Chapter 3

Accelerator watched with a face of indifference as the woman, whose name he couldn't remember, collapsed quite easily. "If you were going to warn me about anything, you should have warned me about how pathetically weak you are," he scoffed, looking down at Eri, who was clutching his shirt and staring at the woman with amazement. "Brat? You good?" he asked her. She looked up at him with wide eyes, covered in awe, and nodded numbly. Holding her breath, cheeks puffing as if trying not to cry, she nuzzled her head into his chest, taking him by surprise as he tensed. Kids get attached way too easily.

Accelerator huffed, letting out a sigh as he looked at the unconscious woman. He needed to interrogate her but also had to get Eri as far away from here as possible. However, he'd risk losing the woman to some nosy hero or irritating good Samaritan. "Tch! What a pain," he groaned. Before he could decide, the window glass began to shatter, instantly alerting him. He jumped far from the woman as a large, black liquid claw sprouted from under her, dragging her into it as if it were swallowing her, before disappearing into the ground below.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself. He knew quirks were bullshit. Though they lacked power, the sheer rarity and uniqueness of a quirk made them seem almost like magic. However, they did follow physics and other scientific laws, so he could always find a way to deal with them. But whatever the hell happened just now… the vectors were incomprehensible, which, not to brag, was impossible for someone like him. He smirked. Seems there's more to this world than what I originally thought.

"What happened?"

April groaned as she opened her eyes. A ceiling with noticeable cracks came into view above her. "Haah," she groaned as she pushed herself up. The room she was in was dirty and abandoned. She lay on a dirty, unkempt mat that looked like it hadn't been used in years. "What… how did I—" Her eyes widened as memories of her defeat flashed before her.

"You good?"

With a surprised gasp, she looked to her left. She growled, "Why the hell are you here!?" The man, hidden in the shadows, smirked. "Is that how you thank someone for saving your life?" She glared at him. "I had it handled!"

"Really?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Then I guess getting knocked unconscious was part of the plan?" he jeered, making her face turn red in embarrassment. Blood red shadowed by white bangs flashed through her mind. "He's not normal," she let out a shaky breath. "How he fought, how he moved… no hesitation… no mercy!" She looked at the man desperately. "I'll be more prepared next time—"

"Drop it!" His voice was now stern. Her mouth snapped shut as she gritted her teeth in anger. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you go off on your own." He approached her, revealing his gaunt face and messy grey stubble of a beard. Grey eyes looked down at her, a serious look in them. "You know next to nothing about the Quirk society. Your previous targets always had weak or limited quirks, and the information about this civilian's quirk was too little. Way too little."

Her head bowed as anger ate at her. "I was just caught off guard…" she said through gritted teeth, her long blonde hair covering her face. "It won't happen again… please don't take me off the mission!"

The man looked at her for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Fine." Her head perked up at him. He gave her a serious look. "But I don't want you making this personal, got it?"

"I'll handle the boy. You grab the kid. Got it?" April looked like she wanted to argue but gritted her teeth even tighter. "…Fine."

"Good! Don't forget why we're even here. The council needs the new walking grimoire apprehended at all costs." His eyes darkened. "For the greater good of the world, that child cannot be allowed to walk free."

"All right, kid… spill it!"

Eri looked at him in shock, then at the cup of apple juice in her hand, and back at him with uncertainty and confusion. She began to tilt the cup. "Not the—fuck! I meant you!" he gaped, grabbing the cup from her hand before she could spill it all over the couch. "What happened to you?" he asked her again. "What are you running from?"

She looked at him with furrowed brows, fear mixed with shame. "Was it the woman?"

Eri fidgeted with the cup, holding it with both hands. "If you can't tell me, then…" His eyes closed for a moment before he opened them and stared at her with a firm gaze. He hoped it wasn't as harsh as his usual glares. "I'll have to take you to the police station after all." Not really, he thought to himself. There's no guarantee she'd be kept safe, and...

Accelerator looked at Eri—small, malnourished, yet with innocent wide eyes that stared at him like he was something amazing… something… good.

Just as he was about to retract his sentence, Eri spoke, "I killed… my daddy."

