What Causes a Spark

Chapter I: A Day with Thor

Misaka Mikoto was peacefully roaming around Academy City the day before the Ichihanaransai when a voice suddenly called out.

"Hey, Miko-chan!"

"Gah! It's you! Why are you still in Academy City?!"

Waving, about five meters away from her, was the very same blonde haired guy that had informed her of Kamijou Touma's whereabouts, and had also been the GREMLIN magician she had found herself to fight side by side with the previous day.

Mikoto never knew his name. Apart from the general facts—that he's from GREMLIN and he uses electric attacks as well—she knew nothing about this person at all. He was supposed to have left the previous day (according to that idiot) so it was a surprise to her that he was still in Academy City—and talking to her no less.

"Well, I kind of got replaced in GREMLIN and I'm still injured so I couldn't sneak out even if I wanted to. So what are you doing?" the magician said with a grin.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?!"

"Sightseeing?"

"SIGHTSEEING?!"

Mikoto was on the verge of panic. She wasn't used to dealing with magicians. Although she had been in constant exposure to the 'magic side' these past several days, there were still a lot she had no knowledge of. One of which is how to deal with currently non-violent magicians.

She held her head in her hands, unsure of what to do. Should she call that idiot? But he's in the hospital and she couldn't bring someone as potentially dangerous as the guy in front of her to a place full of sick people. And she didn't want to trouble him if she could handle this on her own…

A poke made her turn back towards the blonde guy, "Miko-chan, I don't really care but people are staring."

She blushed when she realized what he was saying was true.

"A-anyway, let's go somewhere we can talk!" she hastily grabbed his wrist and dragged him away without waiting for a response.

Somewhere amongst the crowd, a girl with long black hair and a flower hairclip watched the scene in awe, "Misaka-san was… with a guy?" then with a smile, "She has a boyfriend!"

They found themselves in a random restaurant and somehow ended up eating lunch together.

Sipping her beverage with a slurping sound, Mikoto looked at the blonde guy seated in front of her. He was eating his second cheese burger, all the while randomly switching to his fries or his soda as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Oi, what's with this atmosphere? It feels like we're friends having lunch together!" Mikoto finally voiced out her concern, making her companion turn to her.

"Well, I'm not your enemy right now so I guess we're kind-of-friends at the moment."

She scratched the back of her head vigorously at the absurdity of it all, "That makes no sense. I don't even know your name."

"Really? Well then," he promptly put his food down and wiped his hands with a napkin before holding his hand out to her with a playful smile, "I'm the lightning god Thor, it's nice to meet you, Miko-chan."

"…"

"…"

"ARE YOU SCREWING WITH ME?! How can you introduce yourself so simply?! And stop calling me Miko-chan!"

"Eh? What's wrong with Miko-chan? I thought it was a cute nickname..."

"That's not the point! Why are you addressing me so casually?! We were just strangers yesterday so don't act like we're close! That's not how we do it in Japan!"

"Ooh! That's a great idea!" Thor stated, touching the bottom of his fist with the palm of his other hand as if he just thought of something brilliant, "We should get to know each other first. C'mon then, let's go on a date!"

Mikoto, who was unable to keep up, merely stared at him, "...eh?"

"Uurgh... how did I get into this mess...?" Mikoto mumbled, touching her temple with her forefinger. She looked sideways and silently watched the guy beside her who was looking around for ideas on where to go.

"Hmm... maybe we should watch a movie... but that won't work since we're supposed to know about each other. We could just walk around the park but that may be too boring..." he said as if talking to himself before turning to look at her, "What do you think, Miko-chan? Is there anything you want to do?"

Slightly startled when he addressed her, she replied, "Heh? Well, nothing really." then she finally took notice of his attire and the number of people who glanced at them, "But you know, I think we should get you some clothes. It's the week of Ichihanaransai so no one would be suspicious of you for wearing clothes like that but you're still getting unwanted attention."

"Ah, a shopping date?" a light red hue appeared on Mikoto's cheek at Thor's words.

"D-don't say it like that!" she harshly whispered. She somehow had an irrational fear that a certain spiky haired idiot would hear her if she were too loud. "You're making it sound like we're a couple."

"What? You don't want to be?"

Mikoto let out a spark directed at him but it vanished with a wave of his hand.

