Saten Ruiko/Chronology (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun)

This article covers Saten Ruiko's chronological history in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.
==Chronology==
===Toaru Kagaku no Railgun===
====Level Upper Arc====
Unlike the manga, Saten has a much more prominent role in the anime series.
She meets Mikoto earlier and in the first episode, she doubts the personality of Mikoto as she was a Level 5, supposedly an arrogant and snobbish type. However, an incident occurs involving young children and she does her best to aid Mikoto and the others despite having no abilities at all which, impresses Mikoto.
In a later episode, she also gains the affection of Juufuku Miho a Level Upper user after she said as a passing remark that she liked her eyebrows during her visit to the School Garden, in which she was attacked by her for wearing a Tokiwadai uniform .
Later, she becomes envious by the fact that every one of her friends had some sort of ability and is then curious about the Level Upper. After obtaining it, she becomes alienated by Mikoto's words saying that levels and abilities were not important. To Saten, wanting to gain abilities was the reason why she went to Academy City. She finally uses the Level Upper after being caught helpless when trying to save Koujun Kikuhiko from Trick's gang and then witnesses the battle between Kuroko and Trick, where Kuroko obtained injuries but is nevertheless successful and obtaining the source of Level Upper. She invites Makochin, Akemi, and Muu-chan to use the Level Upper and Saten seems to display powers over the wind; however, they were all soon struck by the side-effect of using the Level Upper, becoming comatose. She later goes back to her dorm and calls Uiharu that she had Level Upper and had used it along with her friends. Blaming herself for what had happened, Saten is tearfully told by Uiharu that everything was going to be alright and that she would be there to wake Saten up. She goes on to say Saten would always be Saten to her regardless of her abilities. This makes Saten feel better, but when Uiharu arrived at her dormitory, Saten had already become unconscious. She was later taken to the hospital by Uiharu.
After the defeat of Kiyama Harumi and the AIM Burst creature, she wakes up from her coma and is greeted by Uiharu on the rooftop of the hospital. Saten apologizes to Uiharu and realized that she almost lost something much more precious to her than abilities. She then proceeded to lift Uiharu's skirt once more and the quartet reunites again.
Since she was a user of the Level Upper, she has to take supplementary lessons at A Certain High School. There she meets their teacher, Tsukuyomi Komoe, who teaches them the importance of having a Personal Reality for ability development. There, she also once again meets with Juufuku Miho, who shows a noticeable amount of affection for her. During running laps, Saten pushes herself to keep on running despite wanting to stop earlier and manages to be one of the last ones still running. There, Elder Sister argues with Yomikawa Aiho stating that this was just simply punishment for using Level Upper. Aiho rebuffs her stating that this was training to surpass one's limits, citing Saten and another runner as examples. She tells them that the development of abilities is akin in surpassing one's own limits. After going inside because of rain, Saten confronts Elder Sister on her views on why this was like punishment and says that it was only natural for them to be punished because they were cheating (using Level Upper) in achieving abilities, which her friends agreed on.
Near the end of the lessons, after taking in what Komoe said about achieving one's own Personal Reality and surpassing one's own limit, the Level Upper users were tested on how far their abilities had gone. After having witnessed Saten's confrontation with Elder Sister, Juufuku Miho decides to follow her example and live strongly like her from now on. Although Saten remains a Level 0, she is determined to keep on trying.
====Big Spider Arc====
She first appears in a cafe along with Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu where they talk about the recent attacks on espers by Big Spider. Mikoto discusses how she does not like people who give up easily, which Saten tells her that she seems to be describing her. She later appears with Uiharu eating together, talking about how she understands the feelings of Skill-Outs and reassures Uiharu that she would never give up again.
After hearing about Kurozuma Wataru's and Konori Mii's confrontation, she becomes curious of their past. She later visit Konori Mii's apartment along with Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu, where Yanagisako Aomi, who is Mii's roommate, tells them that Mii was previously a member of Big Spider, much to her and everyone else's surprise. After leaving, she replies to Mikoto's statement about Mii, where Saten tells her that Mikoto should not look at people's past as simply what makes them right now. She later stops and explains that she was not trying to contradict her after seeing the reactions of Mikoto, Kuroko, and Uiharu.
====Poltergeist Arc====
During the Poltergeist Incidents that were occurring around the city, Saten befriends Uiharu's new friend, Haruue Erii, and helps both Uiharu and Haruee in fixing their yukatas for an upcoming evening festival. During the festival, another Poltergeist incident occurs, though everyone is left unscathed, partially thanks to the help of Multi Active Rescue.
In later episodes, Kuroko and Uiharu come to a disagreement on Haruee's involvement in the Poltergeist Incidents. Saten is often seen trying to calm down the situation.
After the group discovers Therestina's true identity, Saten forces both and Uiharu and Kuroko to apologize to each other after treating each other badly the past few days. Saten also chastises Mikoto for not telling anyone where she went off to (the Advanced Education Department and a hospital) and reminds her that she was not alone. During the preparations in confronting Therestina, Saten equips herself with a metal baseball bat.
She joins Uiharu in guiding Kiyama Harumi in finding the Child Errors that were kidnapped by Therestina. When they arrive at the location, they realize Therestina had set-up a trap, Capacity Down. Saten, however, is unaffected by Therestina's Capacity Down because she is a Level 0. She later interprets Uiharu's queries on Therestina about the location of the sound system that controlled the Capacity Down. Through the sound system, Saten tells Therestina to not to hurt her friends and then proceeded to destroy it with her baseball bat, allowing Mikoto to defeat Therestina. It is this heroic act that finally earns her Kuroko's respect, making her finally regard her as a close friend rather than a casual acquaintance.
She is last seen with Uiharu, Misaka and Kuroko being late for the special event held by Haruee Erii for Kiyama Harumi.
====Sisters Arc====
Having heard of rumors of someone dropping cash cards, Saten uses her "nose" to find them and invites Mikoto to join her. She later gives Mikoto her share of bank cards and leaves afterwards, stating that she would like to bring Uiharu next time.
In a later day, Saten and Uiharu meet up with Kuroko to discuss why Mikoto suddenly seemed preoccupied. Saten concludes that Mikoto has boy problems, which shocks Kuroko and makes Uiharu blush. Their conversation is cut-off when they hear a vending machine alarm, which Kuroko goes to investigate.