Accelerator's breath hitched. Eri's head was down, afraid to see the face of the man who'd saved her, not once but twice. "My… curse… it came out, and he… disappeared," she whispered, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Mommy… said I was… cursed… I was bad… and then she…" Her body trembled harder with each word as she struggled to speak. "…she gave me away and I… I… I'm sorry!" She sobbed quietly, tears pouring down her cheeks as her tiny body shook.

Accelerator watched her, a strange feeling coming over him. "Don't be stupid," he muttered, loud enough for Eri to hear, making her flinch at his words. But she felt no negativity from them. "I know bad, and there's no way you're bad. There's no way you're cursed either, got it, brat?" he said in a rough voice. His bangs shadowed his eyes, so Eri couldn't see his expression, but she could feel the warmth in his tone, which made her heart feel lighter.

"Go to sleep, brat," he said as he got to his feet. Eri turned to him frantically. "You won't send me away?" she asked, her hopeful, desperate tone betraying the courage she felt to ask him that.

Accelerator paused in his step. "Not yet," he said before walking away. Eri's tense figure relaxed as she watched Accelerator's form disappear behind the door.

Accelerator lazily crossed one leg over the other as he watched Eri from the rooftop he'd perched himself on top of. 'It's more than likely the weirdo bitch and her friends might attack the kid again,' he solemnly thought to himself. 'They'd be more likely to attack if they think I'm not there.' He watched as Eri cuddled against the covers, her tiny face practically smothered in them, with a red nose and puffy eyes—an obvious sign that she'd been crying even after Accelerator had left. He groaned to himself, "What the hell am I even doing?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well."

His eyes widened as he jumped just in time, a large black wave shooting in his direction from behind him. An elderly man, around his thirties, appeared before Accelerator. He had gray hair, a grey, badly shaven beard, and grey eyes. His sharp-cut face was impassive, looking at Accelerator like he was something insignificant, but with a hint of interest in his eyes. "So… you're the boy who bested Velvet?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Accelerator raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

The man smirked. "I think she went by the code name April or something." Accelerator still looked at him questioningly. "Can't remember the name… but if you're talking about the dumb bitch who couldn't even act like those empty-headed hero wannabes… then yeah," Accelerator said with a haughty look on his face. "And you are?"

The man smiled at him. "Asphalt." He took a halfhearted bow. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance… Now," reaching into his pockets and pulling out a pair of shades, he lifted his head up at Accelerator, placing the glasses on his face. He smiled as a sharp look glinted in his eyes. "…Die…"

Before Accelerator knew it, he was sinking. The roof beneath his feet had turned into some sort of black, sticky liquid. Accelerator grunted as he tried to lift one of his legs but failed, only making himself sink even faster. "What the fuck is this shit?" he growled.

"Impressive, isn't it? My black ink will devour and destroy anything I choose. It's as effective as a black hole," the man said casually, brushing a speck of dirt off his coat.

Accelerator glared at him. He couldn't make sense of the vectors around or in it, which didn't make any sense. 'It's the same as that woman's, vectors I've never seen before… What the hell is this shit?' he thought. It was near impossible for him to control whatever it was directly, so instead, he used wind vectors.

From a breeze to a gust to a full-on mini tornado, Accelerator tried ripping himself free. "I said it's no use," the man spoke over the great gusting winds, "trying to break free through sheer force will just end with you losing your legs." Accelerator's eyes narrowed, but he didn't stop. "I already figured as much."

Asphalt's eyes widened as the part of the roof Accelerator was trapped on was ripped apart from the building. The screams of the inhabitants were ignored as Asphalt watched with wide eyes as the cement and bricks began to break apart, causing the black-like ink puddle to separate, freeing Accelerator successfully. The man's shocked expression changed into one of curiosity and awe. "Now, that's not something you see every day," he said with a smirk.

"I focused all of Black Ink into preventing him from escaping, so Black Ink's tension and strength was focused on keeping itself together vertically… I didn't take into account him literally breaking it apart horizontally," Asphalt explained. He smirked. "I'm starting to understand why Velvet got her ass handed to her by you," he grunted.