"Ah, ah, ah, Miko-chan, you're forgetting our elements are essentially the same even though they're of different laws and origins," he said with a grin, wagging his finger at her.

"Mou! You're so annoying!" she huffed. Deciding that he was just teasing her, she let out a sigh, reasoning with herself that just because it was a date doesn't mean they have to be lovers. She's had 'dates' with her friends as well so it shouldn't be a big deal. But if it were that idiot who was with her...

She shook her head vigorously, trying to rid her mind of the thought as her face continued to burn, "A-anyway, c'mon. Let's go the Underground Mall since it's closer." she stated, walking briskly away from him.

"Ah, wait, Miko-chan!" he easily caught up to her and grabbed her hand, making her jump, "We're on a date so it should only be natural that we hold hands, right?"

"Just because I didn't complain about you calling this a date doesn't mean I'd agree to actually go out with you, baka!" Learning from her mistake earlier, she roughly took her hand back before swinging it down towards his head. It proved ineffective as well though because he easily evaded the hit.

"Ah, ah, Miko-chan, I'm a combat-specialized magician in GREMLIN. Normal sneak attacks won't work on me."

"GAH! YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!"

"Hmm..."

Mikoto hummed as she browsed through several articles of men clothing hanging on the rack in front of her. She had narrowed down her choices to two: a plain white long-sleeved button-up shirt and a light blue button-up with white thin vertical stripes.

Her choice was leaning more on the blue one but considering the weather, Mikoto thought that it would be better if Thor wore long-sleeves. He may be a magician but he was still human.

Nodding to herself, she took the white one and handed it to Thor who had been standing frozen behind her the whole time as he looked at the prices.

"Alright, now go and change into these. We'll see how it looks on you before we buy it."

"U-uhm... Miko-chan... aren't these too expensive?" apart from the shirt, he was also holding a pair of dark blue pants, black shoes and a black office blazer. The clothes seemed simple enough but if one looked at the price tags attached to the items, the costs would easily be three or four times higher than regular clothing.

It wasn't that Thor didn't have money. In fact, he had been enough of a gentleman to pay for their lunch earlier that day, but since he was staying in Academy City for several more days (he had no choice, really), he had to be smart and focus most of his budget on the place he was staying at and food.

Seeing the prices on the clothes he was holding, he knew he wouldn't last another day if he had to buy all of those.

"It's fine. Don't worry!" Mikoto said, pushing him towards the dressing room when he refused to move, "I'll pay for those since I was the one who picked them. Just try them on."

"But we're on a date! I can't let the girl pay on a date." he retorted. Though he was a battle crazy magician from GREMLIN who possesses the powers of the lightning god Thor, he was still essentially a male so he has his own pride to protect.

Mikoto sighed at his reply, pausing as she looked at him as if she were talking to child who wouldn't listen, "First, we're on a 'friendly date'. You don't have to pay for everything. Besides, that's way too old school. Occult or not, you're in the 21st century already so stop it with the prehistoric practices."

"I'm just being a gentleman..."

She ignored him and crossed her arms, "Second, just think of this as a 'Welcome to Academy City' present from me. You're leaving in a few days, right? And since we don't know if you'll even come back to visit just take it as a souvenir of some sorts. I may not look like it but I'm an ojou-sama from a prestigious school so don't worry about the money, okay?"

The smile she gave him made him stop. He had seen it only once before through the FCE in Hawaii. She had been with that Imagine Breaker boy at the airport before they were supposed to depart back to Academy City. She had smiled like that after comforting him... no, it wasn't the same. The smile she gave that boy had been gentler and more caring than this.

It was the smile that one would give to the person they loved.

For some unknown reason, Thor felt disappointed that he didn't receive the same smile.

"What are you waiting for, oh so powerful lightning god?" she joked as she resumed to pushing him again, "You still have to take me on a date so stop wasting time!"

A small smile made its way to his face as he replied, "Hai, hai, Miko-chan~"

"...ugh, didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?"

"Miko-chan, I'm done~" Thor called as he stepped out of the dressing room.

"How's the size?" Mikoto asked, standing up from the bench she had been sitting on while waiting for him to get changed.

