6 The Strongest Esper,Accelerator.
---26th August 10:34a.m.---
Accelerator was lying in the comforts of his bed yet again. It was a peaceful morning, the same as always. The same boring life that he had lived throughout his 16 years.
Or so he thought...
"Papa!! I'm hungry!!"
It seems like the only thing stopping him from enjoying a lovely morning by himself was the girl he had picked up yesterday while on his way home.
Misaka Mikoto.
"(Why did I have to take her home...)"
Accelerator groaned as he looked at her innocent smile.
---25th August 7:02p.m.---
Accelerator was on his way home from the convenience store as always, but to his misfortune, he couldn't find what he was looking for, which was black coffee.
"(What a waste of effort. What the hell is happening nowadays...)"
Accelerator had his eyes closed with his hands in his pocket as he thought about the events that had been occurring around him these past few nights.
"(It all started with that boy... Was he some kind of yakuza boss or something? Does Academy City even have a yakuza? Or actually, there are some sketchy organizations, but I wouldn't call them-)"
Before he could finish his train of thoughts, someone got close to him. Someone had managed to infiltrate his AIM field and tackle him to the ground.
He was ready to punch the lights out of whoever that was that tackled him to the ground, but when he took a look at who his assailant was, he quickly lowered his right hand and sighed.
"Tch, it's just you."
"Papa!! I missed you!!"
"Your face is too close..."
Accelerator pushed his hand towards her cheek to push her away, but it seems like she was the stronger one as she forced her way to his heart. She rubbed her cheek all over his shirt as he sat down on the ground.
He hated this embrace, but at the same time he felt relieved. He was about to stroke her hair, but she suddenly looked up at him with her big pleading eyes.
"There were bad people chasing me."
"Yeah, I know."
It was not like he was oblivious to the fact that there were three thugs just right in front of him, he just didn't need to pay them any attention.
And plus, he took the more open areas to walk home because of a certain situation he always has to deal with when being the strongest esper.
Because he was the strongest, people would challenge him for the title, and people would target him just to prove that powers weren't everything in Academy City.
And he found it all...
"Ridiculous."
Passersby walked past their small group and pretended not to see anything.
Before Accelerator had shown up, three thugs stood around Misaka, blocking any sort of escape she could have taken. Well, they also didn't know that she was the 3rd ranked esper in Academy City, all they knew was that she was a girl from Tokiwadai Middle School. And the girls inside were pretty princesses that any guy would dream of, and they wanted to do things that no normal human should do to a middle schooler.
"Oi, you're Accelerator, aren't ya?! Good timing!! Me and the boys were just about to pay you a visit!"
Before they could throw any punches, Accelerator grabbed Misaka's wrist and jumped onto the nearest building he could find.
"Hey!! Come back here, you coward!!"
He ignored their remarks as he continued jumping across multiple buildings until he landed outside his apartment block.
"Seems like this is a pretty bad situation for me to be in..." Accelerator whispered under his breath as he opened the door.
Accelerator ushered her into his dorm by pushing her in little by little.
"Just go to sleep."
"Hm? Where are you going, papa?"
"None of your business. Just go to sleep."
"Mmm...promise you won't go anywhere?"
"...Yeah."
Hearing the word 'promise' caught him off guard. It was the first time he ever made a promise with anyone.
And his first was with a girl who he tried to get rid of.
"(What the hell am I doing.)"
Accelerator leaned against his door as he watched Misaka fall asleep on his bed a few meters in front of him.
His apartment wasn't the fanciest thing anyone could imagine for the strongest esper. It was a one room flat, with a bathroom right next to his doorstep, and a wardrobe right in front of his bed. His kitchen was also located in the same space as his bed was with a balcony right beside his bed.
It was not like he was poor or anything, he just didn't know how he wanted to spend his money for consumer goods. All he knew was that he had to feed his daily necessities and that much was plenty.
Accelerator felt slightly frustrated at himself.
"I should just throw her out...!!"
Accelerator clenched his teeth and fists as he thought about it. But he couldn't bear to do it.
Just as he was thinking about his plans with Misaka, he heard multiple footsteps outside his apartment and a few people talking loudly.
"Tch, seems like they're here."
Accelerator tried his best to open the door quietly, but the door kept creaking after every inch that was pulled back, so he slid his body through a small opening before carefully and silently closing it back.
From his actions, no one would be blamed for accusing him of being a burglar. He was acting way too suspicious.
When he finally closed the door, he was greeted by the sight of five guys who were wearing hoodies and beanies with ragged clothing.
These were the unfortunate Level 0's who thought that if they had powers, they wouldn't need to study, and they also thought that they were too cool to attend school.
They had what was coming to them.
"Looks like the man himself decided to greet us!"
"Are you ready to give up your position as the number 1?!"
Without any warning, all five of them rushed towards him at once with bats in their hands.
Accelerator didn't even move a single muscle.
He knew what was going to happen to the 5 idiots before him.
"Sometimes I wonder where did all of you get your confidence from."
Two of them swung their bats at the same time and they were aiming to break his legs. However, the moment they were one inch away from touching his legs, their bats flew away. One of the bats went flying through the skies, and the other one was caught by Accelerator.
Accelerator held the head of the bat and swung it once to blow those two down to the ground floor. Fortunately for them, he was only living at the second level, so their fall wasn't going to be very painful.
The three of them started to quiver in fear the moment they saw their friends' failed attempt at an attack.
"Starting to have second thoughts?" Accelerator smirked as he lifted both of his arms up.
When they took one step back, Accelerator arched his back forward as he prepared to dash in. He was just thinking about that boy who made his life 'miserable' after that night.
"I'm going to kill all of you!!"
However, he didn't make it to a meter when he stopped in his tracks.
That's because his door had opened up, and the person that was in his dorm almost saw him punching another person. Usually he wouldn't care about what others think, but for this once, he didn't want to set a bad example.
He slowly stood back up as the thugs ran away and began walking back into his dorm.
"Papa, what happened?"
"Tch, nothing. Just releasing some steam."
Accelerator places his hand on the back of her head as he nudges her back into his dorm.
"Just go back to sleep."
-------------------------------------
And so, that is how they ended up in the situation that they were in.
"Lets go to the convenience store."
"Convenience store? Why is it called that?"
"It's because it makes life convenient."
"Hmmmmm..."
Misaka had a look of dissatisfaction on her face, and Accelerator turned behind at the right time to see it.
"I want something else!!"
"Don't be whiny about it! It doesn't matter, does it?! As long as your stomach is full, there should be no problem!"
"Hrgh...!!"
"Kh?! Fine, fine. Lets go already."
Accelerator couldn't challenge her, or actually, he couldn't expend anymore energy to quarrel with her.
They arrived at a family restaurant in District 7 only to find that...
"Sorry, we're full. Please come back some other time."
And the next one...
"Sorry, we're full."
And the next...
"Sorry."
"Come on, seriously?! Every single fuckin place is taken?! It's like the whole world has decided to start eating at this hour!"
"Papa...I'm hungry..."
"That's why I told you to go to the convenience store!...Huh?"
When Accelerator turned around, Misaka was nowhere in sight.
"..."
It took him a while to process what he was looking at.
Was he hallucinating this whole time?
He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand as he tried to sort out his thoughts.
"...Am I free now? Or actually, was she even here in the first place? Well, whatever the case is, I can finally say goodbye to that annoying brat."
Accelerator turned back and slowly strolled back home, all while being under surveillance by a certain organisation.
"(But seriously though, is it a coincidence that all Tokiwadai girls are just princesses living in the School Garden...)"