Accelerator now freed, landed behind the man, a few feet away. The ripped-out roof had been crushed by the compressed wind pressure of the tiny, controlled tornado, leaving nothing but dust and specks of dirt behind. Accelerator turned around swiftly. "Now what?" he asked, arrogance dripping from his voice. "Any more tricks up your sleeve before I beat the ever-loving fuck into you…" He waved one hand in Asphalt's direction lazily. "And that's after you start talking…" A mad glint flashed through his eyes. "Unless you want me to kill you and just be done with it."

Asphalt looked at Accelerator with a calm smile.

"Velvet was right, you are arrogant," he muttered to himself, "but… maybe some of that arrogance was well earned." Accelerator's grin simply widened at the man's statement. Asphalt moved fast. Black Ink moved with him, encircling Accelerator and simultaneously attacking from all sides, forcing him to jump out of its way. 'That black goop's a problem,' he thought to himself as he dodged one attack after another, doing his best to maintain his distance while keeping an eye on the room where Eri was currently soundly sleeping, completely oblivious to the battle going on just three buildings away. 'I can't block it with my vector shield since I can't understand its vectors.'

Like tendrils, the Black Ink shot at him, edges spiked, easily ripping and slashing deep into the concrete building. Accelerator's eyes narrowed, from the Black Ink to Asphalt, who was leisurely smirking, watching Accelerator dodge and duck. But by the sweat dripping down his face and the nervously furrowed brow, he wasn't as laid-back as he was pretending to be. 'Kid's fast. I wasn't expecting much… but his physical prowess doesn't match his appearance at all… It's insane!'

Accelerator smirked. 'So that's it!'

After dodging one more attack, Accelerator manipulated his own vectors, forcing himself to instantly shoot off as fast as a bullet directly at Asphalt. Asphalt, who had yet to witness Accelerator's 'All Might matched speed', as Velvet had so eloquently put it, was taken by surprise. "THE FUCK!?" he exclaimed as Accelerator zoomed past his Black Ink. "Found it!" Accelerator said with a deranged smile, matching the deranged look in his eye. Accelerator's face looked simply demonic, with red eyes glowing in the dark. "Your little trick."

Asphalt smiled nervously as Accelerator's fist met him straight in the face, shattering his glasses. "I noticed it with the blonde bimbo you sent after me," he said as Asphalt was pushed back, kneeling on the ground. He grunted as he looked up at Accelerator's looming face. "The bitch had it on her hand… that symbol. Removing her gloves seemed to have increased her power or something."

The Black Ink had completely disappeared. "And you've got symbols etched on those cringy glasses of yours." Accelerator looked smug while Asphalt looked stunned. "I may not have a full understanding of those weird-ass powers of yours, but once you figure out the flaws, getting over a near-invincible power… becomes a lot easier than you would think."

"…Well? Still think you can beat me?"

Asphalt looked at him with a nervous smile. 'That's way too on point to be just a simple observation.'

'What the hell is with this kid…' Accelerator's form loomed over Asphalt as he stared him down with his menacing red eyes. '…He's not normal…'

Accelerator paused in his steps when he was about a hair's length away from Asphalt's crumbled body. "Now…" he slammed one foot on the wall behind Asphalt, who flinched as sweat dripped down his forehead. "…You gonna start talking, or am I gonna have to get a bit more convincing…" He slightly bent down, still looking down at Asphalt. "And I promise you… it won't be painless."

Asphalt took a breath and closed his eyes as he let out a sigh, looking up at Accelerator with a determined look. He spoke, "My name… is Asphalt, and I'm working under one of the 13 Zodiacs, of the Grand Council… On their orders, I am here to secure the 16th generation Library of the Yamato Grimoires."

"…Grim-what?" Accelerator blinked at him in confusion. 'Although it hurts my pride to do this… this kid was more than what I expected, but… I don't think he's all that bad… I think… I hope…' Asphalt coughed into his hand before continuing, "The girl you have with you, I believe her name is Eri. She is the 16th library of the Yamato family Grimoires." Asphalt looked down at his hands. "The Yamato family were once an integral part of the magical society. They were the keepers of the most ancient and forbidden of texts, from spells to rituals and knowledge that most couldn't even comprehend as possible. They were well-respected, thought of as the elite of the elite, until one day, a terrible incident that changed everything for them."

