"Kero! Kero! Kero!"

For once in her life, Mikoto Misaka was not the least bit enamoured to be woken up by her beloved Gekoto's adorable croaking. After a glance at the date on her handphone and a quick jolt of electricity, Mikoto burrowed back under the cozy covers of her blankets with a groan. She lay there for a beat, a human cocoon nesting in the space between wakefulness and sleep. Like an ostrich sticking its head into the ground at the first sign of danger, Mikoto hoped that maybe, just maybe, if she denied it hard enough, her problems for the day would all go away.

Of course, life had other plans in store.

With a click, the door to her dorm swung open. In Kuroko walked, wearing a pink cotton robe and matching slippers, with a towel draped across her shoulders to soak up the damp ends of her hair.

"Onee-sama! Rise and shine," Kuroko sang out, more chipper than she had any right to be on a morning as terrible as this.

With a surprising amount of gentleness, Kuroko nudged Mikoto's shoulders, trying in vain to coax the butterfly out of her chrysalis. "Onee-sama... If you do not get up soon, you will be late for class!"

"It's not worth it," Mikoto mumbled through the blankets as she curled up into an even tighter ball. "Tell them I'm sick... Wake me up when today is over..."

When Kuroko's efforts only managed to elicit warning pinprick shocks of electricity and a series of increasingly exaggerated groans, she decided to switch to more aggressive tactics.

"Before you get angry at me later—" Kuroko reasoned as she traced a path from what she thought was Mikoto's neck down to the base of her spine, then poked her once in the side—"I want you to know that this is for your own good."

Mikoto only squirmed in response, and wiggled about like a sleepy worm.

Kuroko put a hand to her own cheek and let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm doing this because I love you."

It is the last warning Kuroko gave before she forcefully tugged the blankets off Mikoto. Let us face it. There was no winning a tug-of-war match against a teleporter.

Goosebumps rose on Mikoto's skin as the cold air rushed in to fill the vacuum of space once occupied by her blanket. Mikoto yelped in surprise. Instinctively, she sprang out of bed, but before she could yell out in indignation, she heard a whoosh. The warmth of Kuroko's hand on her forearm was gone. By the time Mikoto stood upright enough to regain her bearings, she was in front of a shower stall.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto yelled out.

Mikoto looked around, electricity flaring as her body assumed a defensive stance. She expected to be groped or stripped, something along those lines, but in the empty, spacious room, she was met with only the faint echo of her own voice.

Mikoto rubbed at the back of her neck, embarrassed at her outburst, then flailed about when she heard another whoosh and a change of clothes and a towel materialised overhead, momentarily blinding her.

She sighed as she stepped into the shower stall and turned on the faucet, letting the warm water wash over her. It was the 14th of February. At the thought of that dreaded date, Mikoto leaned her forehead against the still cool tiles on the wall and took to shampooing her hair.

Mikoto was no stranger to the occasion. As the Ace of Tokiwadai, she was on the receiving end of Valentine's Day chocolate more than enough times in the years she spent here than she would have liked.

Friendship chocolates she could handle. It was the romantic ones that really got to her. It wasn't like Mikoto was unhappy about being the object of someone's romantic affections. She just... flustered easily, and to be frank, was not very apt at handling emotional people.

She let out a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the shower clad in a fluffy white towel. Well, unlike last year, at least no one confessed to her while she was coming out of the showers! Who does that?!

She stalked grumpily to her locker to stow her things. When she opened the locker door, the floodgates opened too, and cards and paper hearts of every shape, size and colour spilled out onto the ground and over her feet. It was topped with a small cloud of pink glitter. Ah... So the 'Glitter Princess' had struck again this year...

Mikoto numbly retrieved her science textbook with one hand. With the other hand, she brought her damp towel up to her mouth, stuck her head in her locker, and let out a muffled scream.

By the end of the day she was lugging around more chocolates and broken hearts than she could carry. Most were from Tokiwadai underclassmen. Some were from daring students of other schools in the School Garden district who skipped their lessons just to try their luck.

Mikoto listened to all her admirers brave enough to approach her and confess. She sincerely (if awkwardly) thanked them each in turn for their feelings, and rebuffed or declined those that wanted to date her. She awkwardly lent a shoulder to cry on for her more heartbroken admirers, and extended lukewarm hugs to those that needed more closure.

She felt... She felt pretty weird about it all. Her... Admirers? Her fans? Mostly they had little knowledge or regard for who she was as a person. In their eyes, she was the Level 5 Railgun first and foremost, as opposed to Mikoto Misaka, the arcade-going, Gekota-loving girl who read manga at convenience stores and once got into an hour-long argument with a little boy over how it was perfectly reasonable to wear shorts under her skirt.