----26th August 1:31p.m.----
"Onee-sama!! Are you alright?!"
Kuroko and Misaka were at the back of the family restaurant where all the cars were parked.
Misaka blindly looked around the place as if she was trying to find something. But Kuroko nudged her around to try and get a response from her.
Just then, the receiver in her ear beeped and she could hear Uiharu talking to her.
"Shirai-san, don't move her too much. I think she might be tired. The person with her just now made her walk around Academy City for 2 hours straight."
"...That monster. How could he..."
"Shirai-san, bring her back. Once she's back, we'll formulate a plan to bring our culprit to Anti-Skill."
"Alright."
When Kuroko looked back at Misaka, she could see tears slowly forming in the corners of her eyes. However, instead of questioning it, or trying to pamper her, she quickly covered her ears as if it was on instinct.
"Huh? Why am I..."
Before she could question herself, Misaka let out a big cry as tears flowed down from both corners of her eyes.
Kuroko backed up against the wall as her arms flung up to try and defend herself.
"Wh-What?!"
However, when Kuroko looked at Misaka, she quickly got herself together and went over to her to try and calm her down.
"Th-There, there...Onee-sama. Everything's going to be alright, okay?"
However, in her head, she was screaming and cursing at the boy.
"(Damnit!! That damn albino!! I'll get him back for this!!)"
But there was also one more thought that crossed Kuroko's mind.
Why was she not shocked to find out her Onee-sama was in this state? It was as if she had dealt with this type of situation before.
"Hngh...I should not be doing this...Maybe I should bring her to Konori-senpai...Wait, does Konori-senpai even have a child? Wait, of course she doesn't. She's still in high school..."
"But...why does it feel like I've seen her with a child before?"
And as she continued thinking about it, her head started aching.
"(What is happening...! Rrgh...)"
Suddenly, Uiharu reaches her through the receiver.
"Shirai-san, are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah...But Onee-sama is crying..."
"Oh, then I think you should bring her to..."
Before Uiharu finished her line, she found something odd as well.
"Konori-senpai is single right?"
"That's what I thought as well. Something isn't right, is it?"
"..."
"Whatever, I'm bringing Onee-sama back."
---26th August 2:09p.m.---
"I'm back, Uiharu. Are you still on his tail?"
"What?"
"I said...ARE YOU STILL ON HIS TAIL?!"
The reason why they both could barely hear each other was due to...
"Misaka-san is still crying?"
"Yeah, I couldn't stop her."
Luckily for the both of them, Konori Mii just reached the office in the nick of time.
"Hm? Oh, it's Misaka...san...?"
"Konori-senpai, please do not ask anything. Just calm her down please." Kuroko begged Konori as she continued looking at the CCTV's along Academy City's main road.
"Hm?"
Before Konori did anything however, Misaka turned back and immediately ran towards her embrace.
"Oh?! There there now."
Konori lightly rubbed the back of Misaka's head as she hugged her tightly.
"For some reason this is really making me angry..." Kuroko whispers.
"Ah haha..."
Uiharu could only let out a small, awkward laugh as they continued looking through the CCTV's.
"Uiharu, what information can you find on him?"
"Nothing much...I can't find him even though I narrowed the description to white haired male."
"What? Is the system broken or something? Not many people in Academy City have white hair. Did he dye it or something?"
"Could be. Is there anything else we can find out about him?"
"Hm..."
Kuroko thought hard, but nothing came to mind.
"We can slowly look through the student records under the high-school section."
"High school section? Why so?"
"His face barely has any wrinkles, and he is almost the same height as a certain ape I know."
"Okay, I'll try to find him there. But it might take a while."
"It's alright. While you do that, I'll be on his tail."
"Be careful. We don't know what he is capable of."
"Yeah, to be able to beat Onee-sama and mess with her mind like that, he's definitely a dangerous person."
---26th August 2:32p.m.---
"Uiharu, have you found anything yet?"
"No, not yet."
"(That's strange...)"
Kuroko was currently behind Accelerator, tailing him from the top of buildings, ensuring his white hair didn't disappear from her sight.
"(For Uiharu not to find the information of someone within 10 minutes is really shocking...)"
And one question only came to her mind.
"Who are you?"
Just then, he turned into a small alleyway, away from the CCTVs around the area. Now, he was out of range.
"Oh no you don't!"
Kuroko chased him down after teleporting down the building, and the only reason she did that instead of continuing to spy on him from above is because her shadow would have given her position away.
When she teleported to the ground floor, the people around her scattered away because it was too sudden. A random girl who looked like she could be anyone's granddaughter just appear out of nowhere.
"Sorry!!"
Kuroko quickly apologized before continuing her mission, but when she turned towards the straight alleyway leading to the other side, she saw no one.
"What?"
She quickly tapped on her communication device leading to Uiharu, and Uiharu responded almost immediately.
"Yes, Shirai-san? What can I help you with?"
Kuroko ran through the 50 meter long alleyway, so she was panting as she replied Uiharu.
"Uiharu, can you check the surveillance cameras around my area? I think I've-"
However, before she could continue, a piece of rock pierced through her communicative device that was located between her ear and fingers.
Kuroko immediately flinched from the small explosion.
"What?!"
Her ear then started to bleed out from the side as she turned back to see who her assailant was.
"What business does a kid have with me?"
Standing at the position that she was just at was a completely pale figure with his arms stretched out like a cross.
His red eyes being the only thing that stands out from the dark alleyway. It was like she was looking at the devil incarnate.
"Don't move, this is Judgement!"
Kuroko placed her other hand right beneath her skirt and around her thighs.
"Hm? Judgement?"
Accelerator thought about it for a moment before realizing who he was dealing with.
"Oh! That's right! You're the Anti-Skill wannabe organization that no one really needs!"
"What?!"
"All you guys do is just interfere with the lives of others when it has nothing to do with you. Almost like you're excessive."
"Rrrrghh!!"
In a blink of an eye, Kuroko teleported three needles from a belt located around her thigh which were all targeting his legs and shirt. It was meant to incapacitate and restrain him, and also a bit of revenge for what he said.
However, they all just ended up dropping to the floor like flies.
The both of them traded eye contact for a while in confusion. Accelerator tried to understand what kind of attack she just did and Kuroko tried to understand how her needles didn't pierce him.
But alas, Accelerator managed to find his answer.
"Ah, I see. A teleporter. At first I thought you had some kind of power to accelerate the trajectory of objects, but it seems it was much more complex. Well, it's whatever. I'm still stronger."
Kuroko clenched her teeth as she teleported above him to try and find an advantage over him.
And as expected, her shadow was casted upon him. However, he somehow managed to disappear from her sight in an instant.
"?!"
Suddenly, she felt a sudden surge of wind rushing up behind her. Without even turning back to check what it was, she quickly teleported back down.
"Wow, I have to hand it to ya, ya got good instincts."
When Kuroko looked back up, she saw Accelerator standing sideways by the building. It was as if her vision was distorted, but the world around her was still the same.
Accelerator did a small yet elegant flip back down to the ground floor.
"How bout this, kiddo. I'll let you run away right now and stop pursuing me because you clearly can't stop me."
"..."
"Of course if you choose another option that involves testing the might of our abilities..."
Accelerator smirked as her stared into her eyes.
"...you're the only one who's going to get hurt."
This was like a game to Accelerator. He didn't have to take her seriously. She was like an ant to him. Small and harmless alone.
He expected her to get scared and choose the option to run away since most people when greeted by Accelerator, usually runs away the moment he starts fighting back.
However...
A needle appeared right in front of him yet again.