Near the end of the arc, Saten is asked by Mikoto to help her bake cookies for Touma (after he told Mikoto that he likes homemade cookies). Here, Saten is relieved that Mikoto is back to her normal self again and teases Mikoto about a certain boy, much to Mikoto's embarrassment.
====Silent Party Arc====
Although for the most part of the arc she is seen only as a caretaker of Febrie and keeps Uiharu company in her apartment after Erii moved away, Saten's role is major in the anime-original arc. She is the one who concocted a plan to get Febrie and Mikoto closer as the former doesn't like her for some reason and the latter is trying to desperately to become friends with her. When Mikoto tells them of Febrie's involvement in the dark side of Academy City, imploring for their aid to save her, Saten and the others jump at the call. She is later tasked in finding a way to make more of the lollipops that keep Febrie alive and visits Heaven Canceller for that purpose, though the results are not well. She is later seen aiding Kuroko in breaking out Mikoto after she is caught by STUDY as a lookout.
After deciding to take on STUDY and the Silent Party without any help at all from Anti-Skill for the sake of Febrie and Janie, Febrie's sister, Saten decide to help the others. She is given the manual on how to pilot a Ekaterina II S along with Uiharu by Kongou Mitsuko, and memorizes it in a single night while making rice balls with Febrie. She takes her bat and with Uiharu, who takes control of Security robots guard an entrance to the Academy City Research Exhibition Assembly, where the rebellion of STUDY will take place using 20,000 Powered Suits controlled by Diffusion Ghost. They are later joined by a multitude of Judgment members. During the offensive, despite being an ordinary middleschooler without any training and experience in battle, she is able to dodge the attacks of the Powered Suits, and with the help of other Judgment members take them down. Later, Madarame Kenji and Kosako Shunichi of STUDY try to counterattack using their large mobile weapons. As they retreat Uiharu trips but is soon saved by the arrival of Yomikawa Aiho bringing the Ekaterina II S, and knocking out their mobile machines. This apparently gave the girls enough time to pilot and transform it into an even larger mecha. Saten and Uiharu's memorizing a manual in a single night proves useful as they are able to easily to take down the two mobile weapons.
Saten and Uiharu are part of the little conference held after Mikoto defeats Aritomi Haruki, STUDY's leader, who has launched the AIM bomb. As the other girls deal with that, Saten arrives in the laboratory where they kept Janie, and after inquiring from Haruki, gets more of the lollipops for Febrie. Due to Haruki's use of the AIM bomb, Janie becomes part of the system that has now gone out of control, making any sort of connection impossible as it will kill her. Despite this, Shinobu still attempts to save Janie from the runaway system. And as she is not taking any outside input, she has Febrie's "strong emotions" to reach her, as they share the same biological base. A plan that Saten Ruiko says is pretty much the "power of love," much to Shinobu's embarrassment.
Her untested plan is successful, with a little help from the Sister clones, stating that Janie and Febrie are like sisters to them as well, giving the computers a boost to allow Febrie's emotions to reach Janie. She later awakens, and Febrie greets her a good morning. Saten urges Febrie to give to Shinobu her gift, and here with tears in her eyes, Shinobu accepts the riceball gift that Febrie made for her the other night. Here, Shinobu says to the two of them that she has a lot of things she wants for them to see.
As Janie and Febrie are in a Kongou airline runway, preparing to leave to the outside for body readjustments, Saten cries over Febrie leaving. Uiharu tries to console her but also falls into tears. And thus, the fellowship, though bound by friendship and love, part ways.
====Daihasei Festival Arc====
Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu appear right before Mikoto's competition in the three-legged race with her partner Kongou Mitsuko. Saten tells Uiharu of a substance known as Shadow Metal that is formed by the clashing of multiple espers, which can be sold for a large sum of money. Kuroko then appears right after, angry at Saten for spreading rumors again, to which forces her to distract and stay her anger by pointing out that Mikoto's competition is about to begin.
After their victory, Xochitl, in disguise, tries to operate the unique cellphone that is the same to the one that Shirai Kuroko uses. Confounded by the technology, Saten overhears her and goes to her aid. However, seeing Saten, surprises Xochitl to the point of shouting. Saten seems to feel that they have met somewhere before (referring to the events of Liberal Arts City), but because of Xochitl she couldn't tell. Xochitl then says she must be seeing things as she looks like someone she knows, confusing Saten. Uiharu Kazari then calls out to Saten that they should now leave. Before that however, Saten focuses her gaze on her, and tells her that she feels like that they really have met before. Xochitl insists that she is just imagining things and that she made a mistake, to which Saten agrees and then leaves.
Mikoto, Uiharu, and Saten would later meet up with Misaka Misuzu. Mikoto notes that her clothes are dirty and that changing them would be difficult for the next event, to which Saten says that Mikoto should ask someone to go in her place. This however makes Mikoto accidentally divulge on her little bet with Kamijou Touma, Prologue which entices Misuzu and later has both Uiharu and Saten discuss the person who is "helping Mikoto a lot", much to her embarrassment.
As the day goes on, at lunch break, Saten is still up on about with Shadow Metal despite Kuroko's warning on not spreading the rumor, and manages to convince Uiharu Kazari to aid her in finding it. Saten then goes to Kirigaoka Girls' Academy grounds in School District 18. With no event there scheduled, Saten is able to search all she wants with Uiharu's help who is constant communication with her from Judgment 177 Branch Office. Searching for information about Shadow Metal on the Internet, Uiharu notes on how there is an unusually high amount of hits, to which Saten says that there must be "something" if there is that many hits. Continuing on, Uiharu says that she can no longer find the website Saten was looking for, which confuses Saten as she was sure she was saw it about a week ago. Saten smells a cover up and talks about on how there is an organization that targets those who get close to the Shadow Metal.