"One of the grimoires under their protection was stolen… Nobody knew how or who did it, but it put everything in jeopardy: their lives, their honor…" Accelerator raised a brow. "Hold on-"

"-And so, they were disgraced," Asphalt ignored Accelerator's interruption, "-and labeled as incompetent… Having lost a great amount of their dignity and honor, they came up with a plan that would restore it all." Asphalt looked at Accelerator with a serious look in his eye. "They called it… Project Index."

"They used an ancient magic, on one of their youngest, a child, who was confirmed more capable of surviving the process than an adult. A spell that quite literally transferred all the knowledge of 100,000 grimoires into a subconscious part of their mind, completely sealed off and kept safe," Asphalt explained, his expression dark.

"They succeeded in restoring their honor… and in creating the first-ever living library…" Accelerator gave him a look of utter disbelief. "What the fuck are you on? Must be some pretty good shit if it got you this high in such a short amount of time," he said, looking at Asphalt like he was touched in the head.

"I'M NOT HIGH! YOU DAMN PUNK!!" Asphalt roared, a vein in his neck throbbing in anger. Calming down, he let out a sigh. "I know it's hard to believe… but there is more to this world than you could ever imagine, more than you could even comprehend," he gave Accelerator a serious look. "That kid is at the center of it… Even if you defeat me, others, worse than me, will come after her, especially if she's with you." Accelerator's expression remained impassive.

"…Give the girl to me, Accelerator," Asphalt said in a soft tone. "We're the only ones that can protect her."

"The Yamato family were practically wiped out over 4 centuries ago. In their pursuit to reclaim their lost prestige, they neglected to prepare for the oncoming threats against those chosen to become the living library. There was a literal war, in an attempt to capture the Living Library and possess all 100,000 Grimoires," Asphalt explained. Accelerator was quiet as the man continued, listening intently.

"But even after the Yamato family was exterminated, the Living Library was nowhere to be found… It was only recently we discovered a man with ties to the Yamato Family. We were hoping we'd be able to find a lead to the missing Living Library but… when we arrived at his home we only met his wife… We found out that he'd died. She wasn't too specific about the details, but she did mention a child… a child she'd abandoned. After we found Eri, we realized that she wasn't just a member of the Yamato family, but she was the new Living Library…"

Accelerator's head lowered. "You know, I don't really care if all the bullshit you're spouting is true or not…" his white bangs shadowed his face, hiding his expression. "But from what I get… you aren't saying you won't be using the kid for yourself." Asphalt's breath hitched as a guilty expression came on his face, and a bead of sweat slowly dripped down his face. Accelerator continued, "You can put up a façade of self-righteousness all you want… but it doesn't hide the fact that whoever it was that turned the kid into a tool, is somehow connected to you… in a more personal way than you seem to care admitting."

Asphalt growled, "The hell would you-"

"I don't know. And I don't care. I don't particularly care about the kid… but I'll be damned if I let some no-named bastard, and whatever self-righteous club you're a part of take the kid, and do the fuck knows what to her," Accelerator interrupted. Asphalt looked enraged.

"You have no idea what you're even dealing with… Do you know what has happened to the living libraries that were never under the Grand Council's protection? Throughout the years they've had to suffer through abuse, extortion… things so horrible you could never understand!"

Asphalt looked at Accelerator, desperation written all over his face. "I know you care about the girl, even if just for a little bit. Think of what's best for her… Life under the Grand Council's rule may not be perfect nor ideal, but it is still a life… She'll at least be given a chance to experience some of what normal people can do… Can you offer her that!?"

Accelerator didn't say anything.

"Past Libraries have had their lives taken away from them to an inhumane extent… locked up, constantly under surveillance and never given a chance to live… they were simply just… not dying," Asphalt explained. He looked at Accelerator. "Do you get it now… as bad as we may seem to you… there are even worse people out there." Asphalt looked at Accelerator for a minute before he forced himself to stand, grunting as he continued, and Accelerator didn't stop him. "Accelerator… Do the right thing…"

And with that, he disappeared.