He tried to fix the cuffs as he approached her, "Well, I'm surprised you got them right. How do I look?" he grinned expectantly as he put his hands on his waist. He had worn the clothes she gave him earlier. The white shirt was buttoned to the top and was tucked into his blue pants. His cuffs were also neatly closed, the same with the black blazer. All in all, his attire looked very professional even with his long blonde hair.

"It looks good but you wore it wrong," she said when he stopped in front of her. She then unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and his blazer, leaving it open, "It's too formal that you'll look like a waiter if you entered a restaurant. And this shirt isn't supposed to be tucked in. That's why it's just long enough to pass your waist," she untucked his shirt and he lifted his arms to give her better access as she explained. She smoothed the ends of the button-up before turning her attention to his cuffs. She suddenly stopped when she saw bandages around his wrists.

"What happened to these?" she asked, worry lacing through her voice as she glanced at him.

"Ah, don't worry. They just got broken when I fought someone very strong," there was really no need to tell her who that person was though so he kept it quiet, "That's the reason why I haven't left Academy City yet. I wanted to fully recover first."

She frowned, "Don't you have some healing powers or something?"

"Well, I do know some healing spells but since I'm a combat based magician, I usually rely on someone else to heal me. I'm not that good with healing so all I was able to do was relocate the bones. The strained and torn muscles had to be healed normally." her frown deepened so he reassured, "It's no big deal. As a magician, this is actually a very minor injury so don't worry yourself over it."

"...fine." she agreed reluctantly and continued with the deed of fixing his clothes.

She still seemed to be worried though, as she began rolling up his sleeves to just below his elbows, so he tried to divert her attention by starting a different conversation.

"Haa, you have surprisingly good tastes for men clothing, Miko-chan,"

"And why the hell is it surprising, hmm?" she asked in a challenging tone as she continued fixing his clothes.

"Well, you have really childish tastes when it comes to the clothes you wear. It's a good thing it's not the same for men's clothes. Your boyfriend wouldn't have to suffer through kiddy clothes," he grinned cheerfully at her as if he hadn't just insulted her.

She merely glared at him as she finished rolling up one of his sleeves and moved to the next one, "Who's childish?"

"Oh, c'mon, admit it. Even though you're such a powerful esper, you're still a little girl at heart. It's so obvious, especially because of that weird frog phone you have."

She sent a fist towards his face but with a tilt of his head, he once again evaded it. Growling at the fact that she couldn't hit him, she finished his remaining sleeve as she spoke, "Gekota is not weird. He's cute, and don't call me childish just because of what I like. I can be mature when I have to be, you know."

He silently agreed as she moved to fixing his collar, stepping closer to him than should be comfortable for her. She didn't seem to mind though because even when their bodies were merely centimeters apart, she continued to straighten his crooked collar without being flustered.

For a moment, Thor wondered if she would be this calm if it were Kamijou Touma standing on his place instead.

"I guess you're right." Thor smiled down at her, making her look at him questioningly, "Seems to me that you'd be a really good girlfriend, Miko-chan."

A cute blush appeared on her cheeks as she frowned (pouted). With a final brush, she smoothed down his collar, mumbling, "Would you stop teasing me? It's a bit embarrassing... talking about those things."

"Why? Is Kamijou-kun still unaware that you like him?"

"Bfwah?! W-who said I like that idiot?"

"Again... it's obvious. You fought for him yesterday without knowing the whole story just so to help him. Plus, I saw through the FCE that you bought some kind of couple rings back in Hawaii, right? Have you given it to him yet?"

"Gaah! T-t-t-that's none of your business! How did you know it was for him anyway?!"

"I also saw your little moment with him before he ditched you to go to Baggage City."

"Keh?!"

"Kamijou-kun must be really dense if he still didn't get it after that speech of yours. Aiya~ and it was so sweet as well..."

"Gyaah! Stop it! You can't let anyone else know that!"

Mikoto began hitting Thor repeatedly on his chest as she blushed furiously. Unlike the other times she tried to hit him, he didn't evade this time, instead choosing to raise his arms half-heartedly to protect himself from her hits.

He chuckled at her, "Haha, you look cute when you're embarrassed, Miko-chan~"

"Shut up!"

Somewhere outside the shop Mikoto and Thor were in, stood the same black-haired girl though this time, she was holding her phone up, taking pictures of the two.