"Come on, you can't be seriously doing the same thing ag-"
When the needle disappeared from his sight, she was gone.
"Heh, I thought so."
Accelerator looked up because he saw a shadow casted beneath him and then the next thing he saw after that was a small foot headed his way.
He calmly stepped back and let her fall, but she landed safely.
"Come on! Is this all the fight you can put up with your ability?!"
"Shut up!!"
She teleported right behind him this time and tried to kick him.
This time he stood still.
"I got you!!"
But she didn't.
When her foot was just one inch away from his skin, she could feel the bones in her leg cracking. While the pain was rushing through her leg, she was also pushed back at the same time.
"See? Don't say I didn't warn you."
Accelerator casually walked away as if nothing happened while Kuroko stay rooted to the floor, tending to her broken leg.
"Come back here!! I won't forgive you for this!!"
Accelerator didn't acknowledge her words. He simply blocked out her cries as he continued walking.
--26th August 3:01p.m.--
Kuroko had managed to use her arms to lift herself back up against the murky walls of the alleyway. And she had been sitting there waiting for backup.
"Shirai-san!! Are you okay?! What happened?"
Uiharu and Saten came rushing towards her with paramedics right in front of them.
"I'll be...fine..."
The paramedics assessed the situation of her body and legs, before lifting her onto a stretcher and bringing her into the ambulance.
Uiharu and Saten stayed at the back of the ambulance with Kuroko as they started chatting about the mysterious person.
"Uiharu, did you find anything about him?"
"No. I could not find anything on him."
"Damn it...!!"
Kuroko slammed her fist on the side of the stretcher out of frustration.
However, Saten didn't know what was going on.
"Um...who are you guys looking for?"
Before Uiharu could give her an answer, Kuroko immediately answered back.
"Don't bother looking for him. He's...He's too strong. He could stop my needles from poking him, and he could reflect my attacks..."
Kuroko laid back as she covered her forehead.
"I could not do anything for Onee-sama...!! Damn it!! Why?!"
There were tears forming at the bottom of her eyes. The feeling of uselessness.
"Shirai-san..."
"Shirai-san, I don't think you're useless at all. You tried your hardest!! If anything, you should be proud that you managed to stand up for Misaka-san!!"
Saten's words filled the back of the ambulance. It was bright and it was encouraging.
"If you couldn't help her this time, you'll just have to get back up again! Being down won't help her, and doing things alone will never help you!!"
"Saten-san..."
The tears in Kuroko's eyes stopped flowing.
And a small smile appeared on her face.
Though Kuroko knew fighting him again wasn't going to work. Nor, bringing her friends along would do any good, it was nice to know that she still had the support of her friends.
"If attacking him doesn't do us any good, we can try talking to him!"
"...Thank you, guys. Uh hum, we'll find someway out of this. We always do..."
---26th August 5:55p.m.---
Saten and Uiharu were walking home from A Certain Hospital after staying to hear about Kuroko's condition.
"It's sad that she can't do anything for the next few days."
"Yeah. Her leg really got messed up badly huh."
"Mmhmm."
They were taking the scenic route home because they wanted to chat for a while more.
"I don't know what we should do to help Misaka-san get her memories back."
"Yeah...If Shirai-san couldn't fight him, how can we as low level espers fight?"
"I wish I had a power that can help others..."
"Saten-san, we talked about this already..."
"Haha, I know I know. I'm just saying, you know? If I had a power..."
As they were walking down a clear pathway, they were looking at each other as they talked, and Saten saw a little girl sitting down by herself in the park behind Uiharu.
"Hm? Hey Uiharu, is that someone there?"
Uiharu immediately turned around and saw her as well.
"Oh yeah, there is. Lets see if she needs any help."
The both of them approached her and as they closed up on her, she was a small girl who was probably 9-10 years old. Her hair was golden with clear violet eyes, she was wearing a black and white dress that made her look like a goth.
When the two of them finally came face to face with that small girl, they could see her sucking a lollipop. She also had a heart shaped purse strung around her small body.
Being the extrovert that Saten was, she immediately initiated a conversation with the girl.
"Hi there! My name is Ruiko. What's yours? Can you tell me your name?"
The girl politely took out the lollipop in her mouth to answer her.
"Febri."
"Febri-chan, is it? Well then Febri-chan, what are you doing out here late at night? Are your parents around?"
She shook her head.
"Huh? So...are you lost?"
She shook her head.
"Um...then what are you doing here?"
And only one word came out.
"Ac...cele...rator?"
"Acce...what now?"
Saten looked at Uiharu for help, but she shrugged her shoulders.
"What does she need a particle accelerator for anyway?"
"U-Umm...I don't know why you need that. Is it something you learnt at school?"
"I don't attend school."
"Huh?"
Saten and Uiharu looked at each other with a confused expression.
"So you don't attend school, you don't have any parents and you want a particle accelerator?"
Febri tilted her head to the side as she stuck the lollipop back into her mouth.
"Uiharu..."
"Uh...I'll contact Konori-senpai to see what see can do."
Uiharu pulled out her cellphone and called Konori Mii. Not even 5 seconds later, she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Konori-senpai, can you help me find any information on a missing child called Febri?"
Uiharu placed her on speaker so the three of them could discuss the matter together.
"Febri...May I know her family name?"
"I don't think she has one."
"What do you mean?"
"She doesn't have any parents, and she doesn't know whether she's lost or not."
"You must be kidding me, right?"
"We're not."
"Hmm...okay. Give me a while. I'll try my best to find anything on her."
"Thank you, Konori-senpai."
Uiharu expected her to take a few minutes, but Konori came back within 1 minute.
"Hmm...as I thought. There isn't any information about her filed under lost children or missing persons."
"None at all?"
"At this hour, I can't reach anyone over at Anti-Skill."
"Huh..."
"Well then, I can take her in for tonight." Saten cuts in.
"Huh? Are you fine with that?" Konori asks.
"Yeah, I have a little brother, so I'm used to taking care of little kids."
"Well, I guess if you don't mind. Please take care of her for now."
"Just leave it to me!"
---26th August 6:25p.m.---
Saten was back at her place and after she changed into her home clothes, she placed Febri down on her own bed.
Her place wasn't as budget as one would think for someone attending a public school. Her place had one room with a bathroom right next to the entrance and that one room was well furnished with a desk for studying with plenty of lighting. She even has a bunker bed for someone living alone and her kitchen was just a few meters in front of her bed.
When Febri was placed down onto her bed, she looked up at Saten and requested for only one thing.
"Lolly."
"Lolly? Oh! You mean this?"
Saten went into her heart shaped purse to find a bunch of lollipops and unwrapped one of it and passed it to her.
She gleefully placed it into her mouth as she started sucking on it like before.
"Hm...what else am I missing?"
"Hey, are you hungry?"
Without her even answering, a growl suddenly filled the entire room and Saten simply laughed it off.
She moved Febri down to the floor where her small table for eating was before donning an apron and preparing a small meal for her guest.
She took out frozen meatballs stored in her fridge, soba noodles, a bit of rice from a rice bag, cucumber and a bit of salad. Basically anything she could find in the fridge, she used it. There was no form of chemistry in the different ingredients used.
--26th August 7:01p.m.--
Once everything was prepared, she coated the bit of cucumbers and meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce while the rice had a little green peas.
Soba noodles and salad by the side.
Febri looked confused as the plate was served in front of her. It was like she was eating something for the first time and didn't know what she was looking at. Either that or the ingredients were so weird that it strayed away from what she would usually have.
"Looks good, doesn't it?"
Saten used her fork to poke one of the two meatballs on her plate and told her to say...