Mikoto and Kuroko later arrive in the office as the former have a bit of time before her next event as Uiharu jokes to Saten that she might be targeted by the organization who wants the Shadow Metal. Immediately after, Saten is attacked by men in hazmat suits. Concerned, Mikoto asks Uiharu what is going on, to which he explains that Saten is being attacked by someone on the other line. Hearing this, Kuroko and Mikoto mobilized after Uiharu says that Saten is in Kirigaoka Girls' Academy grounds in School District 18. Uiharu is left behind for a backup as they might need to contact Anti-Skill. Arriving there, Kuroko notices them, but Mikoto, seeing Saten being held down angers Mikoto and attacks them. Mikoto and Saten later prostrate themselves in apology to them after it is revealed that they are the one who clean the grounds after an event to prevent the DNA traces of espers from being stolen by outsiders. Seeing Saten as a trespasser in the grounds, it was only natural for them to apprehend her. They are later let go by them. Kuroko says that the rumors of Shadow Metal spread because of the fact that the grounds were heavily guarded to prevent DNA maps from being stolen, and berates Saten for being carried away by a baseless rumor, as well as Mikoto for the attack.
The others later arrive back in the office, and much to Kuroko and Mikoto's chagrin, Saten then immediately asks Uiharu if she had found any new information. Uiharu then says that she has done some searching herself but couldn't find anything. Little did they know that Misaki paid Uiharu a visit and have read her memories that she and the others are Mikoto's friends, modified her memories so she forgets about the website and have her erase the data of it from her computer, and have programmed her to lead her and her friends to her on the next day. That night, Saten introduces Uiharu to her parents
The next day, Misaki makes her move against Misaka Mikoto. Uiharu, as programmed by Misaki, takes Saten and Kuroko away from their proper patrol route. Kuroko realizes that they are in the wrong route, which surprises Uiharu who truly believed she was going the right way. Then, Keitz appears behind them, pretending to be an outsider in need as a distraction. Misaki later comes out of an alley as they are distracted and uses her powers to freeze their movements, preventing Kuroko from using her powers, and later erases their memories of Mikoto. As Mikoto tries to escape Misaki's clique, she notices Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten walk along by. She is relieved and comes towards them, but much to her horror, discovers that they too have been brainwashed by Misaki. Mikoto is greatly angered by this affrontary, but is unable to do anything even if she tries to convince them that she is truly their friend. Moreover, Mikoto has another event to partake in.
Kongou, fresh out of her latest event, later meets up with Kinuho and Maaya and later stumble upon Kuroko and the others. Kuroko later airs her frustration on Mikoto coming up to her, making an accusation, and then asking them if they were joking. This surprises Kongou, Kinuho, and Maaya, wondering if Kuroko and Mikoto had a fight. Back with Kuroko and the others, she wonders on how Saten and Uiharu knew Kongou. They point out to her that they met when they were visiting Kuroko in the hospital, though this confuses Kuroko as she is not close with Kongou. The others can only conclude that there was a mutual acquaintance but cannot remember who.
The girls go their separate ways for the moment, with Saten finding a Gekota merchandise that Mikoto might like and tries to send a picture of it to her, but since she has no memories of her, she is confused as to whom she is going to give it to. She then sees MItsuko following Baba Yoshio to a park without people.
Kinuho and Maaya later arrive, searching for Kongou in regards to their promise of helping her with the cat of Mikoto's "sister". they apologize to the Psychometer for calling her in vain, to which she says that they could just call her again once they find her. As she leaves, they wonder where Kongou could have gone. At this point Saten runs into them, to which they ask where Kongou is. Saten later leads them to the park, where they see their friend on the ground bloody and beaten. Saten goes up to Kongou's unconscious body and sees what Yoshio has done, becoming enraged. Saten asks if it was Yoshio who did this, to which he doesn't deny, still calling Kongou trash. Yoshio says that Kongou was only doing what she did because Misaka Mikoto asked her to. He mocks her for being a second rate who let others think for them, and even mocks her for even failing at the role she was given. Yoshio says that if they have arrived earlier then they would've seen her like the trash she is. Saten is at her breaking towards Yoshio's mockery, but before she can do a thing about it, Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya steps forward to confront Yoshio. Kinuho asks Saten to get Kongou and the cat away from the place. Saten tries to protest, but she sees the withheld anger of Maaya, saying that if they don't keep the cat safe then all of Kongou's efforts would be in vain. And as ss the waters of the artificial lake rumble and tumble about from their tranquil fury, they tell her that they too cannot hold back their anger when their friend has been insulted.
Seeing this, Yoshio mocks their feelings as he order his robots to attack Saten as she begins carrying Kongou. His efforts however are prevented by Kinuho and Wannai's intervention and she manages to get away. Wannai uses her power to make Kongou lighter for Saten to carry, allowing them to get away. Although angered that Kongou got away, he is confident that the Type: Mosquito that injected her with drugs would do its side role as surveillance well, believing that as long as she can track her he can retrieve her later.
Meanwhile, Mikoto is still stuck with Misaki's clique, when she finds Saten near a hospital. Mikoto, worried, tries to go to her and finds what had happened to Kongou. In the hospital Saten tries to tell Mikoto about what happened between her, Wannai Kinuho, and Awatsuki Maaya with Baba Yoshio and his robot dogs. All the while, Mikoto blames herself for involving Kongou, still believing that it is Misaki's doing. She finds Yoshio's Type: Mosquito on Kongou and tries to leave. The girls of Misaki's clique asks for Mikoto to wait for the other members of the clique to arrive, but Mikoto tells them that if they are prepared to kill her to stop her then they should go out of the way. Cowed by her sudden outbursts, the girls can't help but let Mikoto leave. She later uses the mosquito robot that was attached to Kongou to track its owner.
Later, as Misaki's cliques wonders on what to do to find Mikoto, the girls wonder where the Queen could be as they believe she could help them, though they had no contact with her since yesterday. Saten, who is waiting for Kinuho to report on Kongou's condition asks who the Queen is, to which Maaya says is Shokuhou Misaki, and that the girls of her clique call her the Queen. Saten recognizes her name as the esper who can manipulate memories. Kinuho then comes back and reports on how Kongou has no external wounds that are likely to give her scars and that the nanodevice will be sent to a specialty facility. And with that, the only thing they need to do is to discover the secrets the cat holds.