"Nishishishi," she let out a mischievous laugh as she watched the couple, "They're so adorable. Man, if only Uiharu was here! Aah... now I can't tell anyone about this until Misaka-san tells us first. I can only imagine how Shirai-san would react."

She grinned when she saw Mikoto blushing and hitting the blonde boy the way Uiharu would whenever she lifted her friend's skirt.

She knew it wouldn't be right to tell her friends about Mikoto's relationship—although she really wanted to. It was Mikoto's life so she had no right to reveal it or interfere; she respected that. Besides, once the older girl was ready, she'd tell them herself.

"But I wonder how they met. It's obvious he's a foreigner but there's something else that's strange about him..."

Thor tugged the tie that held his hair in a bind for the fourth time.

"I told you to stop touching it. It'll get undone if you do that." Mikoto told him.

"But it feels... weird." he replied, trying to push away the itchy feeling of his hair continuously being pulled from his scalp.

They were on their way out of the Underground Mall but before they left the store, Mikoto had produced a single band to put his hair in a ponytail. He didn't like the idea but her insistence caused him to eventually relent to her wishes.

"You'll get used to it in a while," she said, stopping his hand that was about to tug his ponytail for the fifth time, "Why haven't you ever tied your hair anyway? I mean really, you're supposed to be a magician that directly goes to combat, right? How can you fight properly with such long hair?"

"Hmm... don't know. Never bothered me before."

She sighed at his reply before looking at him with narrowed eyes, "It's just not fair. I kept my hair short because of my fighting style, but you could actually pull off something that I can't. Your hair's even prettier than mine." she pouted, playing with a strand of her bangs.

Thor cheerfully smiled at her reaction, "Well, if it'll make you feel better, no guy would like it if a girl said he had 'pretty hair'. Besides," he stopped in front of her, halting her in her steps. He then gently tucked the strand of hair she was playing with behind her ear, the action bringing a blush on her face, "I think your hair is better. It's short, but it's much more beautiful than this lousy blonde mop."

The girl that had been watching them, squealed when she saw this, "That's so sweet!"

It took a moment before Mikoto recovered, but when she did, she blushed deeper, looking away from his smiling face, "S-s-shut up! Stop trying to be charming. Geez, you can't just tease a girl like that, you know? People might get the wrong idea and actually think that you're interested."

"Who says I'm not?"

"Mou! I told you to stop it!" she let out a spark which he easily rendered useless. Scratching her head furiously, she growled, "Gah! You're so annoying!"

"Hahaha, Miko-chan's so cute when she's angry~"

"Shut up already!"

Ignoring her outbursts, he swiftly took her hand in his and led her away, "Let's go then. I know the perfect place where we could have fun."

Mikoto, surprised by this sudden change, could only stumble after him, muttering protests when he was running too fast.

Thor continued to grin, silently conflicted if he should be amused or disappointed that she was too flustered to realize he had stopped joking since they left the store.

They ended up in a random school full of prize stands. One after another, they played against each other, and all the while they talked, slowly being more than just strangers.

"So you used to be a Level 1? But isn't raising levels really hard?" Thor asked when Mikoto mentioned her first days in Academy City.

"Well, of course. I had to work hard every day but that didn't stop me from wanting to improve. That's why I hate people who uses their powerlessness as a reason to hurt others. I used to be powerless too but I didn't give up. And because of that, I reached Level 5."

"That's really admirable, Miko-chan. I agree with you about working hard. Remember those Saints we battled yesterday?"

"Saints?"

Thor nodded, "They are beings blessed the power of the Son of God. Though they can't fully utilize its full strength, their bodies are much superior than normal humans, making them extremely powerful."

"...you mean, it wasn't just magic they were using yesterday? That those incredible attacks were created by solely relying on their own strength?"

"That's right. Fortunately, there are less than 20 Saints in existence so facing monsters like those should be very rare."

"And yet, we each fought one yesterday."

He let out a laugh, "That's true. But back to the point, compared to people who are naturally gifted with those powers, a normal magician like me shouldn't stand a chance."

"But you did and stood on even ground with that Saint, huh?" Mikoto smirked.

"That's right. So Miko-chan and I actually have a lot in common! I had to train really hard to gain this strength just like how you did to gain the title of a Level 5."

"Haha, I guess that's true. We even share the same element."

He suddenly swung his arm over her shoulders, pulling her person to his chest and catching her off guard, "I know right? See? We're perfect for each other!"