"Here you go, say ahh..."
"Ahh...Umph!"
Febri opened her mouth and Saten slowly placed it inside her mouth.
She bit down on the fork and pulled the meat out from it before taking big bites off of it.
After chewing down a bit, her face immediately lighted up. She picked up her own fork and started chomping down on the different things on the plate.
"Delicious, isn't it?"
"Mmhmm!!"
"H-Hey, slow down or you might choke..."
After eating, the next thing they did was bathe together, and Febri was very timid as Saten prepared to spray her with the shower head.
She was like a cat in the shower as she shrieked after every droplet hit her.
And then after they showered finish, Saten had Febri wear a new set of clothes instead of her gothic outfits because she realized Febri's clothes had a pungent smell to them so she decided to bring them in for washing.
Saten sat Febri up on the bed, as she thought about what kind of games they could play to kill off the rest of the night. However...
"Ahhhhh~"
Febri mouth opened as she yawned.
"Haha, I guess it's that time of the night huh. Well kids need a lot of sleep, so make sure you get plenty!"
Febri simply rubbed her eyes as Saten tucked her into bed. But before that, Febri requested for her lollipop again.
"You really like these lollipops huh."
"Mm! Shinobu told me to eat these at all times!"
"Shi...nobu? Who is that?"
"Shinobu is a really amazing person!"
Febri said it with such enthusiasm that her face brightened up much more than before.
"Wow you really like her huh."
"Mmm!!"
"Then where is she now?"
"Hmm...I don't know. She just told me to find Ac...ce...le...rator?"
"Is it a person?"
"I don't know..."
Saten pressed her index finger to her chin as she thought about her answer. It was a strange name.
A pseudonym? A nickname?
"(What a weird name...) A-Anyway, I think you should go to sleep now, Febri-chan!"
"Mmm..."
Her eyelids slowly covered her eyeballs as her head went deeper into the depths of the pillows, all while her lollipop was in her mouth.
"Hmm? Who goes to sleep eating a lollipop?"
Saten grabbed the lollipop in Febri's mouth and held it up in front of her face.
All of that just for a small taste.
She licked it once, and immediately cringed as the taste of bitterness and sourness flooded her entire mouth.
"Ghk?! How can she eat this?! This is intense!!"
Saten quickly shuddered the taste and feeling of the sweet away before tossing it into the bin.
"In the first place, no one should have a sweet in their mouth while they're sleeping..."
Saten then laid down beside Febri before falling asleep beside her.
---27th August 10:28a.m.---
"Hmmm..."
Saten woke up feeling refreshed, but that was not the only thing that she was waking up with. She had Febri beside her last night. And she was supposed to be sleeping soundly. But...
"Haa...haa...haaa..."
Febri was panting very loudly, and it sounded like she had difficulties breathing. Saten immediately sat up from her bed and sat Febri up.
"Febri-chan?! Febri-chan?! Oh no..."
Febri did not reply her in anyway, instead she continued panting for air.
Saten wasted no more time and quickly went to her cellphone where she quickly dialed for the ambulance.
After she called for the ambulance, she continued tending to Febri whose fever did not stop.
"Oh no..."
She quickly went into her freezer and took out an ice pack and quickly placed it on her forehead.
---27th August 12:12p.m.---
"Hmm...I see, so that's what happened."
Right now, Saten was with Uiharu and Kuroko as her and Uiharu sat at Kuroko's bed side.
They were sitting there waiting for the doctor to report back about Febri's condition.
"Damn it! We're being held up by so many things. I don't know what to do!! We have to get Onee-sama back to normal while trying to find where Febri came from!"
Kuroko scratched her head in agony, not at the fact that there were so many things for her to do, but by the fact that she can't do anything because of her tibia fracture.
"Uiharu, do a search of Febri's background again."
"Okay..."
As Saten looked at the both of them, she wondered if she could do anything to lift the weight of their burdens.
"U-Um Shirai-san, do you need my help with anything? Maybe I can help you guys search for that-"
Before she could finish, Kuroko cut her off.
"No. Don't even try it, Saten-san. That boy, he is a menace to everyone. If I, a level 4 can't lay a single finger on him, what do you think you can do?"
"..."
Suddenly, Uiharu joined the fray.
"Shirai-san, that's not a nice thing to say!"
"I'm just being realistic here. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt."
"But you didn't have to say that! Shirai-san, isn't your friendship more important than a stranger?!"
"..."
Kuroko could not say anything, there was no point in saying much.
"I-It's okay, Uiharu, you don't have to shout here. And Shirai-san...I understand. I'll stay out of Judgement's way. Haha..."
Saten turned her back to Kuroko as she left the ward.
"S-Saten-san, wait!"
Uiharu chased after her, but not before telling Kuroko one last thing.
"Shirai-san, you have to remember, we're all Misaka-san's friend. We all have lost someone dear to us. You're not the only one who's hurt by this."
"..."
The sliding door of her ward slowly closed as she sat there, alone.
---27th August 12:05p.m.---
"Ha? What do you want, Yoshikawa?"
"I just need you to go to A Certain Hospital. There's something I want you to see."
"Are you telling me to seek treatment?"
"No, I just have a friend who happens to be a doctor. Even though he has a frog face, he does his job well. He made a discovery on something that I feel slightly offended by. You might want to check it out."
"Heh, something that ticks you off. Alright, I'll go check it out. It better be worth my time."
"Oh it will. Trust me."
Accelerator wasted no time leaving the house as he jumped from building to building until he reached the hospital which took him absolutely no time at all.
When he reached the entrance, he walked through the door and immediately had everyone's eyes locked onto him.
But it was sort of a natural thing to look at whoever walks through a door so he didn't pay much attention to the people staring at him.
He walked up to the reception and the nurse there greeted him warmly.
"Good afternoon sir, how may I help you today?"
"I have an appointment with the doctor."
"Hm?"
Suddenly, the phone at the front of desk started ringing.
"Um sorry, please give me a moment."
She picked it up and she started nodding her head. Then she made eye contact with Accelerator as she nodded her head.
Once she placed the phone down, she straightened up her back as she smiled at him.
"Sir, please have a seat. The doctor will be here soon."
Accelerator didn't take a seat yet as his throat felt drier than the Sahara desert. He ran out of water to boil at home, and didn't have a proper shower because of Yoshikawa's wake up call.
He went straight for the vending machines that sold soft drinks. But he wasn't there for any sugary drinks. He wanted something bitter yet healthy.
"Black coffee."
He stared at the vending machine as he opened up his wallet. He grabbed the correct amount of coins and slotted it in. Then, he pressed the button.
"It's been so long since I had this. This is gonna be good."
The spring holder that was holding the can back from falling slowly pulled itself down to give way for the can to drop. However, just as it was about to drop, the can just had itself stuck in that position.
"What the?!"
Accelerator used the bottom of his fist to tap the vending machine to try and make it budge so the can would drop. But it didn't seem to do anything.
"You must be kidding me!"
The next thing he knew, he could hear someone clearing his or her throat behind him. When he turned around, he saw the infamous frog faced doctor that Yoshikawa highly praises.
"You're Accelerator, right?"
"Yeah? Did Yoshikawa tell you to find me?"
"Yes. My name is Heaven Canceller. Please follow me."
Accelerator obediently followed him. The doctor was fairly short, but had a squarish size. But he was probably much stronger than Accelerator if Accelerator wasn't using his powers.
"That machine is broken."
"That machine has been working well since this morning and was just recently replaced just a few days ago. There is no way that it can be broken right now."
"Well, it just broke so get a new one."