Leaving Accelerator in contemplation.

"What happened?" Velvet asked as Asphalt appeared before her. "I was waiting for your signal to move in… but it never came. I was worried."

Asphalt faced his comrade with a smile. "Something did happen. The boy proved to be a lot more of a challenge than expected," he said. Velvet's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way… Are you saying that he beat you?" she asked.

Asphalt winced. "Not… exactly. I'm just saying that the kid was tougher and more experienced than I had imagined…"

"Not to mention… the entire time we were fighting, not once did his attention waver from the kid. If you'd gone after her, he would have moved to incapacitate us both… Permanently."

His serious mood turned joyful. "But it looks like I might have managed to convince him to hand the girl over willingly," he cheered, giving Velvet a thumbs up. "Now we just have to wait."

"How do you know he'll give up the girl?" Velvet asked, her head tilting in confusion.

Asphalt smiled at her. "Because we fought a monster, with the heart of a man… full of struggle and strife."

As Eri woke up, her eyes still a bit puffy from her crying last night, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and blinked as the room came into focus. Accelerator was nowhere to be seen. Eri pulled herself off the bed with a huff, looking around the room. It was fairly large, with enough space only for essentials: a bed, a closet, a sofa, a coffee table, and a kitchen. The room had a window next to the bed and two sliding doors in front of the coffee table and sofa. Eri glanced at the window.

It had a simple locking mechanism, one that she could easily unlock, and the thought of that felt odd. She still couldn't believe she was here… far away from Overhaul, far away from the pain… far away from her prison. Her heart fluttered at the thought of never going back. After last night, Eri was surprised by Accelerator. He had fought to protect her, and he had won. People who often tried protecting her almost always ended up dead… or worse. But not that time. Accelerator was strong, maybe not as strong as Overhaul, but he was strong, and he had made Eri feel something she'd never felt before. She didn't know if there was a word for what it was, but all Eri knew was that she wanted to get closer to him, she wanted to get closer to the person that made her feel so… light.

The door suddenly swung open, causing Eri to gasp in surprise as she turned to face… Accelerator.

Accelerator had spent all night thinking about Asphalt's words. The night air was cold, and he could have arrived at his apartment faster if he'd wanted to, but he was casually walking instead. He needed time to think. 'She's not my problem… I have no obligation to save her,' he thought to himself. 'Besides… it's not like saving people has been my best asset either.' The image of a cheery Last Order flashed in his mind, followed by the horrific deaths of the sister clones and his own inhumane, cold, mocking laughter. 'I don't save… I'm not a hero… I'm a villain at best,' he concluded, looking up at the cloudy night sky above him. 'But I haven't had to play the villain since coming to this world… but that doesn't make me a hero…' Another image flashed through his mind, this time of a spiky-haired boy rushing at him with his right hand outstretched. '… That doesn't make me like him…'

Accelerator paused in his steps, contemplating his thoughts. 'Why the hell am I thinking about this so hard?' He looked down at his shoes. 'The brat'll be better off with someone that… isn't me…' Taking a breath, he closed his eyes. After a minute of contemplation, he opened them slowly. 'Whatever… I don't care anymore…'

Accelerator looked down in surprise as Eri's tiny figure greeted him at the door. She didn't say anything, but her eager eyes were practically shining at the sight of him, which made him feel quite put off. Accelerator's eyes, almost as if they had a mind of their own, zoomed in on Eri's heavily scarred arms and legs. The sight made his stomach curl and twitch. He got angry just looking at them, a great urge to bash someone's head in and watch them die slowly overcame him.

"Accelerator?" Eri looked up at him with a questioning look, her innocent wide eyes gazing up at him, not a hint of fear or discomfort in them. It made him feel something that brought him great discomfort… a feeling he'd felt before, a feeling he wished he'd never have to feel again. Accelerator let out a soft sigh. "Hungry?" he asked, to which Eri replied by vigorously nodding her head. "Burger!" she squeaked in an excited voice before realizing how loud she was (which wasn't loud at all, in Accelerator's opinion) and shyly added, "please," in a meek voice. "… sure…" Accelerator agreed. 'Might as well do this one last thing for her,' he thought to himself as he turned to leave.

