Disclaimer: I sold the proceeds to Railgun and Index and bought a rocket instead.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! It's been a long time, hasn't it? I really thought I wasn't going to write again, but I just got a most overpowering urge to put this down on paper, so I guess we'll all see how far I'll get. One thing about this story that I want to get out of the way right now: this is most definitely AU. I haven't read Index or the novels, only seen the Railgun anime, and skimmed parts of the manga. So, this is going to take place primarily in the Railgun half of the Raildex universe, and I pretty much plan to run with what I've got. Furthermore, Shokuhou Misaki is probably going to be fairly out of character, but I hope that I am at least staying true to what I perceive as a fundamentally playful and yet secretive nature. So, yeah, if you have any questions feel free to PM me. And without further ado, I give you A Certain Meeting of Minds. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Chapter 1: Projects and Partners

The classroom always seemed particularly stuffy during the first days of second term. The days were warm and lazy; even the girls at the prestigious Tokiwadai Girl's Academy were lethargic and flighty more often than not. The crickets droned on softly outside; Nakamura-sensei echoed their quiet tune as he outlined the homeroom work detail for class 2A. It was the same as last term; Mikoto shifted to more comfortably support her head against her palm and idly wondered why he even bothered. A sharp poke between her shoulder blades brought the classroom back into focus: Nanase Hitomi, student council president, and perhaps the only person in her class Mikoto could honestly consider "friend."

"With the start of second term, you will now begin the task to which you will dedicate the remainder of your time at Tokiwadai and which has the potential to direct your future careers: your research projects into esper abilities and applications and preparation for your comps. Your research and results, as well as the exams, influence where you go upon graduation. They will be reflected in what universities accept you, and what jobs you apply for. In effect," here Nakamura-sensei smiled wanly, "without sounding too trite, this is the beginning of the rest of your lives. And so, with careful deliberation, we have decided that this year the student research will be a joint project, held in conjunction with class 2E."

There was silence. Crickets chirped.

"Eeeeeehhhhhhhh?"

Mikoto sunk further into her chair, head thunking quietly against her desk. "Deliberation"…huh. Somehow, it feels like I'm responsible for this…

Class 2E filed in quietly. Their teacher was introduced as one Hoono-sensei, a pretty slip of a girl who barely looked any older than her students. She took a list from her pocket, but didn't open it, choosing instead to look out at the sea of unhappy faces before her.

"I know that this has probably come as an unpleasant shock to some of you, but rest assured that when we assigned partners, a full range of criteria were explored. Tokiwadai has done its best to ensure that not only are esper and computational abilities complementary, but that each of your backgrounds and personalities balance as well. I trust you will all attempt to get along with your partner, as there will be no switching, unless under extreme extenuating circumstances." A slight, gentle smile. "Give each other a chance, okay?"

A chorus of obedient "hai" left near 50 put upon voices, Mikoto tried to melt into her chair. If one of the criteria was esper level and type compatibility, this was most definitely her fault. These teachers had obviously attempted the impossible, and tried to find a suitable match for the Railgun. Well, the only thing left to do is see if I can convince Nakamura-sensei to let me work on my own...it's not like work ever gets done when I'm in a group, anyway. As the Ace of Tokiwadai, she had the status of an idol, and her mere presence tended to disrupt the normal flow of school activities.

Mikoto spent the next few minutes trying to come up with plausible reasons as to why she should be allowed to work on her own when the girl in front of her stood up. Anxiety and excitement began to bubble in her stomach: it was her turn next. The class seemed to quiet down around her; Mikoto threw a cursory glance at the remaining faces in 2E.

"Misaka Mikoto?"

No. No way…!

"Misaka-san?"

"H-hai!" Her chair clattered against the floor to a harmony of giggling even as blood flooded her cheeks.

"Thank you for your undivided attention," said Nakamura-sensei dryly.

Hoono-sensei continued where Nakamura left off: "Misaka-san, your partner from class 2E will be Shokuhou-san."

There was no dramatic pause. It was anticlimactic. The light above Mikoto short circuited.

"U-u-um. Could you repeat that?"

Hoono-sensei raised one eyebrow, but obliged. "I said that your partner for the duration of this project is Shokuhou Misaki-san, from class 2E." She gestured at the girl in question, who, at least looked as shocked as Mikoto herself. The eyebrow rose even higher. "Is there something wrong with that?" And now annoyance was beginning to replace the shock on Shokuhou's face.

"Well, obviously!" came a voice from the back of the classroom. Chitose Yumi was a card-carrying member of the Queen's faction, and had made it her personal mission to harass Mikoto as much as possible while in class. "The great Railgun-sama can't have just any nobody as her partner. It simply won't do for her image to be tarnished so!" Smug tittering came from the rest of the Queen's faction scattered throughout the room. Shokuhou's eybrow was beginning to twitch. Mikoto began to sweat. These idiots don't even know who their dealing with!

Hastily she interjected, "Ahahah! No, no problem at all! It's fine, perfectly fine! Ahahah!"

"Then," said Nakamura-sensei, in that tone of long-suffering patience that only a teacher of willful children could possess, "if we could please continue? Take a seat, Shokuhou-san."

Of course, Chitose wasn't done. "You know, I almost feel sorry for the great Railgun-sama. Obviously, the only person she could be paired with is a complete imbecile if this school even hopes to maintain a veneer of fairness. Oh the woes of being a Level 5!"

"Maa, maa. Settle down, everyone," said Nakamura-sensei, but even he had the hints of a smile about his lips.