Mikoto wondered how other people's Valentine's Day were going. She certainly was not the only Level 5 in Tokiwadai, but they had a non-spoken agreement to keep away from each other on this date. Mikoto had no intention of breaking that pact out of sheer morbid curiosity! Still, Mikoto did wonder. With that ego of hers... What would she make her 'admirers' do? Worship her in some day-long shamanistic ritual? Build a giant chocolate effigy in her honour?

What if... No, no. Some things were best left to the realm of the imagination, Mikoto decided as she walked to the Judgement 177 branch office. In her arms was a haul of chocolates she would never be able to finish on her own. Along the way, she ran into some neighbourhood kids and gave away some chocolates after making them promise to study hard.

To Mikoto's surprise, no one was stationed at the branch but Uiharu-san. She was engrossed with monitoring her impressive array of surveillance cameras, all while munching on a stick of strawberry pocky. As Mikoto neared Uiharu-san, she saw her best friend on the screen together, with other green and white armband-wearing teenagers. It must have been a pretty big operation to involve the combined efforts of different Judgement branches, Mikoto surmised with a thoughtful hum.

Mikoto nudged Uiharu's shoulder with her elbow in greeting and gestured to the huge collection of chocolates in her arms. She could not help but chuckle when Uiharu-san's eyes went adorably wide as saucers and the stick of pocky fell from her mouth into her lap.

Uiharu-san covered her mouthpiece with her hand and swivelled her chair around to address her. "Misaka-san! Welcome! Ah! You can put those in the pantry... I mean the waiting room! Sorry! I have to attend to this right now!" Uiharu-san said in a rush.

"Don't worry, Uiharu-san. I'll just hang about here for a bit until Kuroko gets back," Mikoto replied with an easy smile.

The stack of chocolates made it hard to see, but when Mikoto finally set them down on a coffee table, she was surprised to find that she was not alone. On the couch sat a teenage boy around her age, with a box of chocolates in one hand and a crumpled card in another. He somehow looked nervous, fidgety and lost in thought all at once.

Oh no! How did they manage to track me here? Mikoto thought to herself as she grimaced. Words like "stalker" and "creep" swam about her mind as she regarded him.

Electricity crackled at the edge of her fringe while her right hand clenched into a fist at her side... Nothing happened though. He simply continued to stare at a point a little below her shoulders. It was like she was a ghost to him. He was not even ogling her boobs! He did not even have the decency to be a proper creep! (Not that she was encouraging bad behaviour of the sort, it was just... The principle of it!)

"...Hello?" Mikoto said after a bout of silence as she waved her hands in front of his face.

He blinked and finally answered, like his brain suddenly remembered concepts like manners and social niceties after a bout of lag. "Hello! Ah, sorry! Where are my manners?"

He laid the chocolates and card down on the sofa, got up, and wiped his (sweaty) palms on his pant leg before reaching out to shake Mikoto's hand.

"I'm a little out of sorts today. Ah... Sorry, I guess I'm just pretty nervous! My name is Kou. There's a girl I like who is a Judgement member here. She saved me the other day from getting mugged, and went off before I could properly thank her. I asked Anti-skill about her when they came to take my statement... And well, here I am," he said all at once, took a deep breath to steady himself then gave a sheepish grin.

Mikoto answered with a good natured laugh as she introduced herself. Well! He seemed genuine enough. It looked like love certainly was in the air. And her friends were wonderful people. Of course they would do something like that.

Their conversation went amiably enough, and it was refreshing to talk to someone new who did not know she was the Railgun.

"Don't worry so much. Just be yourself! I'm sure your feelings will get through to her," Mikoto said encouragingly while she clasped his shoulders.

She learnt that the reason he was so nervous was that he got restless waiting for the girl to return from a mission. Uiharu-san had said he could hang out at the pantry, but he got curious and wandered around the office, saw the staggering number of Valentine's Day chocolate and cards on his crush's desk and started freaking out.

Hmm. What a curious thought! Mikoto did not know that Konori-sempai was that popular. In fact, Mikoto thought potential suitors would be deterred because she was pretty certain that Konori-sempai was already dating someone. It was either that curly haired biker or her roommate. It was one or the other. Or maybe both? Who could tell? Konori-sempai certainly was mysterious about her private life!

Mikoto played along and looked when he pointed to the desk in question, then her eyes bugged out a little. Wait a minute... He was... Pointing to Kuroko's desk! She choked on the liquor bon-bon she was in the midst of swallowing, got caught in a choking fit.

After assuring Kou that he definitely did not need to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on her, Mikoto excused herself to get some water. She took it as an opportunity to wander over to Kuroko's desk. She found it stacked with, together with case-files, also numerous Valentine's chocolates and cards from admirers and fans.