Eri's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she giddily followed him out the door.

Accelerator watched as Eri innocently ate her burger with a glowing face… "…You don't smile often, do ya…" he said absentmindedly. Eri looked up at him in confusion, her cheeks puffed up and full, making her look like a squirrel. With one big gulp, she swallowed, then looked at Accelerator in confusion before looking down at her food, her brows furrowed for a minute as if she were deep in thought. Accelerator let out a sigh, "…whatever, it doesn't matter I guess".

Eri stared at him for a minute before continuing to munch on her burger. But her brows were still furrowed, even after their meal she trailed behind Accelerator quietly. 'Shit… did I break the kid or something?', Accelerator thought to himself worriedly. His thoughts fell onto what Asphalt said; "life under the Grand Council's rule may not be perfect nor ideal, but it is still a life… she'll at least be given a chance to experience some of what normal people can do… can you offer her that!!?"

He couldn't.

He knows that. He's barely managing to live a 'normal' life himself.

"Accelerator!"

He pauses in his step and turns to look behind him. Eri had stopped walking and was looking up at him, her hands to her face, pulling her cheeks wide and apart as she gazed up at Accelerator with expectant eyes. "…What the hell are you doing?" he asked bluntly, making Eri flinch and blush in embarrassment. "…um… you wanted shee to shile," she said uncertainly, still keeping her cheeks pulled apart, which made her sound odd. Accelerator's breath hitched… "…Is that how you smile?" he asked, his voice void of any emotion.

Eri looked uncertain, realizing Accelerator's reaction was far from what she had been hoping for, she let go of her cheeks, which were now red from being pulled for so long. "…I'm sorry…" she said meekly, tears beginning to gather in the corner of her eyes, "…I thought you wanted me to smile…". Accelerator looked at her blankly, "I don't want you to do anything. If you want to smile, then smile," he said. "…but… I… can't remember…", she whispered, her voice barely audible. Accelerator leaned in slightly, "Can't remember what?" he asked her. Eri looked at him with furrowed brows.

"…I… can't remember… how to smile… I'm sorry!"

Accelerator could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. While they weren't walking on an especially noisy street, there were a few bystanders making a bit of noise. But at that moment, to Accelerator, everything felt cold, everything felt quiet. He stared down at Eri's tiny figure blankly, but his eyes were gleaming with murderous intent. He looked away from her before she could notice his... 'bad mood'... "… You'll smile, don't worry too much about it…" he said as he began to continue walking, making Eri run after to follow him. "…and, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do".

Eri's eyes widened at him, and a glow came into her eyes. She looked up at Accelerator's large figure in awe. She reached a tiny hand out and grabbed ahold of Accelerator's pant leg (she was far too small in Accelerator's opinion, she barely went past his knee) and did her best to keep up with him. Accelerator, having felt her reach for him, let down his vector shield and said nothing as he felt her hand clutch onto his pant leg.

Accelerator's thoughts once again were drawn to Asphalt… he knew what he was going to do. He knew what he had to do.

Asphalt was leaning against the wall in an alley on the opposite side of where Accelerator and he first fought. It wasn't a busy street, but since it was evening, people were coming out of their homes. After their battle, police and heroes were conducting investigations on the street. Luckily, no one was about to witness their battle, but even if there had been, the Council would have taken care of it.

The last thing needed was for heroes to go poking their noses into things that could jeopardize the world's state of peace.

"You know, it's suspicious to anyone for some old geezer to be lurking about in the shadows," Accelerator said as he walked out of the shadows, approaching Asphalt with a dull look on his face. A vein throbbed on Asphalt's neck. "I am not old, you little shit!" he growled through gritted teeth. Accelerator shrugged. "Whatever."

The two looked at each other, adopting serious expressions. Asphalt asked, "Have you come to a decision?"

Accelerator looked at him blankly, then narrowed his eyes and glanced down. "Kid's ready to be picked up," he said. "She's at the Takoyaki stand."

Asphalt nodded, his tone filled with gratitude and confidence. "You're doing the right thing, Accelerator. Thank you." Accelerator remained silent, not meeting Asphalt's gaze. 