"*sigh* I think you're just unlucky."
"..."
Accelerator didn't reply him after that, instead he drifted off into another conversation.
"So, what am I supposed to see?"
"Something that you're familiar with."
"What? My parents?"
"Something much more than that."
When the doctor stopped, they arrived at the front of a ward.
"When you enter, I want you to tell me what you see."
"..."
Accelerator slid open the door gently as he strolled in with his hands inside his pockets. The first thing he looked out for was the layout of the ward. It was a normal ward, with the lighting on top and that one short corridor that almost all high class wards have.
The lights were dimmed, and the curtains were drawn, but he could still see two people inside the ward.
A small little girl sitting up on the bed, and a girl who was bound by a wheelchair.
But one of them certainly looked familiar to him.
"You again?!"
That familiar girl was Kuroko.
"Why are you here?!"
"Tch, I can ask you the same."
The both of them stared at each other intensely, however, the urge to kill was surging up inside Kuroko. The problem was presented to her on a plate already. All she has to do is kill.
However, she knew it was pointless to try in her current state. She was wearing the hospital gown, so her equipment wasn't with her.
The doctor came in and immediately noticed how tense the room was.
"Do you guys know each other?"
"NO!" The both of them simultaneously replied.
"Hm...Okay. Accelerator, the girl in front of you is Kuroko Shirai. And Shirai-san, this boy here is Accelerator."
"Why are you introducing her to me?"
"Shirai-san here is working with Judgement, and right now, her friends are in charge of taking care of this small girl called Febri."
The doctor nodded his head at Febri as her back straightened up like never before."Wait...Ac...cele...rator?"
Kuroko slowly pieced the puzzles in her mind and the truth slowly dawned upon her.
"You're her brother!?"
"..."
The whole room went quiet as they stared at her with judgmental looks in their eyes. It was as if she was a person with disabilities in a mental hospital.
When Accelerator glanced at Febri, he could not recognize her at all. Her hair, her face. It was all unrecognizable.
"I don't know who this girl is."
But just as he was about to leave, the girl in a wheelchair teleported right in front of him.
"Stop right there!"
"Are you going to get in my way again?"
"No. Now that I know how powerful you are, I won't stand in your way. However, turn my Onee-sama back to normal!"
"Huh? Who's that?"
"Misaka Mikoto!"
Kuroko gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists in anger. He doesn't even know the people he's harmed.
"...Ohhhh! You mean that 3rd string! She was a thorn in my back so I just erased her memories."
"Damn you! Give her back her memories!"
Kuroko was about to stand up and grab him by his collar, but she could not muster up the strength in her legs to do so.
Before the situation could get any more heated, the doctor stepped in to calm them down.
"Can the both of you quieten down? My patient doesn't seem to be feeling well."
When the two of them looked at Febri at the same time, she was pulling her blanket up to her nose as she sat up.
"I have nothing to do with her."
"Even if SHE wants you to do something about it?"
"Tch, I'll speak to her about it."
Kuroko looked at the doctor and Accelerator, wondering about the 'she' they were talking about.
Accelerator saw himself out of the ward as the doctor pushed Kuroko back to her own ward.
He took out his cellphone to make a small phone call. It wasn't long before the person on the other side picked up.
"Hello."
"Oi Yoshikawa, what the hell do you want me to do with that girl?"
"Ah, so you've already acquainted yourself with her."
"Who is she?"
"Before I can answer you, may I know what you saw in there?"
"Ha? What kind of question is that?"
"Just answer it."
"...A girl. What about it?"
"That's all?"
"Yes."
A small chuckle could be heard through the phone and that annoyed Accelerator a bit. It was like a small running joke that he could not understand.
"Well, she is a girl, but she is also not a human at the same time."
"...Huh?"
"She's an artificially created human. Just like the clones."
"Heh, so she can be created with just a single button as well? Why should I care?"
"Thought you might say that. But can you just help me do one thing?"
She did not give him a chance to reject her as she quickly said her request.
"I want you to destroy their little project."
"Ha? What's wrong with their little project? It's no different from what you guys are doing now."
"Well, that may be true...But theirs is a bit overambitious and flawed."
"What do you mean?"
"Project Chemicaloid. That little project of theirs, aims to create espers using chemicals of different kinds. Basically, it was meant to ensure that no one has to undergo the Power Curriculum Program anymore."
"Huh. So what's the problem with that?"
Yoshikawa sounded fed up as she took in a deep breath to calm herself through the phone.
"The problem with that, is that their creations are all flawed. If Academy City does succumb to their wishes, it will all shatter to the floor."
"And why is that so? That girl seems to be alright."
"That's what you would think too, right? Unfortunately, I've analyzed the proteins in her body and found out that many of them don't occur naturally. She doesn't seem to be aware that she's not the same as everyone else, though."
"..."
"She may look normal, and she does function the same way as us, but there's one problem. As part of her metabolic processes, her cells secrete a poison, and if left unattended, will accumulate in her body, disrupt her organ functions, and kill her."
"Of course, you don't have to save her. All you have to do is just destroy the group that started it all."
"..."
Yoshikawa gave him a moment to think about his answer. There was no reason for him to step in and save someone's life. Nor did he have to do her bidding.
"I don't really care about the girl nor the group behind this. But since I haven't thanked you for all the times you've helped me before, I guess I'll do this one favor for you."
"Huh? I've helped you before?"
"Tch, just tell me the location of the group before I change my mind."
"Oh, the thing is, the information I provided you was from years ago. Everyone thought it was pointless, that's why they didn't get much traction."
"Then how do you expect me to solve this without knowing where they are?!"
Accelerator raised his voice as the grip on his cellphone tightened.
"Calm down, Accelerator. You can still find out where they are."
"...And how so?"
"You have a mouth."
"You can't be serious?"
"Come on, it's just a kid!"
Yoshikawa sounded exasperated through the phone.
"Just talk to her! Ask her where they are!"
"Tch, fine. I'll get this over with as quickly as possible."
Before Accelerator took the phone off his ear and hung up, Yoshikawa gave him one last piece of information.
"Make sure you get it done within the next 3 days. Because if you don't, she might not live to see the next day."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"The lollipops that she is sucking on contains a compound that neutralizes the poison in her body. So the moment she isn't sucking on the lollipop, the poison will start to accumulate in her body. So the clock is ticking, Accelerator."
Yoshikawa then ended the call.
"Tch, damnit. Why the hell am I the one doing this..."
When Accelerator went back into the ward, he saw Febri just sitting there quietly looking at her bedsheets. However, when Accelerator entered her view, she immediately cowered behind her blanket again.
"Oi brat, answer a few of my questions. Where the hell did you come from?"
Instead of answering, Febri shuddered under the comforts of her blanket. She was scared of him for some reason. Maybe it was because of his demeanor and his way of speech that scared her, but whatever the case was, he wasn't getting anything out of her.
"Tch, do you have a mouth?!"
When the door to the ward opened, the doctor walked in to lecture him immediately.
"You can't speak to her like that, you know? You're never going to get anything out of her like that."
"You got any better plan?"
When the doctor showed himself after walking through the short hallway, Febri immediately ran behind him and he rubbed the back of her head to comfort her.
"You have to be kind to children. Treat them with respect and kindness, and they will surely respond back."
"Since you're so proficient when it comes to speaking to children, how about you do it for me?"
"Unfortunately, I have other patients to look after, so I can't help you with this. And also, Yoshikawa told me not to intervene, and she IS a good friend of mine."
"Tch, not even with asking a single question?"
Heaven Canceller shook his head in response.