There were cards with confessional poetry from potential victims of crimes thanking their saviour through haiku and expressing their romantic interests. Others were heartfelt letters from prison inmates who had been "shown the way back onto the righteous path" as one card put it and were making strides towards getting their life back on track. Some rehabilitated offenders were back in school, others managed to reconcile with estranged family members. They were heartfelt, inspirational and deeply personal stories.

And... Okay, Mikoto did understand that this was an invasion of privacy and wrong on so many levels. She had no excuse, even if she did play the best-friends-had-the-right-to-know card. But... But... Well. Kuroko did try to spike her drink with aphrodisiacs that one time, so as far as Mikoto was concerned, this made them even.

...But what the hell! There was an actual A2-sized cardboard collage of Kuroko featured in the news as she immobilised criminals using her trademark metal nails. "To the Teleporter of Our Hearts, with Love from the Official Kuroko Shirai Fan Club." The pictures were of a... surprisingly high quality! And the calligraphy of words was a work of art. The "Official Kuroko Shirai Fan Club"? What the hell did all this mean? They were stalkers, the bunch of them!

Artistically gifted stalkers!

It made... It made Mikoto feel weird all over again. It was a different kind of discomfort this time, born not out of her own feelings of inadequacy, but... Something else entirely. It was an uglier subset of emotion. Suddenly, she did not feel like rooting for the genuine if awkward boy she had only the most well-meaning of wishes for before. Suddenly, she felt like throwing the collage out into the river and watching in morbid satisfaction as the currents swept it away.

Mikoto knew that she was not being rational. She needed to clear her head. Already, there was the beginning of a migraine setting in. She had half a mind to pour the cup of water in her hand over herself to cool down, but that would certainly raise more problems than it would currently help solve.

Instead, she set the cup down on Kuroko's desk and wandered back over to Uiharu-san in a daze. Mikoto stood a ways behind her, close enough to clearly see Kuroko on the screen, far enough so she was not distracting Uiharu-san.

Mikoto caught scattered footage of the different teams breaking up into groups of threes and fours. Kuroko was the only solo operative, as far as she could tell. It seemed like she was making the most headway in terms of ground covered. It felt like she was the vanguard party, dropping in ahead of the others to weaken or immobilise any resistance she encountered along the way. On the screen, Kuroko methodically took down a man more than three times her size by using his own momentum against him. Mikoto watched her evenly, not unimpressed, just accustomed to her prowess.

She watched Kuroko through the grainy footage and thought about her, thought about the nature of their relationship. Mikoto was certainly proud of Kuroko. She admired her too, though she almost never mentioned it aloud or to Kuroko's face. There was just something special about Kuroko's singleminded dedication to do the most amount of good for the most amount of people. The letters, the admirers, the fans... Mikoto knew that in a way, they were all living testaments of this, and Mikoto was certainly proud to call her a friend.

It would have been easier if that was all Mikoto felt, but there was jealousy too. Mikoto was jealous of Kuroko. These people... Kuroko's comrades, admirers and fans: they saw her for who she was... as Shirai Kuroko, the dedicated member of Judgement.

If she was being perfectly honest, Mikoto was jealous of Kuroko's admirers too, for being able to so openly declare their admiration and love. Her eyes flicked back over to Kuroko's desk, and again Mikoto felt that weird tinge.

You cannot have her, Mikoto wanted to tell each and every one of them, though she could not. What onus did she have? As Kuroko's best friend? As the object of Kuroko's affection? Mikoto rebuffed Kuroko every step of the way... Besides, Kuroko was her own person, and deserved the freedom to choose, even if that meant Mikoto would not be the one chosen.

"Ouch!" Uiharu-san exclaimed when she got shocked by a stray spark of electricity.

"Sorry, Uiharu-san!" Mikoto hurriedly took one step back in alarm and cursed internally at her lack of self control.

When Kuroko finished knocking out a room of thugs, she paused to stare worriedly into a security camera.

"Ah. Don't worry, Shirai-san! I got startled when I dropped my pocky," Uiharu-san quickly reassured her. In response, Kuroko slapped a palm to her face in exasperation.

Uiharu just chuckled and continued. "Turn left when you exit, walk thirty metres ahead, then go up the staircase. The blueprint for the building, and the intel from Konori-sempai suggests that the shipment, and the ringleaders are at the last office on the top floor."

With a resolute nod, Kuroko stepped out into the hallway, and made to follow the instructions.

"All we know about the two gang leaders is that one is a bruiser-type Level 4, while the other is a Level Zero. Are you sure you don't want to wait for the other teams to back you up?"

Uiharu-san let an expectant pause hang after the question, then deflated with a sigh. "Why do I even bother asking... Ok, but you know you'll be the one Konori-sempai gets mad at later!"

