Shocked!
Misaka didn't expect that Misaki was actually thinking about pursuing Kaito!
The artificial intelligence [Misaka] quickly informed Mikoto about this, and she was also very stunned.
It was as if...
She had suddenly been betrayed?
They had just become friends!!
"Let go of Kaito-nii!"
Whether it was out of anger or shyness, Mikoto, her face flushed red, ultimately moved to pull Misaki away.
No way, having one mother was enough, and now there was Misaki?
How could that be allowed!
"Oh my... well, Mikoto, I was just hugging Kaito-nii out of excitement and gratitude, I didn't mean anything else, you know~"
Misaki's eyes darted, then she laughed as she explained.
As for whether Mikoto believed her or not, she didn't care.
[Misaka]: Is she telling the truth?
[Misaka]: 90% is false, 10% is true.
[Misaka]: Then what she said is false. She's just taking advantage of Kaito-nii!
"Hmph, I think I need to reconsider whether you can become my friend."
"Mm~ I really was just expressing gratitude, you know? Or else... Mikoto, do you actually like Kaito-nii, and that's why you're jealous?"
"Wh-wh-wh-who's jealous! I just admire Kaito-nii! The like is just the kind of like for family! Yeah!"
"Oh my, is that so?"
"Of course! Kaito-nii even has a deep relationship with my mom!"
To make Misaki stay away from Kaito, Mikoto brought out her mother, Misuzu.
Misaki was indeed stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but after thinking of something, she smiled even more happily.
"Hmm?"
"I see!"
"...What do you see?"
"Hehe~ That's a secret!"
With a slightly mischievous grin, Misaki turned her head to look at Kaito.
"Kaito-nii, thank you again for the gift! I feel like it's not appropriate for me to stay with you guys any longer now, so I've decided I need to go back and train, and then prepare a gift for Kaito-nii!"
"Well then, Kaito-nii, and Mikoto, I'll be off~"
And like that, with a hint of mystery, Misaki left the Gekota Cafe under Mikoto's stunned and confused gaze.
"She... she just left?"
Mikoto couldn't believe it.
She thought Misaki was going to do something else, but she left voluntarily?
So that means... now she could continue spending time alone with Kaito?
"Well, we're pretty much done eating. Is there anywhere else you want to go? Or do you want to head home now?"
"Eh? Ahhh? Um... well... ahhh, there's nothing else to do right now. Let's go back, Kaito-nii! It's almost dinner time!"
In the end, Mikoto couldn't say it out loud.
Her face flushed red, not daring to look at Kaito, she hurriedly paid the bill and ran outside.
'Sigh, it would be nice if Mikoto were a bit more honest.'
'But well, that's just how she is.'
Kaito's expectation turned into disappointment, but it was nothing serious.
He drove the silent Mikoto back home.
"Kaito, you're back~"
"Yeah, I'm home."
"Papa~ Welcome home."
"Welcome home~ Kaito-nii!"
Upon returning home, Misuzu came over to greet him, followed by Misaka Rei and Index.
After sitting down in the living room, Kaito suddenly sensed something, so he walked to the rooftop railing and looked outside.
Hmm, it was Kanzaki Kaori, no doubt.
It seemed she was standing on another tall building, staring at this place from there.
She wasn't alone; accompanying her was Stiyl Magnus, the red-haired man leaning against a wall smoking, with a barcode tattoo under his right eye.
It seemed he had underestimated their investigative abilities.
Well, Kaito hadn't intended to hide from the start.
"I'll go over for a bit."
Hup.
Whoosh—
!!!
In an instant, Kaito stood right in front of Kanzaki and Stiyl.
"!!!"
"Alright, don't make a move. You're no match for me."
Kanzaki gripped her sword hilt, while Stiyl pulled out several paper talismans. Because Kaito's arrival was so sudden, they only reacted after he was already standing before them.
"You're the one who took Index away, aren't you..."
Kanzaki asked with a serious and wary expression. At this moment, she absolutely dared not underestimate Kaito.
"Yes. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kaito, and you two?"
"...Kanzaki Kaori."
Stiyl remained silent and didn't introduce himself.
Well, probably because he was too wary of Kaito. His subtle movements were concealed, but Kaito could see them clearly.
"Alright, let's talk about Index!!"
"I assume the two of you are the ones hunting her, right?"
"But well, I actually possess the ability to foresee the future, so I know that the practice of erasing her memory is nothing but a farce."
"Don't rush to refute me. I know what your relationship is with her. I also know how painful it is for you both when you erase her memories once a year."
"But... this is all just a means for your church to control Index."
He took a cigarette from the golden ripples and lit it for himself.
Kaito leaned against the edge of this balcony and began to recount the so-called future and Index's fate.
Anyway, Kaito didn't want to make things too complicated; he'd just lay everything out.
The Perfect Memory ability is strong, but it doesn't mean one remembers every single thing that happens every moment, every minute, every second.
People always filter out unimportant things.
Naturally, neither Stiyl nor Kanzaki believed what Kaito said.
Well, if that's the case, they could just witness it firsthand!
He directly brought them before Index, then forcefully removed and destroyed the 'John's Pen' mode imposed on Index using his abilities.
Naturally, this provoked a counterattack from 'John's Pen' mode.
But in the face of absolute power, even though Kaito didn't have an ability to directly erase it, he still used brute force to destroy it.
While this caused some physical damage to Index, Kaito also had healing abilities, which restored her completely in an instant.
"Now, can you believe me?"