"But I can give you a small head start."
Then he knelt down on one knee beside Febri and told her one simple thing.
"Accelerator here is a good person. So you can trust him, okay?"
However, that still wasn't enough to convince her as she continued hiding behind him.
"Well, that was the best I could do to help you."
"Well, that sure was helpful."
"Hey, I'm a doctor, not a therapist, and she's free to go now."
Heaven Canceller forced Febri to let her hand go of his coat as he left the ward, leaving the both of them alone together.
The moment they were left alone, Febri immediately tried to go back to her bed, but Accelerator quickly pulled her arm back, forcing her to follow him.
"This place is not your house, you can't stay here forever."
He looked around her bed to see what belongings she brought along with her to the hospital, and all he saw was a heart-shaped purse filled with lollipops.
"(That must be it.)"
He walked over to the table at the side of her bed to take the purse, but before he could, Febri rushed in front of him to take it off the table before he does.
"This is mine!!"
"..."
Accelerator stared at her in disbelief, forgetting the fact that she was actually just a manmade product.
"Right, right."
He continued pulling her out of the room as she hesitantly followed him.
"I want Ruiko!!"
"Ha? Who the hell's that?"
Instead of answering him, she just pouted. Upon seeing her pout, Accelerator's veins felt like they were going to burst.
"(This brat is way too insistent on ignoring me...Damnit Yoshikawa...!!)"
---------------------------------
"Aritomi, it seems like we've lost Febri. We'll have to proceed on with the plan without her."
"What do you mean, Sekimura?"
The person named Sekimura was currently sitting at the back of a van. He had a scientist coat over a blue uniform from a non-prestigious school. He has a heavy built with a black, bowl haircut and he was staring into a few monitors at the back of the van.
"If we're going to retrieve her, we'll have to face the strongest esper in Academy City."
"What?! How is she in HIS hands?!"
"I don't know. But all I know, is that it's currently impossible to take her away from him."
"Rrghh...Whatever. As long as Janie is fine, then we don't need her."
"Yeah."
"Alright, come back to HQ. We're close to the final phase anyway."
"Understood. Kosako, step on it! We're going back."
The person handling the wheel also had rectangular spectacles on as his fringe laid on top of it. His brown hair was neat as the left side was combed properly and the same goes for the right side. He wore the same set of clothing as Sekimura but he was just as thin as Accelerator himself.
"I see. So the main show begins soon."
---27th August 3:39p.m.---
Accelerator was sitting on his sofa watching the television, while Febri sat a few meters away which was on his bed.
She would occasionally turn her head to glance at Accelerator for no apparent reason, while he would do the same when she wasn't looking.
It was a very awkward situation for him to say the least.
Until...
"Oi!! Where do you think you're going?!"
"Ruiko! I want to find Ruiko!"
Febri tried to run from his bed all the way to his door, but because of her small physique, she could not even make it past a meter before being pulled back.
"Well, you're stuck here with me now, and I'm stuck with you unless you tell me where the hell you came from!!"
"Ruiko! I want Ruiko!!"
"Who the hell is that!?"
"I want to eat meatballs!!"
"..."
Accelerator gave her a look of disbelief as she continued squirming around with the lollipop in her mouth.
"Seriously?"
"Ruiko! Meatballs!!"
"Tch, fine! Fine! Let's go!"
Accelerator went in front of her as he continued holding her hand.
"(I knew brats were supposed to be annoying, but I didn't think it would be to THIS extent...)"
As Accelerator continued walking to a family restaurant, he crossed a lot of zebra crossings without waiting for the green man. He is not a lawbreaker, but he just wanted to get the situation with Febri done and over with already.
"(My job is not a babysitter for fucks sake.)"
"AHHHHHHH!!"
There was a scream right behind him as he felt a tug behind his thighs. When his mind was back down to earth, he realized the path in front of him was bright, but he could still see the markings on the road.
He looked to his right and he saw a pair of headlights heading his way at a high speed. A black average looking car, was headed their way, and Febri was hugging his leg tightly.
The driver's wheels screeched on the open asphalt as he tried his hardest to steer past them, but to no avail.
In a flash, the two people in front of him had disappeared as his car slowly came to a halt.
"H-Huh?"
He went out of his car to see if the damage had been done already, but there was absolutely nothing to be seen.
"A g-ghost?!"
He looked around like a mad man as Anti-Skill vehicles slowly approached him.
Little did he know, the two people were just 50 meters above ground.
"Tch, seriously. How do people like that get their licenses when they're speeding?"
Accelerator had Febri wrapped around his right arm as she curled up into half a ball, biting hard onto the lollipop.
"Oi, open your eyes."
Accelerator took out the lollipop in her mouth as he heard it breaking inside her mouth. He placed her down on one of the buildings for her to relax as he went into her purse to take out another lollipop.
Febri could not sit still though. She stood up and looked at the scenery that Academy City provided.
A tall building that reaches into space, a windowless building, the bustling streets of Academy City, the greenery of Academy City and the people walking around it.
It was simply beautiful to the eye.
"Oi, eat this."
Accelerator presented the lollipop to her in front of her face and she couldn't help but gawk at him.
"What are you looking at?"
She slowly takes the lollipop out of his hand before sucking on it.
"Let's go down."
Accelerator took her hand once more, but before they went down, Accelerator suddenly felt a pull on his arm. He clicked his tongue as he turned back, and he saw Febri shaking her head.
With her other hand, she pointed to the different buildings that Accelerator could jump on as indicated from her pointing her finger up and down.
"Seriously?"
She nodded her head in response.
"Guess I don't really have a choice huh."
He wrapped her around his right arm again and he took off. Building after building, the hot wind breezed past their faces and hair as Febri giggled beside his ear.
He couldn't help but smile occasionally as well.
"(This is...not bad for a change of pace...)"
It was only when he reached his destination that he finally touched the ground floor and let her go. However, it seemed like she wasn't done having fun yet as she raised her arms up, begging him to carry her once more.
"Again, again!"
"*Sigh* Seriously?"
Though he was displeased with her request, he got ready to carry her once more, until her stomach grumbled.
"..."
The both of them looked at each other as Febri tilted her head. It seemed like she didn't know what it meant when her stomach grumbled. But it didn't matter. He was still going to get her something to eat.
It was only right for him to do so.
In front of them was a family restaurant called 'Julian' and Accelerator took her in to eat whatever she wanted.
Fortunately for them, they took the last seat in the whole restaurant and it was a 2 person table at the back of the restaurant.
The waitress came over and handed them the menus and he immediately handed his menu back to her.
"I'll just have black coffee."
"Sorry sir, but our black coffee was sold out in the morning..."
"Then I'll take any kind of coffee you have."
"It's all sold out too."
"What the?!"
"I'm sorry sir, but I could get you a glass of water if you like."
"Tch, fine."
Accelerator laid back down on his chair as he looked at Febri. Her eyes scanned through the first few pages of the menu, until she came across a picture that looked familiar to her.
"Meatball, meatball, meatball!"
She kept pointing her finger to the picture that had a meatball in it, and Accelerator raised his hand for the waitress to order for Febri.
Once her order was taken down, the menu was also taken away.
"I want to fly again!!"
Since the restaurant was packed with people, it was fine for her to raise her voice without attracting too much attention. Even though her clothes and everything stood out from the crowd. It's not everyday that you see a girl in gothic clothes sucking on a lollipop in a family restaurant with a boy who looks neither young nor old.
"You can fly after you tell me where you came from."
"Meatball, meatball!!"
"Stop it with your meatball already!"
Accelerator leaned up from his chair to get his voice across her without shouting too much.