Mikoto tuned out their banter and instead turned her attention to the other monitors. On the top left screen, a computer terminal had accessed the database of a company called "Chosokabe Pharmaceutical". It sounded familiar. Mikoto peered at the blueprints laid out on Uiharu-san's desk, and recognised it as the derelict building located near the riverbed where she fought a certain extremely annoying boy.

It looked like things were going swimmingly, when suddenly a pained groan came from Uiharu-san's earpiece. All the screens went dark a split second later.

"Hello? Hello? Shirai-san? Shirai-san! Answer me!"

Uiharu-san switched channels, frantically calling for Konori-sempai's team and a few other names Mikoto did not recognise. Try as Uiharu-san might though, only the deafening sound of radio silence greeted them. Tense silence followed the complete communication breakdown. Uiharu-san tried frantically to call their mobiles, but no one picked up. Mikoto stood there, rooted in fear with her heart in her mouth. What was going on? Was one of the gang leaders a walking Faraday Cage?

Then, with an ominous crackle, a sneering voice answered from Uiharu-san's headset. "You brats will regret ever messing with us. We have powers too, and after we're done with this damn Judgement brat, we're going to have some fun tearing apart the rest of your friends!"

Fury boiled up in Mikoto and spilled over. Acting on pure instinct, Mikoto yanked on Uiharu-san's mouthpiece and shouted, "If you harm her, I'll make you regret ever being born!"

A derisive cackle answered her threat. "There won't be enough left to identify her body by the time we're done. You know where we are, brat. Tick-tock. Your friend doesn't have much time left." All that was left after that was the escalating dread of static.

Kuroko was in danger! Mikoto's path of action never seemed clearer. She was operating on baser instincts. Before Mikoto had time to properly process what was going on, her feet were already out the door.

The building was maybe 3 kilometres away. But if she sprinted! If she took shortcuts through back alleys, she'd be able to cut the distance down to 2.5 kilometres. If she used her electromagnetism, she could make it to the building in time to save Kuroko!

That had been the plan. Maybe Mikoto overestimated herself. There were not many electromagnetic objects Mikoto could use on the edge of the city. By the last stretch, her lungs burned, and her legs were wobbly with exertion. As fit as Mikoto thought she was, even she lacked the stamina to sprint for such extended lengths of time.

When Mikoto burst through the main doors on the first floor, high on adrenaline and fuelled by righteous fury, she was greeted by the sight of Judgement members crowding about and handcuffed goons lying subdued on the floor.

She looked frantically around, eyes wild, body tensing like an animal about to lunge, but wherever she looked, Kuroko was nowhere to be seen. In that instant, time slowed to a heart-wrenching crawl. Had the worst happened? Did she... Did Kuroko take down the gang leaders at the cost of—?

Mikoto could not bear to go through with that line of thought. She was being confronted with the pinnacle of all her fears. What if she was too late? At her side, her clenched fists sparked uselessly. She grit her teeth so she would not scream in frustration. What was the point of all her power if she could not even protect the ones she loved? The paralysing despair of her helplessness bore down upon her... She clutched at her chest, straining to draw breath.

But then the sea of people parted and there Kuroko was, in the centre of it all. Time came rushing back and the world was once more in motion. Mikoto opened her mouth and let out a startled gasp of relief. It was all Mikoto could do to simply watch the scene unfold as she stood, half delirious with relief and still shaky with fear.

Some of the more senior members clapped Kuroko on the back and ruffled her hair, others drew her into hugs as they showered her with praise. Kuroko looked typically off-put by their totally unprofessional conduct, but giddy with victory and buoyed by the cheery atmosphere, she played along in good nature. Even Konori-sempai, normally the first to berate Kuroko, smiled proudly at her. She was not the only one.

Mikoto stood there, off-kilter and out of place near the entrance wearing a shit-eating grin as sweat dripped from her face and fell to the grimy floor. Kuroko was alright. Kuroko was safe.

Soon, Anti-Skill personnel pushed her aside as they marched in from the door behind her. They started apprehending the subdued criminals and taking statements from Judgement members.

Mikoto felt sick for reasons other than her physical exhaustion and for the fact that she had eaten nothing but chocolate for the entire day. She felt so out of place. Coupled with her troubled thoughts from earlier, it all made for such a nauseating brew of emotions. All that mattered was that Kuroko was safe, and she had seen to that on her own, without Mikoto's intervention in any way.

Satisfied, but still nauseous at the turn of events, Mikoto turned on her heel and started making her leave. As such, she did not see Kuroko's eyes light up at the sight of her.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko shouted in joy as she broke away from the crowd of admirers. She took two great strides towards Mikoto, then, satisfied with her momentum, teleported into Mikoto arms and enveloped her in a crushing hug.

Still winded from her previous exertion, Mikoto barely had enough time to catch her before the wind was knocked out of her. They fell ungracefully to the floor, kicking up a tiny cloud of dust in the process.

