wriggling like a caterpillar until she was at Mikoto's feet.

Peering upward under Mikoto's skirt, Kuroko pouted. "What's this? Onee-sama is wearing such plain underwear again."

"..." Mikoto froze mid-step, her face darkening ominously.

Then Kuroko wrapped her arms around Mikoto's leg, rubbing her cheek against it enthusiastically.

"Oh, such softness! Onee-sama's touch is unparalleled!"

Zzzt zzzt—

Tiny sparks crackled at Mikoto's temple.

"Kuroko!" she bellowed, catching the attention of every student nearby at Nagatenjouki Academy.

Strong electric arcs surged across the ground as Kuroko convulsed violently from the shock.

"Ahh! This is Onee-sama's love for me!"

Kurumi chuckled behind her hand. "You two seem to have such a close bond."

"Wha-wha—!?" Steam practically shot out of Mikoto's head.

Ignoring the indeterminate mosaic-like heap on the ground, Mikoto let out a muffled groan.

"Who… who has a close bond with this hentai!?"

Misaka Mikoto tsundereishly unleashed another bolt of electricity from her fingertips, thoroughly subduing Kuroko.

As if kicking someone while they were down, one of Academy City's trademark cleaning robots slid over, gently nudging Kuroko's prone body. Both Mikoto and Kurumi couldn't help but snicker at the scene.

Kuroko finally trembled as she staggered back to her feet.

Thanks to Mikoto's extensive experience in fighting delinquents, her strikes were always well-measured. Though the voltage was high, the current was extremely low, allowing Kuroko to recover almost completely after a brief moment.

However, the growing crowd of onlookers was starting to become overwhelming, and even Kuroko couldn't endure the attention much longer.

From the murmurs, they caught comments like, "That middle-school girl who can shoot electricity is so scary," and, "So this is what a Tokiwadai student looks like. So cool."

"Since everyone's here, let's hurry up and leave," Kuroko urged the two of them.

With that, she turned to pick up her scattered drink, only to find the space behind her completely empty. All that remained were three cleaning robots, their retreating figures gleaming under the sunlight.

"Thieves!" Kuroko exclaimed, clutching her cheeks in despair.

"It's fine," Mikoto tried to comfort her. "We can just buy another one."

"But... but…" Kuroko wailed in distress. "That was natto soda! The last bottle! You can't find it in the Seventh District!"

"Huh!?" Mikoto froze at the bizarre name, her expression stiff. Kurumi, meanwhile, was reminded of the terror instilled by the Misaka Sister's tomato-gravy soda.

...

— Rikuto, your sister is heading to Academy City.

In the classroom, the elderly professor was explaining the structural principles of cellular automata.

Sitting at the very back by the window, Rikuto absentmindedly twirled a pen, pondering the strange dream she had last night.

But I don't have a sister, she thought in confusion.

This morning, she had specifically looked into it. Based on the household registry and insurance records, there was no way she could have a sister. A call to her parents confirmed the same.

But… what on earth was that dream?

Rikuto wracked her brain, trying to retrieve any relevant memory, but quickly realized how laughable her efforts were. No matter how much she thought about it, someone who didn't exist couldn't suddenly appear in her memories.

She reassured herself that it was just a dream.

Yet deep down, a strange urge arose—a desire to visit Tokiwadai Middle School and investigate that so-called "Queen."

The Queen was a kind, approachable beauty. Rikuto had seen her from afar before when the Queen was visiting students with severe disabilities, smiling warmly.

Click.

Her pen dropped to the ground. From the window, Rikuto caught sight of an elegant figure walking past the teaching building below.

Unlike her own existence, which was always overlooked, Kurumi-senpai was the center of attention wherever she went.

Thinking of Kurumi-senpai's playful teasing and her own panicked retreat, Rikuto's expression wavered. She bit her lip and activated her ability, leaving the classroom.

"Huh? How did this pen fall on the ground?" her deskmate muttered quietly, puzzled. No one in the classroom noticed Rikuto get up and leave.

"… Heh." Pressing a hand to her chest, she felt a pang of loneliness.

Haven't I already gotten used to this?

Rikuto sprinted down the stairs, trailing Kurumi from a distance.

She knew that Kurumi-senpai could only notice her if she was in her line of sight, but even that alone made her excited.

She had a feeling that person… would definitely appear again.

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