I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Exhaustion, pain... an overwhelming drowsiness swept over her like a surging tide.

Did I succeed?

—No, I failed.

Misaka Mikoto clearly understood the answer.

Her senses seemed to fade away, and the alluringly soft voice of Kurumi-senpai reached her ears.

Her brain could no longer process what Kurumi-senpai was saying. After releasing all her electrical energy, Misaka had entered a "battery depleted" state.

So tired...

In her hazy consciousness, it felt as though her lips were pried open, and something was placed inside her mouth.

Instinctively resisting, her tongue tried to push away the glassy object, but slender fingers gently held it in place, allowing a warm stream to flow into her body.

The pain caused by overusing her ability and pushing her body to its limits disappeared in an instant, though the mental fatigue remained.

"Let me... sleep for a while... just a while..."

Misaka murmured, curling her body tightly.

Kurumi gazed at the girl resting her head on her lap with a conflicted expression. After some hesitation, she tossed the glittering Globe of Radiance back into her dimensional bag.

"Well then... if Misaka wants to sleep, let her sleep." Kurumi spoke softly as she used her slightly dampened fingertip to brush across Misaka's face.

As for what had just happened...

The True Lightning Strike involved summoning thunderclouds to produce a massive lightning bolt between the clouds and the ground, an attack capable of piercing anything in an instant.

However, Misaka was inside Kurumi's City of Devouring Time, and not just the standard version, but an enhanced one.

The sky was painted in hues of black and red, but... there were no thunderclouds.

The sudden surge of lightning couldn't find resonance with any clouds, meaning... Misaka had fired a dud.

Waking slowly from her slumber, Misaka's eyes fluttered open.

The first sight to greet her was a majestic view resembling snowy peaks.

Though Kurumi-senpai's meticulously tailored black shirt wasn't particularly figure-hugging, from this low angle, it was easy to discern the graceful curves of the girl's body.

Kurumi's right hand was resting gently on Misaka's forehead. As the fog of sleep began to lift, Misaka became acutely aware of something.

Her hand instinctively reached behind her head, touching something smooth and silky... that unmistakably soft texture.

She was lying on Kurumi-senpai's lap.

A faint blush spread across Misaka's face as she hurriedly sat up. "S-sorry!"

She glanced down at her toes, her gaze flitting nervously about in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. She lightly dusted off the pleated skirt of her Tokiwadai Middle School uniform.

Her mind wandered in disarray, recalling the fullness she had inadvertently glimpsed earlier.

An odd memory surfaced—some strange standard she'd once read somewhere: if you lowered your head and could still see your toes, it meant you had "lost."

Misaka instinctively looked down.

And... she could see everything.

Everything that had happened earlier felt like a dream. The exhaustion and pain were completely gone, leaving no trace behind.

It was utterly unscientific.

She had undergone similar extreme tests at the research facility in the past, and the resulting muscle pain had lingered for a long time afterward.

But now... Misaka recalled the warm sensation she'd felt earlier and the words Kurumi had spoken to her.

"I have all kinds of medicines that can cure anything~~~"

Maybe it was true, she thought, though perhaps a little exaggerated.

Her memories resurfaced bit by bit. As she revisited the last moments before she lost consciousness, Misaka instinctively licked her lips, recalling something.

Moreover... Kurumi's hand just now had carried the faint scent of pomelo.

For a moment, her face grew hotter and hotter, and she could almost hear the pounding of her own heartbeat.

After all... the lip balm she had chosen to wear today was pomelo-flavored.

The world, once smeared with black and red colors, had returned to its original state. The night sky was sprinkled with countless stars, and a full moon hung serenely in one corner of the heavens.

The two walked back toward the School Garden, their pace unhurried. They moved in quiet understanding, one slightly ahead of the other.

Long after Kurumi and Misaka had left, a small squad of dark side operatives arrived at the scene, collecting everything left behind from the battle and tidying up the aftermath.

On top of a nearby white wind turbine, a slender girl yawned as she observed the scene below.

"The main body sure has it easy... She can just go play around and leave everything to us!" she muttered, her golden clock-like eye gleaming indifferently in the darkness.

The town-like School Garden gradually came into view for Kurumi and Misaka.

As the School Garden appeared on the horizon, Misaka felt her heart skip a beat.

"Kurumi-senpai... how long was I asleep?" she asked nervously, her voice trembling.

"Hmm... about two hours or so," Kurumi replied casually.

Despite having anticipated the worst, Misaka couldn't suppress a shiver.