Instead of immediately pushing Kuroko off with a protest or shocking her for being too forward, Mikoto's arms snaked around her instead. She nestled into the crook of Kuroko's neck, and relished the little things, how the ends of Kuroko's ponytails tickled her skin, the indescribable feeling of her strong, steady heart beating against her.

"You idiot..." Mikoto mumbled reverently into her hair. "You're safe. You don't know how happy I am."

Kuroko beamed bright and cheerily up at Mikoto with a split upper lip and her teeth stained with blood. They broke apart from their hug and sat facing each other, with Kuroko sat half on Mikoto's lap. The gears in their heads started to turn as they came down from both their highs. Their respective trains of thought led them down very diverging routes as they took stock of each other.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Onee-sama. It's just that you look very tired and sweaty. Were you running a cross country marathon before you decided to drop-by?"

"I... was in the neighbourhood, and... saw some Anti-Skill vehicles and wanted to know what all the fuss was about," Mikoto answered lamely, trailing off mid-explanation. She did her best to avoid meeting Kuroko's eyes, instead preoccupied with taking stock of Kuroko's injuries.

It did little to assuage Kuroko's suspicions.

"You were in the neighbourhood, is that right?" Kuroko looked skeptically up at Mikoto. Her eyes narrowed questioningly.

"Yeah. That's what I said," Mikoto said, then swallowed to prevent any reprimanding words from spilling out. "Look, that's not what's important right now. You're hurt, you need medical treatment!"

"I'm fine! I have been through much worse. These are just superficial wounds." Kuroko waved her off and swatted at the hand trying to prod at her abdomen.

Mikoto glared at her. "How can you be so sure?" Kuroko's pupil dilation and mental faculties all seemed to point to her being lucid enough, but what if she had internal injuries?

"Medic! Can I get a medic here?" Mikoto called out.

"Stop trying to change the topic, Onee-sama! Let us discuss more pertinent matters. You are sweaty... And breathless... Your legs are all wobbly... You were near the riverbank... On Valentine's Day..." Kuroko trailed off. Her eyes turned wide as saucers as she let out a startled gasp.

Oh no! Oh no no no no no! Mikoto recognised that look of dawning epiphany on Kuroko's face.

"Kuroko..." Mikoto's eyes narrowed in warning, but she was already too late. There was no stopping this train.

"Say it isn't so, Onee-sama! My poor heart cannot bear the thought of it! And down by the riverbank too! Was there a blanket at least?"

"Kuroko... Kuroko! Stop. Stop implying perverted things!" Mikoto's face turned an embarrassingly blotchy shade of red in both anger and embarrassment.

Mikoto tried to clamp a hand over Kuroko's mouth to stop her from spewing more nonsense. It was admittedly hard to achieve. They were both really sweaty and Kuroko would not stop fidgeting and trashing about. With the sweat and the dirt, the whole thing was really just all kinds of gross.

Mikoto sighed in relief when an Anti-Skill medic came round. "I think my friend got a little too worked up. She says she's fine, but please check in case she has any internal injuries. I think her abdomen was bruised pretty badly in a fight. Thank you."

"Onee-sama... Kuroko just wants to safeguard your honour," Kuroko whined, displeased at being ignored.

Mikoto groaned in exasperation, but still dutifully followed when they loaded Kuroko onto a stretcher and carried her away.

"There's someone waiting for you at the branch." At the thought of it, again Mikoto could feel the bile rise up, jealousy rearing its head like a terrible, serpentine beast. She swallowed it back down. "Stop by once the hospital has finished with your check-up."

"Who is it?" Kuroko demanded as her eyes blazed with determination. "Who is the gorilla I need to battle to win your heart?"

"Oi! Enough with the teasing!" Mikoto bent down to flick Kuroko's forehead before she is loaded up onto the ambulance. "I know you don't believe me right now, but I'm telling you, all those perverted scenarios your mind is coming up with? They're not true."

Kuroko let out a high-pitched whine as she rubbed at her forehead. When Mikoto made to exit the ambulance, Kuroko hoisted herself up by gripping at the metal bars bracketing the cot the paramedics laid her on. Mikoto caught the way Kuroko flinched at the action before she pouted at her with wide, puppy-dog eyes. "You're not coming with me?"

"I need to take care of something first. Don't give me that look. It's not going to work! I'm just... I'm..." Mikoto trailed off with a sigh. Why was this so hard? It felt like her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

Mikoto walked back and enveloped Kuroko in a one-armed hug. She cradled the back of Kuroko's head with her palm, careful not to aggravate the injury to her abdomen. "I'm glad you're safe, Kuroko."

