Chapter 8

"Why the fuck is this shit so fucking expensive!" Accelerator growled menacingly as he glared at the hair lotion price tag, as if doing so would magically lower the price. 'Magic does exist, so why the fuck not?' But alas, life's a bitch, so in the end, he reluctantly dropped the bottle into the cart. There was a time in his life when he never bothered to even look at prices, when money flowed into his bank account daily. But now, everywhere he goes, price tags are all he can see.

Eri walked beside Accelerator, her hand clutching onto his pant leg as she toddled by his side. This was her first time shopping with Accelerator alone. Usually, Saki would be with them, but the older woman insisted that Accelerator learn to shop with Eri alone. "Unlike you, I've got a life, damn punk!" she snarled in response to Accelerator's comment about her having no friends. "Besides, she is your responsibility now, and it's just the necessities you need since we've already got her clothes. You'll be fine."

Eri felt bad for being such a burden on Accelerator. Wanting to lighten his load, she decided to stay close to the older boy and be silent. The first thing she learned about Accelerator was that he preferred quiet and silence. He'd made that pretty obvious with the constant murderous faces he made when Saki or anyone around him was being particularly loud.

Stopping at an aisle that displayed a variety of cereals, Accelerator began to poke through them. 'Cereals are quick and easy to make, and kids love them,' he thought to himself as he picked up two different boxes, eyeing the price tags. 'Might as well stock up on a bunch.' He carelessly dropped about five cereal boxes into the cart, not caring about the flavors. Given Eri's limited palette before meeting him, she'd probably think they were all the greatest things humanity has ever created. 'Oh, the irony,' he mused, 'considering humanity's greatest creations more often than not always lead to destruction and conflicts.'

Eri watched as Accelerator dumped the boxes into the cart. Her eyes landed on a box leaning against the cart's metal rail, featuring a picture of a strange animal with a horn on top of its head, it had a white coat of fur and was smiling and giving a thumbs up. Eri couldn't read yet (something Accelerator and Saki promised to teach her), so she didn't understand what was written on the box. She couldn't quite explain it, but for some reason, she found the creature mesmerizing. She wanted to touch it and hold it, even if it was just a character on a cardboard box.

"Alright, think that's everything," Accelerator sighed in relief. Couch, sweet couch, he was on his way home. "Let's go, kid." Eri perked up and grasped his pant leg once again, not realizing she'd let it go while staring at the box. She toddled alongside him as they headed toward the checkout.

Bags in hand, Accelerator walked down the sidewalk at a slow pace. Eri was still clinging to his pant leg, and it didn't seem like she'd be letting go anytime soon. He was deep in thought but careful to stay aware of Eri's presence. Asphalt hadn't contacted him since their last conversation, and while Accelerator hoped for this peace and quiet to last, it was also unnerving.

Eri's feet started to hurt, and her legs began to ache, but she kept silent. After a few minutes of walking, something caught her eye, making her stop in her tracks. Still holding onto Accelerator's pant leg, she unintentionally tugged on it. Accelerator, feeling her resistance and noticing she'd stopped moving, looked down at the little girl with a confused expression. "What?"

Eri was staring at a shop window. Sitting on display were multiple children's toys and her eyes were glued to a Unicorn with white fur, a purple mane, and a tail. Accelerator almost let out a groan; he wanted to get all this shopping bullshit over with quickly. But Eri was a kid, and kids liked toys. Toys were like a package deal when it came to kids—only more money was spent instead of getting any discounts. Letting out a silent huff, he looked at her. "You want it?" he asked the little girl, whose attention was dragged away from the stuffed toy. She looked up at Accelerator with wide, uncertain eyes.

She wanted it. She really, really wanted it. But she felt horrible for wanting it. Eri shifted on her feet nervously. "…uhh…"

Eri had never gotten anything she wanted in her life. She had wanted the tests to stop, the needles to stop piercing her skin, the tiny knife to stop cutting her arms and legs every day… to stop getting 'reset' over and over again. But her wants were never granted, and when she wanted to see the sun, to get away from it all… people would die. Because of her wants, because of her selfishness, others suffered.

Eri took a breath and shook her head. "…mm…mmh." Accelerator stared at her for a minute with blank eyes. "Alright then," he shrugged and started to walk, pulling Eri, who was still holding onto his pant leg, along with him. Eri's eyes looked back at the shop, giving the stuffed cat a short glance before looking ahead.

"Are you sure about this?" Asphalt asked. The man in front of him nodded. "The report came in just last night," the man answered. "Jason Olas was spotted entering Japan. We don't know why he's returned, but—"

"—it's no doubt nothing good," Asphalt's eyes narrowed. "I'll look into it."

