Apology in Progress

Anya looked at Mikoto Misaka's sunny, sincere smile and felt warmth spread through her chest. But she hadn't forgotten her father's instructions. "But Father said Anya hit someone, so Anya has to apologize..."

"Apologize for what?" Mikoto's brows shot up. Her tone left no room for argument.

"You didn't do anything wrong! That's how the Shinobi World works—the strong prey on the weak! If talking things out could bring peace so easily, why would there have been so many Shinobi World Wars?"

A faint blue arc seemed to crackle across her fist, underscoring her conviction.

"Real peace has to be won with strength! Once people know you're not someone to mess with, they won't dare bully you!"

Just then, Anya's Mind-Reading Technique caught a train of thought from the back of the classroom.

Ugh, this is so annoying! I wasn't even going to do anything at first. Ewen and Emile were the idiots who ran their mouths.

And now that short pink-haired girl gets to be the hero who stood up to me? She's making me look like some spoiled brat throwing his family's weight around! It's infuriating!

Anya turned toward the thoughts and spotted Damian Darui propping his cheek on one hand, staring listlessly out the window. Whenever he glanced her way, his displeasure was plain.

Their eyes met unexpectedly.

Damian froze, then whipped his gaze away as though someone had stepped on his tail. Tch! What are you looking at? That short pink-haired girl... Though now that I look closely, she's actually pretty cute. Her personality's just awful!

Awful pierced straight through Anya's small spark of hope.

Oh no! The second son hates me! He said Anya's awful!

A terrible sense of crisis swept over her.

*No! Peace in the Shinobi World is at stake! I have to