Mikoto felt Kuroko seize up in her arms, unable to process what was happening. The hug only lasted a heartbeat before Mikoto gently laid her back down onto the cot.

"I'll see you at home." Is all Mikoto gets in edge-wise before she stepped out and the ambulance door closed.

The handcuffed goons looked up when the door to the Anti-Skill van slid open and a shadowy figure greeted them.

"Hello," Mikoto said placidly with her arms folded in front of her.

The bulkiest of the goons looked at her dismissively with the eye that was not already swollen shut, then let out a scoff. "Great. Another brat. What more do you want? I'm already in chains!"

"I believe we spoke before on the phone," Mikoto said as she took one step into the van. "I just need a little help."

Electricity crackled menacingly about her like an extra set of appendages as she took another step into the van.

"Have you ever wondered," Mikoto said in a chilly voice as she cracked her knuckles. "How many volts of electricity the human brain can withstand before shutting down?"

The men nearest her drew their knees up to their chest and cowered against the side of the van in a futile attempt to avoid the stabs of electricity. Their whimpers fell on deaf ears.

"No? Well, I have. And I'm sure you gentlemen would be kind enough to humour me." The smile she sent their way is the razor edge of a blade held against a throat.

The set of her eyes are the most vicious things they have ever seen, burning like a demon's as she stands in the doorway, with the sun setting at her back.

Mikoto made sure to shut the door to the van before the symphony of screams began.

In the shadowy alcove of a tree, far enough away to only hear what sounded to him like the strange squawks of strange animals, an Anti-Skill driver took out another cigarette from his pack and chose to extend his smoking break another three minutes.

When Mikoto finally returned to the dorm, she only had five minutes left before curfew. After a quick shower, she returned to their room to find Kuroko spread eagled on top of her bed.

Kuroko tilted her body toward her when she heard the door open with a click. With a frown and a sigh, Kuroko said in a tone laced with worried appraisal, "Onee-sama! I know you're very popular, but how many dalliances have you had today?"

"Those are totally baseless assumptions! And it's none of your business!" Mikoto said defensively with a huff.

"What are you even doing on my bed?" Mikoto asked with a halfhearted glare as she folded her arms. Her feet tapped against the floor, impatient for an answer.

"You weren't home when I got back... I called your cellphone, but you didn't pick up." When Kuroko spoke it was surprisingly bereft of any teasing or lurid undertones, just a jarring vulnerability Mikoto did not know how to handle.

Kuroko broke eye contact then, and curled a little into herself as she gripped at the edge of Mikoto's pillows. "I was worried and didn't know what to do... Your scent always helps me feel more at ease."

"Ah, sorry. My cellphone's battery went flat." Mikoto told a not-quite lie as she sat at the edge of her bed. The truth was, it got fried by the static discharge earlier that day.

"I... didn't mean to worry you," Mikoto said as she tentatively reached out to pat the top of Kuroko's head, brushing back stray strands of soft auburn hair in the process.

Kuroko was always particularly more brazen whenever she was injured. She knew that Mikoto did not have the heart to shock her, at least not too badly, when she was already hurt. Kuroko herself lacked the daring to embark on her more risqué wooing tactics when she was not in her top form.

This was... This was different though. It felt different, less like the push and pull routine they were familiar with, and more... More uncertain, and raw, like a newborn drawing its first breath in the world, like the first spark of electricity Mikoto managed to summon all those years ago.

Mikoto wondered if Kuroko felt the same way. She had an inkling, as she looked looked down and saw Kuroko's large liquid eyes blinking slowly up at her in awe and disbelief, as if she had some difficulty understanding what she was seeing. It was too much for Mikoto to bear. She retracted her hand and looked away, absolutely certain of the blush staining her face, and ridiculously embarrassed by it. Mikoto took a gulp of air to steady her breathing, and willed for life to resume some semblance of normalcy.

"It makes you feel more at ease, huh? I wonder how you can always say such shameless things so freely," Mikoto said, feigning annoyance as she scratched her cheek. "Scoot over... I'm too tired to shock you today."

"It helps that I mean every word!" Kuroko teased with a cheeky wink before she rolled over gingerly to make room for Mikoto.

Kuroko eyed Mikoto all the while as she settled into bed. In the soft glow of their bedside lamp, Kuroko's expression was indescribably tender. "I'm happy you were only up to your childish hobbies and not in any danger. You went to the arcade, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't!" Mikoto shot back defensively once again. Already, Mikoto could feel her cheeks warming again. At Kuroko's sceptical expression, Mikoto finally came clean with a resigned sigh. "Ok fine, yes I did. I stopped by the hospital earlier. They said you'd already been discharged. After that, I guess... I needed to do something to clear my head. How'd you know I was at the arcade?"

Smug satisfaction coloured Kuroko's face. "I see ticket stubs and your limited edition Gekota key ring sticking out of your pyjama pocket."