Calling the animal psychometry girl from Tokiwadai again, she says that her power allows her to pick up fragments of the cat's qualia. So she says it is not like she can communicate with it, but she can understand aspects of what happened that the cat could not. Using her powers on the cat in the time around midday yesterday, she begins to see what the cat saw. She finds the location and sees Misaka 10032's body collapsed on the ground, as well as Keitz and Misaki, though she does not recognize them especially Misaki for she is far away from the cat's view. She tells them of their conversation, and then finally something that Saten recognizes: "What happened to Auribus oculi fideliores sunt?"
Kinuho says that it is Latin meaning "Believe more in what you see that what you hear", and makes Maaya wonder if it is a code. The session ends as the girl says that the cat's attention turned elsewhere. After thanking her, Kinuho tells Saten to contact Mikoto since Kongou is incapacitated it would be better if Mikoto knew what has been discovered as soon as possible. With that the two thanks Saten, and tells her that they will be in Kongou's hospital room. Saten tries to contact her but realizes (because of Misaki's brainwashing) that she doesn't have Mikoto's number, however, finds out that she does, confusing her. She would later talk to Kuroko about on how they are friends with Misaka Mikoto, much to her disbelief. Kuroko questions Saten's theory on Shokuhou Misaki manipulating their memories. Kuroko then asks why she didn't contact Uiharu. Saten, who has already suspected that Uiharu has been the first one to have been brainwashed by Misaki, says that she is hesitant in telling her. In the end, she tries to call Mikoto as she has a message for her.
After Saten introduces herself, she tells Mikoto about the information they had gathered from Misaka 10032's cat. Mikoto says that she has no clue what that girl with the man from the cat's memories, who she says is likely Misaki, is talking about. Just then, Saten says that there is something that she is knowledgeable about that came about in the conversation that the cat has heard, and that she also wants to know whether she and Saten know each other. Saten requests that they should meet each other, to which Mikoto says her location and it is in School District 15, which Saten notes is quite close. Saten asks for Mikoto to stay there as she'll ask Kuroko to teleport her to where she is, much to Kuroko's frustration. After Mikoto discover that Kuroko is with Saten, Kouzaku Mitori's Liquid Shadow dummy approaches her, telling her that she wants her to tell her something. Mikoto, already suspicious, says that she is quite busy and has no time to talk to strangers, but she'll make an exception to those who are connected with the guy (Baba Yoshio) who hurt her friend. Kouzaku is unperturbed and shows that she has Uiharu hostage.
Saten then contacts Uiharu to know what's going on, to which Mikoto detects using her powers. Saten is not present in the battle that ensues with Kouzaku Mitori and the aftermath, but is later with the others in Judgment 177 Branch Office, and Saten later has Misuzu and Uiharu sleep in beds and gives them medicine. With that they discuss about the situation at hand. Mikoto confirms to Saten that the girl that Misaka 10032's cat saw is definitely Shokuhou Misaki and has abducted her "sister. Saten then mentions Auribus oculi fideliores sunt, an urban legend website she knows of. Kuroko questions why Misaki would be interested in that, to which Saten says that the site not only gathers information about urban legends but has people go out and verify it. She relates on how yesterday after the midday break, the time after Mikoto's sister was abducted, she was out looking for Shadow Metal and had Uiharu look up the site. When she returned Uiharu says that she couldn't find it, prompting her to find it on her own only to find that the website got buried by a bunch of dummy sites. Saten explains that once something is on the Internet it can never fully be deleted. She says that somehow someone is trying to hide the website by making dummy pages that will have higher spots in the search results. Mikoto can only assume that there must be something in that website that someone doesn't want to see. Kuroko then mentions that Uiharu would have noticed something and had the skills to search for the cause of it. Mikoto conjectures that someone had detected her actions and attacked her. She imagines Misaki doing it, manipulating Uiharu to delete the data and then searching her memories to find that she is friends with Mikoto. Saten says that they have to force the clues together to reach the conclusion, but says that there still must be something remaining in the computer that could help them.
Using her powers, Mikoto recovers the deleted data. She finds a picture of Misaki from the website, confirming her suspicions. Mikoto asks Kuroko if she can identify where she is, to which Kuroko says that it might be School District 2 due to the building in the background. Before Mikoto can run off to confront Misaki herself, Saten asks Mikoto if their memories were truly altered, and that if they are truly their friends, to which Mikoto says that she will drag Misaki here and that they should wait.
Saten becomes restless at waiting, to which Kuroko says that Mikoto was the one who told them to wait and that she shouldn't worry. Moreover, she is still honestly unbelieving that they had their memories erased. Saten comments on how having her memories of her friends erased would be bad and that she'd hate it. She later finds Kuroko looking up a list of girls in the Bank, to which Kuroko says that she saw the one that attacked Uiharu, and that she had been looking for her in the Bank based on her powers, as well as her sending the liquid metal and knife for forensic analysis. Saten becomes excited over this, to which Kuroko says that she is merely acting as a member of Judgment, and that she cannot hand over the investigation to a normal person. She then says, with much embarrassment, that she can make an exception as the situation is urgent and that sharing information would be beneficial. Saten then has a smug look on her face, much to Kuroko's consternation as Saten begins helping her.
Saten later discusses her hypothesis regarding Uiharu being controlled by Misaki since yesterday, leading to them to conclude that is the reason why Uiharu took them to the wrong patrol route. Saten then says that they should keep it a secret from Uiharu, saying that she is the type that to feel responsible when no one is to blame. Just then, Uiharu has woken up from the infirmary opens the door and asks them to tell her exactly what they are talking about, to which Kuroko agrees, much to Saten's shock. She however, says that Uiharu should first make some tea. Kuroko whispers to her that she admires that she is protecting Uiharu, she says that she isn't that weak to have that break her. After being briefed about it, Uiharu is dismayed for being manipulated. Kuroko however says that after their break they should restart their investigation, and asks Uiharu if she can look through the Bank for anyone suspicious. Uiharu asks if she is sure that she can trust her, to which Kuroko says that they do not have time to have a detailed examination as they need her skills now. She then tells her that if she is really worried, then she can do her work in front of them. Uiharu goes right to it, impressing Saten.