She pulled out her phone, and the time confirmed her fears.

Not only had regular curfew passed, but the dormitory's strict lockdown time had also long since elapsed.

As one of the top elite private girls' schools in Academy City, Tokiwadai Middle School had extremely rigid rules, and the dormitories enforced a highly strict curfew.

Misaka couldn't help but envy the underclassmen who lived in off-campus dorms outside the School Garden.

"What's wrong?" Kurumi asked, pausing when she noticed Misaka had stopped in her tracks. Seemingly understanding, she added, "You're worried about curfew?"

"Yeah..." Misaka responded, forcing a strained smile. "I guess... I just won't go back tonight."

Returning now would be akin to walking straight into trouble. She had no choice but to spend the night outside. Fortunately, as a Level 5 esper, she had enough money on hand to find a hotel for the night.

As for the dormitory... she could only hope her upperclassman, Yukiji-senpai, would cover for her and smooth things over with the dorm supervisor.

"Is it because of the curfew?" Kurumi asked again.

"Mm..." Misaka nodded. "It's fine... I'll just find a hotel to stay at for the night."

"How about this—why don't you stay at my dorm tonight?" Kurumi suggested with a gentle nod, extending the invitation with a smile.

"Nagatenjouki Academy doesn't have such strict rules about these things. Even bringing a friend over~~~ someone as cute as Misaka wouldn't be a problem at all."

"T-to Kurumi-senpai's dorm?!" Misaka jumped in surprise. "No way! I'll just go to a hotel!"

"Eh!? Is Misaka rejecting me?" Kurumi suddenly put on a pitiful expression, her brows furrowing dramatically.

"Of course not! I-I just..."

"Then it's settled~" Kurumi interjected, taking Misaka's hand firmly and turning toward the train station. "We need to hurry, or we'll miss the last train."

...

"Hah... a sinful woman indeed," muttered the girl on the turbine.

"When will the main body ever realize that?"

The dappled amber lights flickered and swayed behind them as the private bus moved through the night.

Kurumi and Misaka had ultimately missed the last train, arriving just a little too late.

Misaka had always disliked riding buses. Not only were they half as fast as trains, but the fare was also several times more expensive.

But as she glanced at her gentle senpai resting her chin on her hand, gazing out the window... traveling slower didn't seem so bad after all.

"Kurumi-senpai, what are you looking at?" Misaka asked.

"Nothing... it's just that I think I saw someone familiar," Kurumi replied, sitting up straight.

There was no mistaking it—someone wearing an outfit identical to Misaka's.

It was... a Misaka Sister.

But how could that be? The experiments were supposed to be suspended. And it wasn't yet time for the outdoor testing phase to begin.

Since it was a private bus service aimed primarily at students commuting to late-night cram schools, it didn't stop directly at Nagatenjouki Academy.

After getting off the bus, Kurumi casually took Misaka's hand.

"What's wrong?" Kurumi asked, noticing Misaka pause and glance down nervously.

Mikan-flavored! Mikan-flavored! Mikan-flavored!

Holding Kurumi's hand, Misaka's heart raced wildly. But there was no way she could let Kurumi-senpai know about this.

"N-nothing!" Misaka stammered, shaking her head slightly. "I was just thinking about the dorm supervisor."

"Hmm. Is it a big problem?" Kurumi asked, frowning slightly. She had heard that the dorm supervisor outside the School Garden was notoriously strict, but Misaka should still be living inside the School Garden itself.

Even Shirai Kuroko hadn't moved in yet.

"It's all sorted now!" Misaka explained, holding up her phone. "I just confirmed with Yukiji-senpai. She and one of my underclassmen covered for me."

That overly enthusiastic underclassman was named Shirai Kuroko, a Level 4 esper and the only Teleport user at Tokiwadai Middle School.

With her help, sneaking past the dorm supervisor wasn't much of a challenge.

But thinking about how she'd deal with Shirai Kuroko later made Misaka's head throb.

And what was with Yukiji-senpai's tone just now? It sounded almost... like a farewell.

The road from the station to Nagatenjouki Academy was almost entirely devoid of pedestrians.

It wasn't until now that Kurumi fully realized how much of Academy City was built around its students. Without them, the city had no bustling lights or vibrant nightlife.

The clones had already cleared out any potential troublemakers—delinquents, hooligans, or anyone else who might disrupt the area within a kilometer radius.

On the now empty street, only the sound of two girls' footsteps echoed, tap-tap-tap.