"Good job, Sherlock." Mikoto let out an impressed whistle. She dug out the items from her pyjama pocket and placed them on her bedside table. As she looked at them, her brow furrowed. She grew pensive in the silence that followed.

Eventually, she broke the quiet with a question. "So... How are your injuries?"

"Oh, it was nothing. Just some minor bruising. The doctor gave me some painkillers, and told me to sleep it off. Before you ask, I have already taken them. Really, Onee-sama, you worry too much," Kuroko said and held back the hand that reached for her stomach.

"Well, someone has to!" Mikoto answered sharply though she relented eventually and turned onto her back, sighing as she stared up at the ceiling.

"So how did things go at the Judgement branch?" Mikoto asked as she turned to face Kuroko.

"Well... The usual, a lot of paperwork. Hmm... Oh! You mean with that boy? It was very strange. I turned him down and sprained his neck pretty badly, but he seemed happy enough in the end!"

"You... Sprained his neck?" Mikoto clarified, thinking she misheard because there was still some water in her ear.

"Yes. I mistook him for a rival of mine for your affections, and... well... gave him a suplex. He said it gave him such a thrill; that he never felt so alive. Boys are so strange. He said to thank you for giving him the encouragement to follow through with his confession. Onee-sama... I think you need to seriously reconsider your company of male friends."

"He's not my friend!" Mikoto waved her hands in front of her face in an attempt to distance her association with him. "I barely know him. He seemed nice enough, just a little troubled. I wanted him to believe in himself a little more."

Kuroko smiled genuinely at her. "That sounds so very like you."

Kuroko let out a thoughtful hum, then she turned to face Mikoto, her eyes intently focused on her. "If you're trying to matchmake me with someone to get me to forget you, you need to know two things." She declared as she made a peace sign.

"Number one!" Kuroko wagged a finger at her. "That's not going to work because you're the only one for me!" Kuroko declared matter-of-factly.

"Number two! Onee-sama... We've been roommates for some time now. We've been through a lot together. Yet it has just occurred to me that I've never told you." Kuroko took a deep breath to steady herself, then plowed on. "So... Just to be clear, I'm gay. I like girls. Well, mostly I like you. But the other day, this lady kissed my cheek after I caught a thief and returned her purse, and I was so overwhelmed I blacked out."

Mikoto laughed incredulously up at the ceiling. "Where did you get the idea? You're... Ah... I don't know what to say. I already... I knew you were interested in girls. Hm. But thank you for telling me."

Mikoto hummed, slipping into a pensive mood once more. She turned to her side and stared at the items on the bedside table, at her trusty Gekota keychain and the scrunched up, crumpled arcade tickets.

"Well... What was she like?" Mikoto asked as she continued to stare at the items. If she looked long enough, would they morph into something completely different?

The quiet of their dorm and the small distance between them on the bed amplified the feeling of every motion and sound. Mikoto could hear it clearly, the steadying breath that Kuroko took, the sheets shifting when Kuroko tried to find a more comfortable position.

"She looked like a university student. She wore a plain, white collared shirt. To be honest... she looked a lot like you. Just with longer hair and um... Bigger assets."

It was a good thing Mikoto was not eating or drinking anything or she would have choked for the second time that day. The person Kuroko described sounded alarmingly similar to Mikoto's mother! Mikoto was tempted to ask if she did something cheeky like wink afterwards, but decided instead that there were some things in the world she would rather not know.

"I know I asked... But why are you telling me all this?" Mikoto asked, honestly curious and a little scared of the answer.

"I... want you to know these things about me. You're my best friend, Onee-sama. You're Mikoto Misaka and I love you, in all the ways you can love someone. Also, I think that maybe... A part of me hoped you would be jealous."

"Of who?" Mikoto asked, the question slipped out before she could think.

"That lady I met, I suppose. But really, who it was doesn't matter. I just hoped you would be..."

"If only you could hear the words that come out of your mouth..." Mikoto let out a self-derisive bark of laughter. "You know what the strange thing is, Kuroko? I am. I don't know why, and I don't want to be, but I am." She rolled onto her back and pressed her hand over her face until she saw stars from behind her eyelids. "Aren't I terrible?"

"Onee-sama..." Kuroko said, voice unwavering as she clasped Mikoto's hand. Gently, Kuroko pulled it away from her face before letting go. "I've done selfish things, stupid things - in the name of pride, and in the name of love. I don't think emotions make us good or bad, it's what we do with them that matters."

When Mikoto opened her eyes, she could still see stars. She blinked to clear them away.

"Well..." Mikoto brought a hand up to cover her mouth, then let it fall away. She raked a hand through her chestnut hair, body tense with emotion as she looked at Kuroko. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am. I'm the happiest when I'm with you."

