Bank Robbery

The intense gaze from behind kept boring into him. Rod glanced back speechlessly at Shirai Kuroko, who was glaring at him with undisguised hostility.

"Um, there are quite a lot of people here. How about we go save some seats first, Shirai?" Uiharu Kazari suggested with an awkward smile, placing a hand on Shirai Kuroko's shoulder as she tried to pull her away.

"No! I absolutely won't let Onee-sama be alone with this guy!?" Shirai Kuroko reacted as fiercely as a cat with its fur standing on end. Her beautiful eyes widened like saucers, as though she wanted to drive him away with her glare alone.

"Then Misaka and Shirai can go save seats first. Saten and I will buy the crepes," Uiharu Kazari suggested instead, a bead of cold sweat sliding down her temple.

"Eh, but..." Misaka Mikoto froze at that, looking hesitantly toward the little Gekota plushies at the crepe stand.

"Hehe, come on, Onee-sama. Let's go save some seats." Shirai Kuroko hurriedly grabbed Misaka Mikoto and dragged her out of the line toward a nearby table. She did not want her beloved Onee-sama spending even a second alone with that old man.

"Ah, wait..." As the stall grew farther away, Misaka Mikoto looked pleadingly at Uiharu Kazari.

Uiharu Kazari was briefly stunned before giving her a thumbs-up with an expression that said, "Leave it to me," allowing Misaka Mikoto to relax and let Shirai Kuroko drag her away.

"What did Misaka mean by that?" Saten Ruiko asked, thinking the two had exchanged some kind of signal.

"Eh? Didn't she want me to bring her a crepe? Of course I've got that covered," Uiharu Kazari explained. If Misaka Mikoto had known that was how Uiharu understood her, she might have started smashing her head into the ground alongside Shirai Kuroko.

Was the important thing really the crepe? Of course not—the Gekota plushie was the important part!?

"Is that so?" Saten Ruiko twitched the corner of her mouth. Misaka Mikoto's eyes had clearly been fixed on the Gekota plushies the entire time. She had no idea how Uiharu had interpreted that.

Forget it. I'll just get one for her myself, Saten Ruiko thought silently.

"What flavors do you want? It's on me." Rod had already finished ordering and turned to ask the two girls behind him.

"Eh? N-No, that's not necessary. Mr. Rod, you already spent so much on us last time," Uiharu Kazari said hurriedly, waving her hands in refusal.

"?" Saten Ruiko looked at Uiharu Kazari in confusion. Uiharu was about to explain, but Rod interrupted her.

"It's fine. It's just a little money. Hurry up, there are people waiting behind you." Rod gestured toward the line behind them, urging them to be quick.

"Then we'll gladly take you up on that, Mr. Rod." Saten Ruiko winked playfully as she thanked him.

"Saten..." Uiharu Kazari glanced awkwardly at Rod. Seeing him gesture again, she blushed and began choosing a flavor.

"All right, here you go. This is the last one, too. You're very lucky, customer." The shop clerk smiled as she handed Rod the last Gekota plushie, dressed in a suit.

"Thanks." Rod casually thanked her as he took the Gekota plushie and prepared to leave. Then he noticed a little girl farther back in the line, her face scrunched up and tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes as she stared longingly at the plushie in his hand, looking as though she were about to cry.

Seeing that, Rod smiled and walked over to the little girl. He crouched down until their eyes were level, then held the Gekota plushie out to her with a smile.

"You can have it." The little girl first shyly hid behind her mother, then poked her head out to look at the plushie in Rod's hand before turning to her mother as if asking for permission.

Her mother affectionately rubbed the little girl's head and said, "If you want it, make sure to say thank you properly."

The little girl nervously accepted the Gekota plushie from Rod and thanked him in a timid little voice.

"Thank you, Mister~"

"There, there~" Rod smiled and patted the little girl on the head before heading toward the table Misaka Mikoto had claimed.

"Mr. Rod is so kind," Uiharu Kazari said as she watched his back.

"Yeah, and he's generous too. He really is a good person," Saten Ruiko praised.

"Ah, but now that plushie is gone." Saten Ruiko suddenly cried out after realizing what had happened.

"Plop." At the same time as Saten Ruiko's cry, Misaka Mikoto seemed to lose all color like a black-and-white drawing, collapsing into an "orz" pose and falling silent just as Shirai Kuroko had earlier.

Hahaha, now you won't be able to raise Onee-sama's affection for you, will you? Serves you right! Onee-sama belongs to me! Ohohoho~ Shirai Kuroko celebrated wildly in her heart, flashing V-signs over and over, while outwardly she wore the gentle smile of a refined lady as she accepted the crepe Rod handed her and thanked him.

"She really is like a child~" Rod remarked as he sampled his crepe.

At that, Misaka Mikoto regained her color. She hurriedly stood up and waved both arms as she tried to explain.

"I-I'm not a child! I... I don't even like Gekota..." But when she met Rod's gaze, which seemed to see through everything, she immediately wilted. She stopped arguing and silently sat down to eat her crepe.

"But judging by how you look, you've recovered pretty well. Now I can rest easy." Rod quickly swallowed the rest of his crepe, licked the cream from his thumb, and chuckled.

Misaka Mikoto looked toward Rod. Seeing that he was still smiling at her, she hurriedly turned her little head away, her cheeks flushing red like a ripe apple.

At the sight, Shirai Kuroko completely lost it. With bloodshot eyes, she grabbed a tree and repeatedly slammed her head against it. The two girls who had just arrived could not stop cold sweat from pouring down as they stared at the scene, utterly speechless.

"Eh?" Uiharu Kazari seemed to notice something and looked toward the entrance of a bank.

"What is it?" Saten Ruiko casually asked when she noticed Uiharu Kazari acting strangely.

"Nothing. It just seems a little strange. Look, that bank has its security shutter pulled down in broad daylight." Uiharu Kazari explained, pointing at the tightly shut bank entrance.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over. At that very moment, flames burst out from behind the shutter, followed by the sound of an explosion.

That immediately snapped Shirai Kuroko out of her crazed state. She stuffed the crepe in her hand into her mouth, pulled a Judgment armband from the pocket beneath her skirt, put it on, and ordered Uiharu Kazari.

"Uiharu, contacting Anti-Skill and confirming the injured are up to you. Please hurry."

"O-Okay." After panicking for only a moment, Uiharu Kazari quickly got into gear, crouching down to begin making contact.

The three fleeing robbers ran straight into Shirai Kuroko, who had pulled on her Judgment armband and stood before them with a heroic bearing. Alone, the girl blocked the path of the three burly men and shouted.

"Stop! I'm from Judgment! I am placing you under arrest for destruction of property and robbery in progress!"

Rod could not help but remark, "If this little girl didn't go crazy all the time, she'd actually look pretty cool."