As they investigate liquid metal, Saten notes that only two companies that have developed liquid metal have survived. Kuroko says that the companies have no record of loss or theft, which opens up the possibility that someone inside the company is helping the esper using liquid metal (Kouzaku). Just then, Uiharu has finished the search according to Kuroko's specifications and they discover that the name of their attacker is Kouzaku Mitori. Finding information about her, Uiharu says that Kouzaku is in the Reformatory for an attempted terrorist attack 14 months ago. Saten asks if she escaped, to which Uiharu says that if she did, then Judgment should've been notified. Uiharu asks again if Kouzaku truly was the culprit, to which she confirms. Regardless however, Kuroko wants to double-check and says she wants to go to the Bank's control center. Uiharu then asks what Saten would seeing as she will likely not be allowed there as she is not a member of Judgment. Saten says that she will pass and asks about Misuzu, to which Kuroko says that she has explained the situation to Konori Mii, their senpai. She says that Mikoto wished for Misuzu to be told that she collapsed of heatstroke and that she will be kept in the office for protection under the guise of getting a new ID issued.
With that they all leave the office, with Saten wandering about the district while there is an on-going event. She then realizes that one of the defunct liquid metal factories is nearby. As she ponders this, she finds a certain spiky-haired boy at the end of his wits—Kamijou Touma—asking people if they have a protective charm for the Borrowing Race. Saten sees him as he complains about his quarry, being in the city of science and all, and laments his misfortune. Saten has the protective that was given to her by her mother, but doesn't want to part with it. She is sorry that she can't help Touma and tries to move away from him, but he somehow manages to end up where she is despite moving a bit of a distance away. Saten notes Touma's perseverance, as he still has yet to give up, and that though he will end up in last place regardless, he'll still have points. Seeing that Touma seems like a nice guy, she finally calls out to him, hoping he will not throw it away. Saten says she has one, much to Touma's relief, he tries to touch it, but realizes he is using his right hand. He pulls back and grabs the protective charm with his left hand instead, not wanting to negate the benefits it gives.
Saten says that it may be beaten up it is still important to her, Touma understands. However, he realizes that he can't let her wait for him to finish the race, to which Saten says that the can just meet later in front of a store. She also says that if he can't meet her then he can just take it to Judgment 177 Branch Office. With that they're finally in agreement. Saten introduces herself as Saten, while Touma thanks her and introduces himself as Kamijou Touma, saying that he'll make sure to return it.
Despite better judgment, Saten goes to the factory alone and finds it completely abandoned, or so she thought. She later espies men moving equipment into a room, and discovers that the building still has power. Saten tries to go into the opened door as it closes, and successfully manages to do so. She however is too late to realize that error of her judgment, not knowing how she is supposed to get out. Saten tries to contact Uiharu but is interrupted by people coming down the adjacent hallway. Saten later flees and manages to make it deeper into the facility. Xochitl finds her however, taking out her Macuahuitl, a traditional Aztec sword, and puts it up Saten's neck. She asks Saten what she was doing there, and tells her not to turn around. She instructs her to forget everything she saw and leave the place without a word. Saten agrees and tries to run off, but the turns around to say to Xochitl that she doesn't know how to get out on her own, angering Xochitl for not following her instructions. Suddenly, something slices up behind Saten, cutting her hair and bag. There Kouzaku's Liquid Shadow puppet appear, prompting Saten to flee. Kouzaku asks Xochitl why she let her go, to which she says that since their plan is in the final stages, Saten wouldn't be able to do anything at this point. However, Kouzaku says that is no reason to let her leave. She tells one of the thugs there to capture the girl who ran off, worrying Xochitl. What's more, the Professor begins calling her as well.
Saten gets captured by the thugs. The thugs ask her what they should do with her, to which Kouzaku replies that after she gets to tell them what she was doing there, they can dispose of her as they see fit. Immediately after Xochitl comes to the rescue, defeating thugs easily with her Macuahuitl. Seeing this amuses Kouzaku, believing it to be either a betrayal by Xochitl or her caring about Saten. She tells Kouzaku that she doesn't care about that idiot behind her (Saten) but says the real traitor is Kouzaku herself. Xochitl then explains that their current mission has nothing to do with what the Academy City Board of Director wants and that Kouzaku is using her position as a go-between for them and the Board of Directors to coerce to act for a client. She says that the Professor has grown suspicious and instructed her to track down her betrayal. She says that it doesn't matter where the instructions came from but she must punish a traitor.
Kouzaku says that if Xochitl tries to do that in the factory it would be a one-sided slaughter. Xochitl however states that Kouzaku may be sure that she is safe where ever she is hiding but she is not aware of all her spells. Kouzaku assumes that Xochitl may be bluffing but takes into account Xochitl's powers coming from outside Academy City and that she might produce some unexpected phenomenon. Not wanting to screw up, Kouzaku retreats. As her liquid metal puppet becomes more fluid, she gives Xochitl some advice. If Xochitl has something to return to she should leave Academy City now. Xochitl says that she has nowhere to return to, and that there is someone in Academy City that she must pursue at the risk of her own life. Kouzaku can only reply that Xochitl is quite a maiden. With that over, Saten comes toward Xochitl to thank her, now finally remembering her as the girl from yesterday, but is greeted with a bonk to her head. She tells Saten to not thoughtlessly approach the dark side of Academy City without the means to protect herself or the willingness to throw away her life. With that lecture over, Xochitl tells Saten to come with her as she will show her the exit.
After finding the exit, an irritated Xochitl tells Saten to get lost. Saten asks what the melty person (Kouzaku) was after, to which Xochitl says not to get involved. However Saten is persistent, forcing Xochitl to acquiesce. She then says that she doesn't know what Kouzaku is after as they () were made to act on false orders. However, it is revealed that Xochitl asked Kouzaku about the strange part of their "mission," and though Kouzaku evaded the question through how she acted, Xochitl was able to determine that she and whoever hired her wanted to use Misaka Mikoto. Their conversation is overheard by Kamijou Touma.
Touma who has overheard the conversation between Xochitl and Saten, and without much fanfare hands back the protective charm back to her and then heads out to where Mikoto is. Meanwhile, Saten contacts Kuroko and Uiharu about the situation Mikoto is in, and then later goes back to Judgment 177 Branch Office. Kuroko then teleports to School District 2, as the Level 6 Shift attempt on Misaka Mikoto takes place. Saten and Uiharu later aid Kuroko as she does battle with Kouzaku Mitori.