Mikoto looked searchingly into Kuroko's eyes. Mikoto's heart was stuck in her throat, her tongue plastered to the roof of her mouth. Everything tasted like ash, like the world was standing still, and waiting. For what? For who? Lying on her side in the darkness of their room, Mikoto looked into the warm glow of Kuroko's eyes, at her vulnerability and honesty and felt like she was setting herself up to burn on a pyre.

"...Why don't you ever give me chocolate on Valentine's Day, Kuroko?"

Kuroko worried her lip and fiddled with the ends of her hair. "Honestly? ...I was scared."

Kuroko took a breath, looked down before angling her head up again to meet Mikoto's eyes. "I didn't want to give you the chance to properly turn me down. I'm not blind. I know what happens every year... I didn't want to be just another one of your fans..."

"You're not! You're..." Mikoto fumbled trying to get the right words out. "You're... The most annoying person in my life. You're my best friend. No one could ever replace you."

"Is that your roundabout, tsun-tsun way of telling me you care?" Kuroko laughed wryly.

Mikoto did not deign to give a verbal reply. Was this what she got for trying to be honest? Mikoto grumbled instead, then rolled over so she faced the side nearer the door, and curled into herself like a baby hedgehog that had been rudely jostled. She could not begin to say how thankful she was that the dim lighting helped mask the colour on her face.

"Ah, come on. I'm sorry. I was only teasing." Kuroko said with mirth as she reached a hand out to rub soothing circles onto Mikoto's back.

Kuroko edged closer towards the centre of the bed, then tugged at the sleeve of Mikoto's pyjamas. Eventually, she coaxed Mikoto into rolling back towards her. A gentle rhythm, a push-and-pull of action and reaction broke out between them. Kuroko draped one of Mikoto's arms around her, pleasantly surprised at Mikoto's tentative, almost docile compliance. She giggled at Mikoto's almost inaudible grousing.

Cocooned in Mikoto's warmth, Kuroko tried her luck with another request. "Say, Onee-sama, if I promise not to grope you, can I sleep here tonight?"

"Only because you've had a long day..." Mikoto acquiesced with a huff. "The covers... do you mind? Or do you want to catch a cold?"

Kuroko squealed in delight and teleported the blanket over the both of them. Moments passed between them measured in heartbeats. Kuroko put her ears to Mikoto's chest, enraptured by the sound.

"Okay, stop smiling so hard and sleep already..." Mikoto harrumphs a few minutes after she reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. "You'll make your lip bleed again."

"Oh no... You'll just have to kiss it better," Kuroko mumbled sleepily, mind already edging on the precipice of sleep.

"That's not gonna work," Mikoto said with a sigh. "Look, I'll let you be the little spoon if you stop talking."

"It was still worth a shot..." Kuroko murmured sleepily as she settled into place by Mikoto's side.

"It's not fair, Onee-sama. I thought I'd have better reign over my emotions by now..." Kuroko trailed off, voice tinged with sleep as she lightly held onto Mikoto. "And then you say these things. I know you're just being yourself, but my heart clenches up..."

Kuroko let out a sleepy chuckle as she pressed closer, tucking her head under Mikoto's chin. "For a second, I get so swept up in you I forget how to breathe, and I'm falling in love all over again."

"Goodnight, Onee-sama," Kuroko said with a yawn. She pressed her nose to Mikoto's clavicle, and her lips to the pulse point at Mikoto's neck, then slowly drifted off. "I love you."

Mikoto let out the breath she had been holding onto ever since Kuroko began. The tension in her body slowly ebbed away. Her heart took a little longer to calm down.

"Goodnight, Kuroko," Mikoto answered, sure that she was red all the way down to the tips of her ears. Mikoto waited a good ten minutes until she was sure that Kuroko was well and truly asleep before she echoed Kuroko's words.

In the relative safety of the dark, Mikoto moved her arm so that her hand lightly rested over Kuroko's bruised abdomen. She could feel the bandages through Kuroko's cotton pyjamas. Tomorrow, Mikoto decided. Tomorrow, she would help dress her wounds...

On the 14th of February, in a little nook of the world she called her home, Mikoto dreams.

I've edited it again some feedback from DKDC38! I sincerely hope it was an enjoyable read! As always, feedback would be great! If you've read this, and want to share your thoughts or feelings but it's been five years since I've published it, feel free to still leave a review. :)

This one-shot is dedicated to Ashura, who thought of this great story idea where Mikoto was jealous of Kuroko for having fans and friends cause she's famous in Judgement. It was pretty fun! Hope you liked it! :D

A song I really like for this is "Graceless" by The National. If you have any story ideas/prompts with Mikoto and Kuroko feel free to send them my way. If I think of something interesting, I'll write it.