Eri was sitting on the bench Accelerator had left her on. He'd promised he wasn't going far and that he'd be nearby, but she was still nervous being on her own. Though there weren't many people around, it was still unnerving.

"Kid." Eri looked up and saw Accelerator making his way over to her, with a man walking right beside him. The man was old, wearing a long beige coat with his hands stuffed down his pockets. He had a gentle smile on his face, and his beard was messy and badly cut, with a bandage on his nose. Eri got down from the bench with a huff as she ran up to Accelerator. Reaching her arms out, she grabbed onto his pant leg again, pressing herself against it, hiding, and stared shyly up at the man beside Accelerator.

"Hi there! You must be Eri," the man greeted her with a wide smile. Eri was still for a minute before shyly nodding her head, "Mmhm." The man's smile widened even further. "Hello, Eri. My name is Asphalt. It's a pleasure to meet you." He gave her a gentle wave as he bent down slightly. Eri tucked her head into Accelerator's pant leg as she softly whispered out a "hi." The man looked up at Accelerator with a smirk on his face. "I can see why you got attached so quickly. The kid's a little charmer," he said. Eri tilted her head in confusion as she looked up at Accelerator. "Charmer?" Accelerator wasn't looking at her; in fact, it looked like he was trying to avoid looking at her.

Which made her feel strange… it made her feel scared. With furrowed brows, she tightened her grip on Accelerator's pant leg. Looking up at him, she asked, "Can we go back now?" Accelerator still wasn't looking at her. Asphalt got down on his knees, making Eri push herself even closer to Accelerator. "Eri… the thing is… you'll be coming to live with me from now on," Asphalt said gently.

Eri looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed brows. She wanted to say 'no,' she wanted to say so many things, but her throat closed up, and all she could do was shake her head. "Eri… it's a bit difficult to explain, but I'm going to take you to someplace safe," Asphalt continued in a reassuring tone. "Someplace where you can be safe."

Eri shook her head once more. "I am safe!" she whimpered. "I don't wanna go… please!" She looked up at Accelerator, eyes wet with tears, desperately tugging on his pants, trying to get him to look at her. "Accelerator!" she called out in a soft, shaky voice. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, but she didn't know how to do any of that. After years of holding back and restricting herself from acting on her emotions, something children her age still struggle with, all Eri could do was fight against her habituated instinct of accepting everything and anything that would or will happen.

"Accelerator?" her voice was breaking. "You said I could… stay." Tears were pouring down her cheeks. It hadn't been long since she'd met him; she didn't know him very well. But after so long of living under cruelty and pain, the first person to touch her heart, the first person to save her and succeed, Accelerator had become an important person in that short amount of time—a person she wanted to connect with.

"You want to know more about him?" Saki looked at her in surprise before releasing a sharp laugh. "HAH!" She looked at Eri with a smile. "It sounds like you want to be friends with him."

"Friends?" Eri looked up at her curiously. Saki smiled, sitting beside Eri on Accelerator's couch. "Being someone's friend means you want to be someone they can trust, someone they feel happy with… to be someone they love, because you love them," she said. With a gentle expression, she looked at Eri with a smile. "You know what, I'm sure the two of you will be great friends."

"I… I want to be friends!" Eri sobbed, her body trembling as she tightly held onto Accelerator. Her sobs were soft, and she was holding them down on instinct. Accelerator still said nothing… he didn't know what to say. He was just blankly staring away from her, not a shred of emotion on his face.

"Eri…" Asphalt gently grabbed her arms, which were tightly holding onto Accelerator's leg. "It's time to go." Eri pressed her face deeper into his leg as she shook her head, but Asphalt pulled on her gently yet firmly. Eri didn't fight back as she slowly let go of Accelerator's leg. Tears flowed down like a waterfall.

Asphalt lifted Eri into his arms and carried her. She had her head pressed against his shoulder, and she sobbed on him, her tears drenching his coat. Accelerator still wasn't looking.

Asphalt looked at him with a soft look. "I'll make sure she's safe… I promise."

Accelerator, with an indifferent expression on his face, said nothing.