Kuroko teleports from building to building trying to find Kouzaku. She recalls Misaki's informing her, in that Mental Out isn't very effective on Mikoto, and as such the Liquid Shadow puppet cannot give Mikoto orders. This leads her to conclude that Kouzaku can only guide Mikoto's psyche if she is nearby. However, with such a high concentration of research facilities near where Mikoto is, Kuroko contacts Uiharu and asks her to check every camera within 800 meters of School District 2's Judgment building. She tells Uiharu to see if she can find Kouzaku on one of the cameras as well as a list points the cameras do not cover. Uiharu asks Kuroko if she needs backup, to which Kuroko says they do not have time.
As Kuroko teleports into one of the buildings, Kouzaku has her puppet slice through a door to attack her. Kuroko then proceeds to engage the puppet in combat. As she battles, she finds out where Kouzaku puts the camera on her Liquid Shadow puppets so she can see, which is on her neck. She attacks it with her darts, disabling Kouzaku's secondary senses, and forcing her to use echolocation to grasp the situation, Kouzaku's primary sense for her puppet. She then uses a small device to deafen her ability to echolocate. Kuroko then teleports away as the puppet is preoccupied, trying to search for Kouzaku. However, the facility is so vast, she requires the aid of a clue. Back in Judgment 177 Branch Office, Saten manages to find Kouzaku in one of the cameras. Uiharu contacts Kuroko, telling her of Kouzaku's moving into an alleyway three minutes ago, though she can't tell what building she's in as she hasn't been seen in the other cameras. Kuroko then rushes toward the likely location of Kouzaku.
Kuroko asks if they're sure Kouzaku hasn't been seen in any other camera, to which Saten confirms. Kuroko notes that Kouzaku would show up in the cameras if she moved into another building. Seeing this, Kuroko manages to pinpoint the building where Kouzaku is likely hiding in. She orders Uiharu and Saten to turn all nearby movable cameras toward the building as she teleports in.
Back with the puppet, Kouzaku is able to pierce the device, but then realizes that the security cameras likely gave her location away. She then has her puppet slice and enter a sewer pipe to head to where Kuroko is going. Uiharu notices this as well, and reports it to Kuroko, confirming to her that the place where Kuroko is in is where Kouzaku is hiding. Kouzaku, turns her attention to Kuroko, and uses the cameras of the Homing Cameras that is used for Daihaseisai events to target her. Kouzaku observers the battle directly during the puppet's confrontation with Kuroko in the building. After Kuroko uses the anti-listening device on her puppet again, Kouzaku uses the puppet to attack her, though could only spread her attack as she could not tell how high up Kuroko is. Despite being hit on the side and on the arm, Kuroko teleports away and applies a small a balm on her injuries. While doing so, she believes that Kouzaku is in the building based on the puppet's actions and that she is in the upper floors. After treating her wounds, Kuroko pursues Kouzaku from below, though notes that she may be overlooking something.
Meanwhile, back in Judgment 177 Branch Office, Saten and Uiharu becomes worried about Kuroko's injuries. Uiharu, as she watches the cameras, later catches the Daihaseisai Homing Cameras surrounding the building where Kuroko is in despite being no events. Uiharu researches that Anti-Skill apparently used them to see if anyone has yet to be evacuated but notes on how the powerful electromagnetic waves there are too powerful for the cameras to approach. Saten then gets the idea in having them use the cameras to aid Kuroko, leading Uiharu to a eureka moment. She asks Saten how long the cameras were there, to which she says that they have been there since Kuroko entered the building. Uiharu then reports this to Kuroko, giving to her the possibility that Kouzaku is not inside the building but somewhere else.
With this new knowledge, Kuroko continues her pursuit of Kouzaku inside the building. Kuroko finds the last blind spot of the building, only to find that she isn't there. Kuroko goes over thoughts once more, and discovers that Kouzaku may be hiding in the sewers and that she was led into a trap by Kouzaku. Kouzaku's puppet later catches up to Kuroko a ventilation duck. As Kuroko uses another anti-listening device to seal her echolocation, Kouzaku turns one of the Homing Cameras she has hacked toward the blind spot. Considering the lag when Kuroko teleports and the locations where she is likely to jump to, Kouzaku has her puppet fire a knife hidden inside it towards Kuroko. However, unbeknownst to her, Uiharu has hacked that particular camera to display dummy footage, allowing Kuroko to escape.
Uiharu later becomes exhausted after hacking the camera and is later fanned by Saten, praising her for her hard work. Kuroko later manages to find the real Kouzaku and defeat her, ending her manipulation of Mikoto.
After the battles come to a close and Mikoto is turned back to normal, Misaki uses her power to restore the memories of Kuroko and the others' memories of her, though modified the events somewhat for them, making the believe that they were out trying to catch terrorists targeting the festival to avoid contradictions. Apparently all to hide the existence of both Exterior and the Sisters from public knowledge, as well as passing along the information on the virus to Heaven Canceller to treat the sisters. Mikoto's not participating in the festival events on the second day was changed as well to that of her eating too much and having her stay in the bathroom all day, much to her chagrin.
All the girls visit the field where the bonfire folk dance is being held and comments on how they are unable to dance. Mikoto goes away to buy them all drinks. In the meanwhile, Kamijou Touma later meets up with Saten, and thanks her for the protective charm she lent. Touma offers her to buy her some food to make it up to her, though she says that it is all right. Mikoto later comes around with the drinks, and finds Touma talking with Saten. Touma says that he borrowed a protective charm from her, confusing Mikoto though later figures out it was for the borrowing race. Mikoto's stutters and awkward way of presenting herself to Touma does not go unnoticed before the eyes of Saten and Uiharu.
Capitalizing this new found knowledge, Saten approaches Touma and asks him to dance with her around the bonfire as a way to thank her for lending him her protective charm. Touma is fine with the idea, though asks if she is sure with it, to which confirms. Saten then tells Touma to go on ahead, leaving the girls alone. Mikoto is utterly shocked by what has transpired, but with a knowing look between Saten and Uiharu, they make their move. Saten fakes an ailment finally catching up to her, prompting Mikoto to ask her if she is okay. However, Kuroko suddenly figures out their ruse and tries to tell Mikoto, but Uiharu comes up behind her and covers her mouth. With this ruse finally set up, Saten says that she can't move but tells Mikoto that she can dance with Touma in her place. Mikoto becomes embarrassed by this, and makes up a bunch of excuses. Fed up with this, Saten forces Mikoto to say that she wants to dance, to which she does.