Mikoto was grinding her teeth, but one look at Shokuhou's frighteningly polite smile and she was forgetting her own anger and shame in favor of fearing for her classmate's life. She grabbed Shokuhou by the elbow, and yanked her bodily down into a chair, hissing "don't you dare!" and feeling the familiar static of threatening electricity at her fingertips.

The smile became more strained. "Are you threatening me?"

"We're in the middle of class!" Mikoto hissed right back. "I just don't want you doing anything stupid."

A glaring contest ensued. "Ohoho! Maybe I was wrong! A lover's spat, already?"

"Chitose!"

"Sorry, sensei."

Well, at least now I know someone else who can do as good an impression of a tomato as me…

Who are you calling a tomato?

T-t-t-that was…that was…Sho…ku…? NO! I'm imagining things. I'm tired, it's hot. It's all in my head, all in my head…

Yes. Yes it is. In your head, that is.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"MISAKA!"

"Forgive me, sensei!"

Mikoto's bow was deep enough so that she hit her head on her desk, but she didn't hear the giggles around her for the soft laughter that resounded within her mind.

Dammit! Get out of my head!

As you wish. The laughter faded even as Mikoto snatched her hand back from the other girl's arm, and cradled it protectively to her body.

What…was that? I thought…I thought she said she couldn't get into my mind?

Mikoto fled the classroom as soon as the session ended. She fled the school itself just as desperately once the day's classes were over, and didn't stop until she had reached the safety of the normal insanity that was the office of Judgment Branch 177. Saten and Uiharu were already there, and Kuroko simply took one look at her, and then co-opted her into assisting fulfilling the requests for the day. Finally, Mikoto was able to rest, and lose herself in the monotony of sweeping café fronts, and searching for lost pets.

It was only once they were all settled in a café themselves, and Mikoto with a large parfait in front of her courtesy of Uiharu, did Kuroko dare to broach the topic.

"Onee-sama," she began, hesitantly, "I've heard some…interesting rumors…today. About the joint research project…?"

Mikoto squirmed, still not certain if she wanted to talk, let alone how to go about doing so.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Saten-san interrupted, suddenly. "Or if you just want to talk to Shirai-san about it," she added, nodding at Kuroko. "But it's obvious something is troubling you. And we all want to help, if we can." She grinned brightly. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Mikoto sighed, but calmed, despite herself. It's amazing how she can get what she wants from us, despite ourselves, and still be doing the right thing by us anyway. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if she's far more capable than any of us espers…

"You know about the joint projects," she asked Uiharu and Saten-san first.

Uiharu nodded slowly. "Well, it's a very important project in your school where your partner is a person you'll have to work closely with for the next year and a half?"

"Basically," Kuroko agreed. "The project plays an important role in what high schools and universities we end up attending. Furthermore, usually, if done right, the person you're paired with becomes a life-long friend and associate."

"And if done wrong?" Uiharu whispered softly.

"Worst case scenario? They say some partners have actually killed or grievously injured each other. In normal circumstances, you would probably just ruin your chances at getting into one of the top-tier universities."

"Is that what's bothering you?" asked Saten curiously.

"What? No, of course not!" said Mikoto. "It's not like anyone could kill me, anyway."

"Then what, onee-sama! Tell your darling Kuroko! And I will fix everything for you!"

Mikoto, trying to stave off any histrionics, blurted out, "She's insane! Absolutely insane, and complaining about tomatoes and talking in my head and-"

"Talking in your head? A telepath? They partnered my onee-sama with a telepath? This could be worrisome…"

Uiharu was already taking out her laptop. "What's her name?" she asked as she pulled up the Judgment website.

"Uh, Shokuhou Misaki."

"Ah! Found her!"

"Oh really? Let us see…"

Kuroko began to read off: "Shokuhou Misaki. Class 2E. 15 years old. Born December 19, 1996. Blood type AB. Esper level 3, ability "Touch Scan." A touch-telepath. Oh, that's good. If she's just a touch-telepath, then you don't have to worry about her reading your mind. Just don't let her touch you." She turned to Mikoto. "But don't worry, onee-sama! We will protect you! And if she tries to put so much as a single finger on your precious body I will teleport it off! (And then you will see how I saved you, and be so thankful that you will want to give me your bod-)" No one could say they hadn't seen the electric shock coming.

Saten-san was still looking at the bio. "Although, it is a bit peculiar that she is 15 and yet only a second year in junior high." She turned to Mikoto, a determined expression on her face. "Don't worry; we'll get to the bottom of this. And," she reached for Mikoto's hand in a strangely tender movement, "remember that we will always be by your side, Misaka-san. You're not going to be alone, through any of this."

Uiharu nodded vigorously in agreement. "You've helped us so much, Misaka-san! You can count on me, I'll find out everything there is to know about Shokuhou-san. If she's dangerous, you'll know, and if she has any secrets you'll know that too!"

"Yes!" Kuroko said suddenly, jumping up from her prone position on the floor. "We will protect you, onee-sama! Come on, Saten-san! Uiharu-san! We've got work to do." And with that, she swept the other two out the café door.

Mikoto was left standing, staring bewilderedly at empty seats. "But I already know what's wrong with that bio..." she whispered mournfully. Why is Tokiwadai's Queen pretending to be a Level 3 touch-telepath?

There was the hesitant sound of a throat being cleared. "Miss? Your bill…"

"KUROKO!"

The café plunged into darkness, as the fuse box short circuited.