"Kyaah! I told you to stop that!" Mikoto cried as she blushed, breaking free from his embrace and pushing him away.

"Come now, Miko-chan. Don't you think we're made for each other?"

"For the hundredth time, we are NOT a couple! And we are NOT on a date 'date', so stop it with those cheesy lines!"

"Ouch... are you dumping me?"

"Mou! Why do you enjoy infuriating me so much?! You're so annoying!"

"But it's true~"

"Shut up!"

Somewhere else in the same school, the long haired girl that had been tailing the two cheered when she successfully popped three balloons.

"Yes! I did it! I'll have that one please!" she told the person at the stall, pointing at a stuffed bear wearing a flower headband. When she received the item, she thanked the person and turned to leave.

"Uwaah, this place is really fun! I wonder if Misaka-san and her date is…" she trailed off, suddenly realizing something.

She stopped, staring at the big mass of people in front of her. It took her a second to register the fact that she could not see blonde or hazel hair anywhere in the crowd.

"…where did they go?"

"...we got a lot," Mikoto stated, looking at the numerous paper bags where they stuffed the prizes they received from the stalls they played at. The day was nearing its end, and she couldn't believe she spent the whole day with a magician.

They decided to sit on a nearby bench, eating snacks that they bought from the nearby food stands. She was busy munching on a taiyaki while Thor devoured serving after serving of takoyaki, yakisoba and other Japanese food that he could get his hands on.

She had to admit though, disregarding the fact that Thor was a magician, they got along really well. She honestly even enjoyed her 'date' with him.

Smiling amusedly at the sight, Mikoto told him, "Slow down, would you? You're gonna choke if you don't chew your food."

"Aiya~ but this is the first time I tasted Japanese food! I was afraid I wouldn't like it so I've been buying from fast foods with international branches since yesterday. Getting stuck here because of my injuries is so lucky! I'm so happy you made me try them."

"You're welcome then." she replied but then abruptly paused, "...wait... injuries...?"

"Hn?" Thor looked at her questioningly.

"Gah! I forgot to visit that idiot in the hospital!" she shot up, clutching her head in horror.

Thor blinked, "You mean Kamijou-kun? He's still admitted in the hospital?"

She sighed, sitting back down on the bench beside him, "Yes. That idiot got into another fight after sneaking out last night. Really, what was he thinking, making me worry like that?"

Thor almost choked when she mentioned the fight that happened the night before. Looking away, he decided it would be best that she never knew of his role in getting Kamijou back in the hospital. Swallowing the food in his mouth, he instead asked, "So are you going to visit him then?"

She thought for a bit, estimating how long it would take her to reach the hospital, and shook her head, "Nah, I won't make it to visitation hours. And anyway, we're still on a date, right? I'm not just gonna ditch you."

He tried to hide it, but he was surprised. It may not have been long since he'd met Mikoto and Kamijou but it was clear as day how far Mikoto was willing to go for Kamijou. The battle yesterday was a solid proof of her feelings for the certain spiky haired boy and to be honest, it irked Thor a little, even more so that the idiot seemed dense enough to not realize such an obvious display of affection.

Thor had to admit though, the simple fact that the girl beside him had chosen to stay with him instead of visiting the Imagine Breaker boy, brought the first not-mischievous and genuine smile on his face.

Finishing the rest of his food in one final chomp, he told her, "Then finish your food so we can go do the last event of our date. Wait here, okay, Miko-chan? I'll go buy us some drinks."

She nodded, "Alright."

Standing up and running back to the center of the festivity, Thor searched his mind for the place of the accessory stand where he had seen a certain pair of interesting items.

Author's Notes:

Okay! An experimental fic for an experimental couple! XDDD No, I don't exactly ship ThorXMikoto (TouMikoto FTW!) but i just thought they'd look cute together! And if ever Touma doesn't end up with anyone in his harem, Mikoto should end up with Thor :PP Electric Duo!

Anyways, I'll make this a two-shot (plus, a possible Omake, that's the reason why Saten is there XD) coz it got too long when I was writing it. I'm done with the not-Omake parts but I'd like to know how you guys react to this first :))

So? Should I post the next chapter or take the story down? XDD

~Thanks for reading! Review and tell me how you think about these two X333

~~61wisampa