The girls later see Mikoto dancing with Touma which is unceremoniously interrupted by Kuroko, teleport dropkicking Touma away, much to Uiharu and Saten's disappointment.
====Dream Ranker Arc====
When Mikoto receives a strange card as a gift from Hokaze Junko, she comes to Saten for advice. Saten explains that it's an Indian Poker card, which is used to record and experience dreams. She mentions that the technology is handmade from instructions released online, pointing to a toy that nearby children are playing with as another example. Finally, she tells her that there are people who supply amusing or useful dreams - they are known as Dream Rankers.
Saten greets Mikoto and Kuroko as they are travelling to school. Mikoto feels uncomfortable and describes the dream she experienced from the card as a horrible nightmare. This confuses Saten as the card was the colour of a fun dream. Saten explains more about Indian Poker and expresses hope that she could sell her urban legend dreams for a lot of money. She mentions that she ran across another urban legend while investigating Indian Poker, but then sees Uiharu and heads off to flip her skirt.
Some time later, Saten learns skills from Indian Poker and shows this off to Mikoto. She plans to get the dream of an expert pen-twirler next. She mentions that she gets her Indian Poker cards from traders, which inspires Mikoto to visit a particular one.
While Saten is walking to school with Uiharu, they pass by a girl who has large breasts due to the Indian Poker card Bust Upper. Saten comments on said girl's breasts and Uiharu criticises her for being rude.
Saten goes out shopping when she overhears another customer complain. It is Frenda Seivelun, a member of the dark side group , who is looking for canned mackerel but has found it to be sold out everywhere. Saten reveals that she bought the last few cans as (according to a special on TV) they are good for one's looks. Frenda persistently tries to get the mackerel from her. She attempts to buy them, offering to trade her weapons for the mackerel as she doesn't have any cash, but Saten refuses. Eventually Saten simply gives her one can. Frenda uses her explosive to open the can and destroys it in the process. Saten walks away, but Frenda persists and eventually Saten tells her to eat dinner at her place. At her apartment, Saten uses the mackerel in curry and the two of them eat. Frenda enjoys the meal and offers to treat Saten the next time they meet, and gives Saten her contact information.
Saten and Frenda exchange messages for some time. One day, Saten buys cards from the Indian Poker Merchant, drawing the attention of the dark side group . She is incapacitated and kidnapped by members of , who take her away in a van. Frenda sees this and heads out to rescue her. Afterwards, Saten finds that she has lost her phone.
However, continues its pursuit, sending its sniper Yumiya Rakko after the two. Rakko reveals herself by shooting Frenda in the arm. Frenda pulls Saten along and they retreat to a busy department store. Rakko continues pursuing them, blending into the crowd. After several failed attempts to find Rakko, Saten proposes splitting up so that Frenda at least can escape. Frenda refuses this and makes a counter-proposal. She has Saten walk towards Rakko while carrying Frenda's dolls and drop one of them. As Rakko knows that Frenda uses explosive dolls as weapons, she runs behind a pillar for cover. These dolls are merely decoys and Rakko's reaction allows Frenda to find her. Frenda fights and defeats Rakko, seemingly killing her.
After it's over, Saten is questioned about what she knows and, for her safety, asked to stay at an Anti-Skill facility for a few days. Uiharu tells her than no bodies were found at the department store. Saten requests a new phone to replace her old one. She eventually receives a message from Frenda, saying that she'll come over again in a week, and rejoices.
One week later, Saten is in her room waiting for Frenda. However, Frenda hasn't responded and appears to be late. The doorbell suddenly rings and Saten quickly rushes to the door and opens it, expecting it to be Frenda. Instead Uiharu, now wearing a cast on her right arm, is at the door and has stopped by to give Saten a report on her protection status. A depressed Saten decides to invite Uiharu in for dinner, saying she made too much.
After the Indian Poker incident is resolved, Saten and Uiharu walk around the city talking about some urban legends. They come to a manmade reservoir that was said to have sheltered a mutated giant serpent. Their conversation soon gains the attention of two gyaru girls, one of which claims that she saw a serpent not too long ago. However, her poor attempt to photograph the beast arouses suspicion from Saten. After leaving the reservoir, Saten takes the chance to thank Uiharu for letting her see various urban legend sites in Academy City. Saten admits that she had been in a dismal mood after the sudden disappearance of a friend that she just recently met. Uiharu assures Saten that she will not disappear if Saten would stop feeling so depressed.
Saten, with her spirits lifted by Uiharu's words, soon finds a flustered Mikoto among the crowd. According to Mikoto, "a friend" has realised that she has special feelings towards a certain person. While Mikoto mulls over the fact that the "other person" seemed to like "symbols of motherhood" (i.e. large breasts), Uiharu tells Mikoto that the only way for her "friend" to receive the feelings of the "other person" is to be exposed to something tragic and to stay in such a state of tragedy. As a confused Mikoto listens to Uiharu's advice, Saten desperately tries to keep Mikoto from being misled by this advice.
====Jailbreaker Arc====
Saten and her friends watch a TV broadcast about a private juvenile hall which is hosting a Jailbreak Trial: a competition in which espers attempt to break out a fake prisoner from the juvenile hall to test its security. Saten is eager to participate since the winner will receive one billion yen prize money. She points out that it might not be much for Tokiwadai students but it's a fortune for commoners, though Mikoto responds that it's a fortune for them too. Mikoto (and hence Kuroko) is initially reluctant to participate, but she changes her mind when the juvenile hall's director boasts that even Tokiwadai's students couldn't breach his security.
Thus, the four of them line up outside the juvenile hall. Saten asks Mikoto if she's feeling the effects of the AIM Jammer yet. She looks at a map of the juvenile hall that Uiharu found.