"Just tell me why you were looking for me. That's all I want to know."
To others, a kid looking for them could be a simple reason. Maybe they just needed a request from that kind hearted person, or maybe they just want directions.
But to look for Accelerator was like looking for a death wish. He wasn't a walking hug machine. He was a weapon, a menace to society. With a single touch, he could kill someone if he wishes to. For her to look for him, either meant she had a death wish, or she was just really bored and wanted to stir up trouble for him which coincidentally enough, is what she is doing.
"Hm? Shinobu called you."
"Who is Shinobu."
"Shinobu is a good person!"
"Right...and I don't know who she is."
There was only one thing that Accelerator was thinking of.
Why him?
"Here's your order!"
The waitress came over and placed her food right on the table.
"That's a very adorable sister you have there!"
Without even waiting for his reply, she immediately left.
"(Which part of her looks similar to me?)"
Febri drooled as the smell of the food entered her nostrils. She grabbed the fork in an unconventional way, and stabbed the meatball first before filling her mouth with it.
"Mmm!!"
Accelerator raised one of his eyebrows as he watched her eat while sipping on his plain water.
Bite after bite, she just kept consuming the meatballs until the rice was left. However, instead of eating the rice, she took her spoon and scooped up a bit of rice and placed it in front of Accelerator.
"Say ahhh..."
"Ha?! Gughmpf?!"
He answered out of confusion, but Febri saw it as an opening. She stuffed the spoon in his mouth as she smiled innocently at him.
"Ruiko taught me this!"
Accelerator slowly chewed down on the food as she took a bite out of the spoon as well.
"Th-That's way too much oil in a portion of rice...This is unhealthy..."
Accelerator felt flustered by her actions. Though he knew she meant no harm in doing that, but it was new to him. That was something only families do.
"It's good right?"
"Tch, I guess."
With the power of friendship, the both of them finished the plate and they left with their stomachs satisfied.
"Now then, where is this Shinobu person?"
"Shinobu? I don't know."
"What? So she just threw you out without telling you where to go?"
"Yes. But I can remember where to find Shinobu."
"Ha? Then let's go find her."
"Shinobu told me not to go back. But...I want to go back to find her and my sister..."
"(Sister? Why wasn't I told of this?)"
When Accelerator looked at Febri, it seemed like she was about to cry for no apparent reason.
He felt somewhat hurt by this expression.
But why?
"I...I miss them...!!"
That was when he decided what he was going to do.
He was about to end it all.
---27th August 4:15p.m.---
There were 6 people all around a rectangular table two of them being Kosako and Sekimura while the other four were Aritomi, Sakurai, Kenji, and finally...
Nunotaba Shinobu.
All of them had their lab coats over the same blue buttoned up collared shirt with spectacles. All except Shinobu who actually has professional clothing resembling a proper scientist and is the only one not wearing spectacles.
Though Shinobu looked a bit creepy, and has an average built, she still looked like an average girl, except with her unkempt hair. The rest of her features were close to normal.
Aritomi, the leader of STUDY, had short black hair like any normal high schooler and a lean build matching that of a stick.
Sakurai is the second female in the group, with short brown hair styled into a bowl cut with long fringes covering her eyebrows.
Finally, Kenji who had short, spiky brown hair and a lean built as well.
The 6 of them made up the group STUDY.
"We have everything set up already, haven't we?" Aritomi asked.
"Yes, the equipment is all here, and our plan is already set into motion. Anti-Skill is already in the palm of our hands. Now, no one can stop us." Kosako replied.
"Yes, and it's all thanks to you, Shinobu!"
Aritomi applauded her as the others stared at her in jealousy.
"Because of your research and development of Testament, we managed to create Janie."
He stood behind her as he placed his hands on her shoulder.
"We, as a group, will conquer Academy City. Show those pesky espers that their powers are incomparable to our genius minds!"
He rubbed and massaged her shoulders as he kept praising her.
"I knew buying you wasn't such a bad idea. Of course, we still have to find out who was the person that let Febri run free...but I think we can sort this one out ourselves, can't we? Shiiiinobuuu..."
She shook him off her shoulders as she stood up.
"Definitely. If you will excuse me, I have to go to the toilet."
"...Hmph."
-------------------------
Shinobu went to the bathroom to wash up. The pressure was on.
Everything would end tomorrow.
She had to think of a plan to stop STUDY from continuing on with their plans.
"Think, Shinobu. What can I do..."
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching the bathroom, and a figure walked in. It was definitely someone who was not supposed to be in there.
Aritomi Haruki.
"What are you doing here? This is the ladies."
"I know. But I came for only one thing."
He slowly approached her but she slowly backed up.
"Come on now, don't be shy, Shinobu. Is that any way to treat your master?"
"..."
Shinobu grit her teeth as she slowly and hesitantly drops her arms to the side. Aritomi wasn't cautious when approaching her. He knew she couldn't fight back.
"That's right, good girl. You can't fight back. You're part of OUR property, so we'll get to use you the way we like it. If we feel like beating you senseless, we'll do it and you have no rights to object it."
Aritomi backed her up against a wall as he slowly pulled back her coat.
"Think about it, Shinobu. Your innovative brain, and my intellect. We're going to change this world together. So why not embrace it? I don't see a pair better than us."
Shinobu looked away as he started to unbutton her blue shirt to reveal her black bra.
"You have nowhere to go. Expelled from school, powerless, and a slave to the Dark Side. You should be blessed to even be in this position right now."
Shinobu tried to push him away, but he pressed on.
"I should be punishing you right now for letting Febri escape, but you're lucky that everything is going smoothly."
He caresses her arm with the tips of his fingers as he slowly reached for the back of her bra.
Until...
*Ring* *Ring*
His phone started ringing.
"Tsk, seriously? Which imbecile is ruining this moment right now?"
When he placed the phone beside his ear, he sounded irritated.
"What do you want, Kosako?...Huh? What do you mean we're being attacked?!...And who now?!"
The moment he heard the name of their attacker, his eyes widened in shock.
"WHY IS HE ATTACKING US?! There should be no reason for him to come for us!...Tsk, buy me some time. We'll meet at the control room. For now, send the robots. Surely one person can't deal with multiple Level 5's right?"
He quickly hung up as he looked down on Shinobu.
"It seems like we have a job to do. Dress up and let's go to the control room. ASAP."
-------------------------------------
Accelerator had Febri around his right arm again, and this time, it might be permanent until he gets out of the stadium that he was in.
"Oi, you sure it's here?"
Immediately, a bunch of Academy City's mech came after him from the hallways of the stadium. It was like an endless army as they flooded the stadium almost immediately.
"Tch, I guess I don't need your answer anymore."
Accelerator couldn't see anything due to the sheer number of the robots.
"Guess I'll have to take out the trash this time, huh?"
Accelerator stomped on the ground with his foot, which caused a small earthquake to shake the ground in the stadium. Some of the robots stumbled and fell down right in front of him.
He just smirked as he pulled his right leg back and aimed at the line of robots. With a single motion, he swung his leg down and kicked one of the robots in front of him, and it shot all the robots standing in the way of his Northwest direction. It caused an explosion that pushed more robots in front of him.
"Seriously?! Bringing a bunch of robots in front of me. You think that can stop me?!"
He kicked all the robots in front of him and just within a few seconds, he cleared the field.
"I don't have time to be wasting here! Now get outta my way!"
Suddenly, the big screen lit up, and Aritomi's face appeared.
"Greetings, Accelerator! May I know what business do you have with STUDY?"