Misaka trailed slightly behind Kurumi, her head lowered, seemingly on the verge of steaming up like an embarrassed little doll.

Kurumi found herself wondering if she had lured the wrong person.

This doesn't feel right at all. Wasn't Misaka supposed to be an especially lively and cheerful girl?

Someone who could talk for twenty minutes straight once she got going, and who'd casually zap you if she was in a bad mood?

The one I've brought along... could she be a fake?

In reality, as the "Ace of Tokiwadai" and the "Electro Princess," Misaka had always been admired and placed on a pedestal.

Even though she stood at the top of the crowd, she never truly felt like she was part of it.

Perhaps... what Misaka longed for most was someone who could treat her as an equal.

Someone who could see her as just an ordinary girl.

As she looked at Kurumi walking ahead of her, always wearing a gentle smile, Misaka's thoughts drifted to the earlier scene of Kurumi's wild and dangerous allure.

Which one is the real Kurumi-senpai?

In just a few minutes, the two arrived at the gates of Nagatenjouki Academy.

Suddenly, Misaka felt like retreating.

She couldn't forget how Tokiwadai's winning streak at last year's Daihaseisai had been broken by none other than Nagatenjouki Academy.

Now here she was, boldly walking into enemy territory in her conspicuously recognizable Tokiwadai Middle School uniform.

And, to make it worse, she was accompanied by the strikingly noticeable Kurumi-senpai.

Misaka could already imagine the rumors that would spread through the School Garden.

—"Tokiwadai's Electro Princess doesn't come home for the night—shocking revelations!"

—"The hidden secrets of Nagatenjouki: what lies behind the Level 5 esper's rise?"

Once they entered the campus grounds, the number of students noticeably increased.

While Nagatenjouki Academy didn't have rules as strict as Tokiwadai's, students were generally required to wear their uniforms on campus.

This made Kurumi, dressed in her elegant private dress, and Misaka, in her Tokiwadai uniform, stand out all the more.

Girls naturally had an endless array of topics to discuss. Quiet murmurs and whispers filled the air, with occasional glances cast in their direction.

As an esper with electromagnetic sensitivity, Misaka was particularly attuned to these gazes. Each glance felt like a pinpoint jab, causing her steps to gradually slow down.

"Kurumi-senpai, maybe I should just find a hotel for the night instead," Misaka said hesitantly. "Or... maybe even the research institute would do."

"Hmm?" Kurumi stopped and turned to face Misaka.

"I-it's just that... I feel like I might be troubling you too much, staying at your place and all..." Misaka stammered, her voice growing quieter and quieter.

"It's not troublesome at all," Kurumi said softly, letting out a light sigh as she curved her lips into a smile. She gently took Misaka's hand and continued leading her toward the dorms.

"They're staring at us only because Misaka is just too cute."

"C-cute?! That's impossible!" Misaka protested, her voice rising.

After a brief exchange with the dorm supervisor, Kurumi explained the situation. The supervisor surprisingly agreed to let Misaka stay for the night.

Her easygoing nature left Misaka stunned. It was such a stark contrast to her own dorm supervisor, who felt more like a devil than a human being.

Of course, if Misaka ever had the chance to move to one of Tokiwadai's external dormitories, she might meet the infamous supervisor who once fought off Hound Dog operatives barehanded. That encounter would surely leave her with an even deeper impression.

"I'm back," Kurumi announced as she pushed open the door to her dorm room.

Seeing that the lights were still on, Kurumi deduced that Nunotaba Shinobu must still be in the dorm.

Sure enough, the girl in her meticulously styled black dress was sitting in the living room, a stack of documents spread out on the coffee table.

"Welcome back," Nunotaba greeted with a formal nod. Then her gaze shifted to Misaka, who had followed Kurumi inside.

Her normally lifeless eyes suddenly narrowed in sharp focus.

That's... the Original.

"And this is?" Nunotaba asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, the School Garden is already under curfew, so I brought Misaka back to stay the night," Kurumi explained. "By the way... are you heading out?"

"No, just tidying up some things," Nunotaba replied, though her gaze at Kurumi held a strange intensity, as if she'd figured something out. She abandoned her plan to return to the research institute for the evening.

After all, if she left, she'd vacate a room.

A virtuous person helps others fulfill their wishes.

She quickly organized her documents and retreated to her bedroom.

"I'm going to sleep. Good night."

Clack—

The door closed behind her as Nunotaba thought to herself:

Young girl, I can only help you this far.

Brave girl, go create miracles!

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