Then the trial begins. Uiharu asks Saten about the strange gloves she's wearing, and Saten explains that they will let her climb the exterior wall. Uiharu is sceptical, pointing out that she'd be a sitting duck for the security system. They then come to a pitfall trap and Saten hopes to show off her long jump skills, only for Kuroko to teleport her and the others across. Now next to the wall, Saten plans to use her gloves but Uiharu points out that others had the same idea and are already climbing. Saten claims that they stole her idea, to which Uiharu retorts that they both had the same idea. However, the climber is forced off the wall by the security system, so Saten wouldn't have succeeded regardless. Security robots attack them and are fended off by Mikoto and Wannai Kinuho, accidentally knocking Saten down and causing her to drop one glove in iron sand. After retrieving the glove Saten notes that it left a print in the iron sand, giving Mikoto an idea. By working with the other competitors, they are able to make a hole in the wall. The competitors all rush in at once, Saten getting squeezed by the crowd. Saten, Mikoto and Kuroko make it through but Uiharu is left behind. At her request, they go on without her.
Now on the grounds of the juvenile hall, Saten asks Mikoto about a strange gun she's carrying. Mikoto explains that she got it from another competitor as thanks for saving them from the robots outside. Saten suggests that Kuroko carry it instead as she has firearms training. However, Kuroko wastes the gun's single shot on a harmless (but strange-looking) educational robot. Saten worries about Uiharu, especially because of her poor physical ability. Saten and Mikoto then decide to tease Kuroko by provoking her into praising Uiharu, which Saten records. A furious Kuroko grinds her fist into Saten's head. A centipede-shaped robot attacks and coils around Saten, with the other two trying and failing to get it off. She is secretly freed by Yakumaru, a member of the dark side organisation Scavenger who is helping them with the intention of stealing the prisoner once they rescue her. However, Saten complains that her phone broke (as Yakumaru freed her by throwing a metal-rusting chemical over her).
They proceed through the grounds, Yakumaru secretly saving them from the robots several times. They come to a prison building and Saten comments that it was easier to get her than expected. Since the front door is locked, Saten hopes to show off by climbing to the roof to find an entrance; however, she turns out to not be strong enough. She then sees that this is the boys' building, whereas the target prisoner is in the girls' building.
They head to the girls' building and find that the door is unlocked, with other competitors already inside. After passing by several other groups, they come across what looks like a crying little girl. Unbeknownst to them, she is Oumi Shuri, an elite ninja attempting to steal Academy City's secrets. Shuri claims that she came here with her big sister but got separated from her, so Saten's group decides to take her with them. Saten is briefly downtrodden when she has to admit that she's only a Level 0 to Shuri. Later, Shuri accidentally drops a smoke bomb and Saten picks it up, leading to Kuroko confiscating it. Shuri asks about the effects of AIM Jammers on espers, so Saten and the others give her answers. Saten notices rubber bullets scattered over the ground. This leads them to another group, one of whom is about to use his power. The AIM Jammers sends his power out of control, causing rubber bullets to fly about chaotically. Mikoto quickly tells Saten to protect Shuri. Although Saten covers Shuri's body, she is unable to stop one of the bullets hitting the ninja's tailbone. After this is over, Saten asks if Shuri is okay, but an embarrassed Shuri uses a smoke bomb to escape.
Afterwards, Saten worries about the girl, but approaching security robots mean that her group has no time to worry about others. They run across Raifu, another seemingly-helpless little girl, and end up surrounded by robots. Saten is nearly attacked by a robot, only for some of the robots to attack the others. It turns out that these robots had been reprogrammed by Mikoto before they passed through the exterior wall.
With the robots on their side, Saten's group easily progresses through the prison. At one point a robot runs out of ammunition, so Saten asks Kuroko to put her gloves in the now-empty magazine for carrying (as the gloves are quite heavy). They then run into Kongou Mitsuko and her group, who are wearing special suits that hide them from the sensors. They offer the suits to Saten's group as well, but Mikoto turns them down. The two groups continue to the false prisoner's cell, only to find it unlocked and empty. It turns out that Uiharu had broken out the prisoner all on her own and before anyone else. The trial ends.
Uiharu takes part in a press conference, during which Saten manages to get herself into the background of a photo. Afterwards, the group gathers together and Saten asks Uiharu what she'll do with the prize money. Uiharu says that she'll donate it to charity. Saten is flustered by this and tries to get Uiharu to change her mind, to no avail. Uiharu points out that she could hack an online bank for money, causing Saten to back away from her. However, Saten and the others are unaware that the person Uiharu broke out was actually a real prisoner in disguise, Kimi.
Saten eats out with Uiharu and Mikoto at a Joseph's restaurant. Uiharu mentions that the juvenile hall had a long-range AIM Jammer, and Saten wonders why the staff didn't use it during the trial. Saten and Mikoto praise Uiharu's abilities. Kuroko arrives, angry that Uiharu is skipping out on her patrol, and drags her off to work. Saten notes that Uiharu's time at the top was short.
That night, Saten and Uiharu talk with each other on the phone. Uiharu has to end the call when she hears someone at the door. Saten gets worried when Uiharu doesn't call back or respond to calls. She calls Kuroko and tells her that she's worried people might target Uiharu for her prize money. Saten rushes to Uiharu's apartment and finds that the door is unlocked, then goes in and finds that it's empty. Kuroko and Mikoto arrive shortly afterwards. Saten calls Anti-Skill but they can't put any real officers on the case when there's no proof Uiharu was abducted. Mikoto finds out that one vehicle left the dorm during the period of the kidnapping. Saten asks them to bring her with them, so Mikoto carries her with magnetised metal objects.
They catch up to the vehicle. Kuroko and Mikoto attack it but are driven off, with the kidnappers driving off in two vehicles. When they regroup and discuss what to do next, Saten comes up with an idea. This involves Mikoto and Kuroko continuing the chase while leaving Saten at the scene. When Anti-Skill arrives, Saten lies and claims that she caused the destruction.
===Astral Buddy===
====Astral Buddy Arc====
Saten met Hokaze Junko at Sakugawa Middle School. When Hokaze brought up the topic of Tokiwadai's seven mysteries, Saten was excited and described several urban legends that she knew. Saten eventually mentioned Indian Poker, which can supposedly be used to experience these urban legends. She and Hokaze subsequently visited the Indian Poker Trader and examined his wares.
==References==
Category:Chronology