Without answering him, Accelerator kicked a robot up to the screen. Unfortunately, the screen wasn't the main source of his taunts.
It was the countless speakers that make up the rest of the stadium.
"That wasn't so friendly. I'll have you know that STUDY is not interfering with your life at all. There's no reason for you to--"
"Tch, just shut up. I'm coming to kill you, so prepare for it."
"Fine. If war is what you want, then how will you fare against my Level 5 robots?"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, four-legged robots started appearing from the bottom of the floor. Needless to say, it was shocking.
Not the power of Level 5's, but the ability to reproduce the powers of a Level 5.
"Impressive, isn't it? There's plenty to go around, so have fun!"
"(Tch...I swear to god, I'm gonna kill that fucker.)"
Just as he was about to start on the first robot, a sudden beam of greenlight came beaming through that robot. And when he squinted his eyes for a better look, he saw ITEM.
That was his cue to start running for those scientists. He chose a random hallway to run into as he wrapped around the stadium to find them.
"Who was that?" Febri asked.
"A useless bunch of mercenaries. Don't even talk to them."
It wasn't long before Accelerator found the place where the climax was about to happen.
"Tsk, well someone came earlier than expected."
"Yo."
When Febri was placed down, she saw Shinobu standing beside Aritomi.
"Shinobu!"
Febri immediately ran towards her, but...
*Click*
From his pocket, Aritomi pulled out a pistol. It was shaking in his hands as he pointed it at Shinobu.
"Don't come any closer, Accelerator. You come any closer, and I'll kill her right here, right now."
However, Accelerator didn't care.
With a single step, he was right in front of them, and he broke the barrel of the gun with his right hand.
"Did you really think that a gun would be faster than the Accelerator?"
"?!"
Before Aritomi could come up with a counter plan, Accelerator tapped him on the stomach, sending him flying away from the console, which was just right behind him.
The rest of his followers watched in disbelief as their plan backfired hardcore. They could not stop the Accelerator, and now, they could not even threaten him.
Febri continued running towards Shinobu and Febri gave her a hug.
"Shinobu, I missed you!"
Shinobu could not find the words to express her happiness because it all happened way too fast. It felt like all her stress and worries were for nothing.
And when she thought back, she did not give Febri any proper instructions on what she should do with Accelerator. She just simply blurted out his name.
Why?
Why did she blurt out his name?
Was it because she trusted him? No, she barely even knew him. If anything, she was the one who started the Level 6 Shift, by allowing the creation of the Misaka clones. He should not be able to recognize her name either.
Yet, here he is, protecting what she lost and cleaning up what she started.
When Accelerator looked at the area below the console, he saw a girl who looked like Febri, stuck inside a tank filled with some unknown liquid.
He had seen this sight before. Except with over 20,000 other similar looking girls.
Aritomi clenched his fists as he slammed the floor.
"GOD DAMNIT!! WHY?! Why the fuck are you here?!"
Shinobu quickly covered Febri's ears so she wouldn't be able to learn those words.
"Why the fuck are you here?! You, the strongest god damn fucking level 5 in Academy City!! You don't even have anything to do with us!! WHY ARE YOU GETTING IN OUR WAY?!"
"..."
"You ruined our god damn lives! Every single esper has doomed us Level 0's to fail! But you...you could have went on your merry way and we would never have touched you...yet, you came to us just to fuck with us?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"
"..."
"You're a god damn monster! You don't deserve to live! WE, STUDY, WERE SUPPOSED TO REMOVE THE POWER CURRICULUM PROGRAM SO THAT EVERYONE CAN BE EQUAL, AND IF ACADEMY CITY WANTS TESTS SUBJECTS, THEY CAN USE THOSE DISPOSABLE ASS FUCKING CHEMICALOIDS. But why?!"
"..."
"Do you really want to be the strongest in Academy City!? Do you really cherish that title so much that it meant fucking up a bunch of Level 0's just to keep your ego?!"
Accelerator walked up to him and lifted him up.
"That's enough out of you."
Accelerator threw him onto the console, and his back hit the edge of the console.
"Kah?!"
"You're lucky she's here right now. If not I would have turned you into a pile of bloody mess."
Accelerator kicked his head back, temporarily knocking him unconscious.
And he looked at Shinobu who got frightened a bit, though her face didn't show it. But her heart soon calmed down the moment Accelerator looked at Janie, and then back to Febri.
"You're Shinobu, right?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Release Janie from that hell hole. My eyes hurts from looking at it."
When those words came out of his mouth, she felt relieved.
"(Now I know why, I said his name...)"
Shinobu knew that something bad happened to Misaka, so she could not rely on her. But she also heard that the Level 6 Shift was temporarily cancelled. And so...
"(I tried my luck to see if he had changed...)"
For the first time since she had been in the Dark Side, she smiled.
"(I'm glad...)"
She took Febri's hand and brought her down to stay with Janie, and then, she slowly went up the stairs.
Although Accelerator had knocked Aritomi out, it seemed like it wasn't enough as he mustered up whatever strength he had left to mash in...
"The Final Resort...!!"
Accelerator had his back turned to Aritomi because he thought his victim was out cold, but when he found him on his feet, he took his collar and lifted him up.
"What the hell did you just do?"
"Fuck you, like hell I'd tell you. You should just die alongside the rest of the espers."
Suddenly, Sekimura started shouting in sheer panic.
"Oh no...We're so doomed...Right now, there's a damn missile being launched straight for Academy City!! 5000 filaments will be released into the atmosphere over Academy City, and cause a fission chain reaction of all AIM diffusion fields in Academy City!"
Sakurai then added on.
"We're all going to die. The missile is currently being launched at an orbit currently being constructed in outer space, 35,000 kilometers away from earth, and is reaching us at 7 kilometers per second. Even you can't reach that far, Accelerator. There's nothing you can do."
"Is that a challenge for me?"
"Huh?"
Shockingly to them, the strongest esper challenged their theory.
"I am the strongest esper in Academy City. And I'll prove that science is not always right. Basically, I'll be crushing every Level 0's dreams."
"Why...Why would you want to do this to us?" Aritomi refuted.
"Because...I am a monster."
---27th August 4:47p.m.---
"Thanks for this, doctor."
"If it means keeping my patients alive, I'd be willing to help you anytime."
Although Accelerator was out of the stadium already, he had contacted Anti-Skill to take them into custody. As STUDY sat in the back of an Anti-Skill van, they looked at the sky to see if Accelerator could do it.
Febri and Shinobu stayed alongside Janie in an ambulance.
Accelerator stood in the open as he crouched down before lifting off into the sky. The launch was so hard that it caused a small crater to form beneath his feet.
Accelerator looked like a rocket from afar as he charged straight for the missile. Immediately, the atmospheric pressure had gotten to him, and he lacked the oxygen to think. However, what he got from Heaven Canceller was an oxygen tank. All he had to focus on now, was adjusting his atmospheric pressure.
Once everything was stabilized, Accelerator waited for the missile to come to him.
He had everything under control.
Except...
Misfortune had something to say about that.
The oxygen tank started leaking as he felt the oxygen slowly depleting from his lungs. He had to act fast. He sucked up a bit more oxygen and held it in his lungs as he used the rest of the oxygen to launch himself closer to the missile. He was about 100 meters away from the missile and he used whatever strength he could muster up, and did the calculations as necessary.
With a single touch from his right fist, the missile was sent back flying to where it came from.
He didn't have the chance to see where it could go as his oxygen was running out. He manipulated the atmospheric pressure in the atmosphere to ensure that gravity doesn't have a grasp on him, and he just let his AIM protect him from the ensuing fall.