"And Agent Velvet—"

"—will return to America immediately!" Asphalt interrupted, giving the man a meaningful look. "Jason Olas is a dangerous man. I won't have her in any danger unless absolutely necessary."

The man let out a brief chuckle. "She won't like that."

Asphalt smirked. "No, she won't. I expect I'll be getting an earful." His face turned serious. "But even so, I won't put her in any danger if I can help it. I'd expect you of all people to understand, sir."

The man let out a huff. "Then will you be conducting this investigation alone?" he asked, gesturing at Asphalt. "It's as you said, Jason Olas is a dangerous man, even if it's you."

Asphalt looked at the man blankly before giving him a brief smile. "You have so little faith in me, ha-ha!" The man just stared at him. "Don't worry, I won't be going in alone. In fact," he pulled out his phone, fiddling with it for a minute before smirking confidently, "I might know someone just as dangerous as that bastard." The name 'Smug Brat' glared brightly on the phone screen. "Or maybe… even more."

Aizawa was seated at his desk, shuffling through papers, his head feeling like it was about to split in half. 'It's been three days since the investigation of Hamazura's disappearance began, and so far, we've gone nowhere,' he thought grimly, remembering the talk he had with Tsukauchi.

"We don't have much evidence that something big is going on yet, so we aren't able to get as many heroes on this as possible, but with those who have willingly volunteered their time on this case, I am grateful," Tsukauchi had said. Aizawa glanced to his side and saw a few of the less popular pros in the room, around eight, including himself and Fat Gum.

"We were able to acquire the assistance of the heroes of America to share this information with you," Tsukauchi continued, passing around a thin file to the heroes present. Aizawa opened the file and skimmed through its contents thoroughly and quickly.

"Twenty-six-year-old Juliette Handell, one of the two suspects important for the case, was born and raised in the States. She worked in a chapel until she turned eighteen and then disappeared."

"There have been brief sightings of her around the state, but not enough to require heroes to intervene." She was younger than Aizawa had expected. "What about the second suspect?" he asked.

"He looked Japanese, but in an age of quirks, using looks to identify ethnicity is next to impossible, so we had the entire department run multiple scans for the boy in the States and here, from medical documents to birth certificates, but no luck," Tsukauchi said, looking at Aizawa with a puzzled yet serious expression. "All we managed to find was a brief citizenship ID in Japan and an address, which we checked, but… it led us to the middle of nowhere. Other than that, we've found nothing. In fact, it's almost as if he doesn't even exist."

Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "I suggest we post officers and heroes more around Shibuya. There's a likely chance he lives there."

Tsukauchi nodded. "That was the first thing I did after reading your report. Also…" he faced all the heroes in the room, "there is a chance that a third party may be involved in this incident. We have no details about their age or origin, and assuming by their name, this person is most likely female. Keep an ear out for the name Eri."

Aizawa leaned his head against his hand. "…Eri," he muttered to himself. While Eri was not exactly a common name, it wasn't all that uncommon either. Closing his eyes for a minute to alleviate his aching head, he let out a tired sigh. "Damn problem child," he grumbled. He could only pray that his next batch of students wouldn't be as troublesome as the suicidal brat he was currently searching for.

His irritation seemed to double as every second passed by. Accelerator stood in front of the store, glaring daggers at the entrance door, trying to will his feet to move forward. The constant laughter of children and women coming from inside the store grated on his ears. With a groan and a twitch of his brow, he wondered whether he should have just asked Saki, but the risk of her teasing might have forced him to 'accidentally' kill her.

'Brrrrng…' 'Brrrrng…'

With a sigh, Accelerator pulled out his phone.

His annoyance reached a new level when he recognized the number calling him. 'Fuck this bastard,' he thought, clicking his tongue in irritation. Pressing the answer button and placing the phone to his ear, he growled, "What now!?"

"Again with the shit greeting, punk?" a cheeky voice chirped, horrifically eerie for a man with such a rough voice. "I'd have thought we've become tight friends by now—"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

"…fine." Accelerator's brow twitched even harder at the faux pouty tone used.

"What do you want, Asphalt?" Accelerator asked, his tone brimming with exhaustion. "I'm pretty sure you didn't call just to check up on the kid. If so, I'm hanging up."

"I've got a mission for you."

Accelerator was silent before he let out a huff. "The takoyaki stand near the train station, close to the hospital, at 12," he said. "I won't wait if you're late." Asphalt's breath could be heard through the speaker as he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Demanding brat, I'll be earlier than you, I'd expect." The brief click on the other side of the call indicated that he'd hung up, but Accelerator's thoughts were preoccupying him a bit too much to care.

Their agreement was beneficial for him and for Eri. Accelerator would learn more about this world and what made it so different from his own (if there were any… obstacles he'd have to worry about), while simultaneously learning more about Eri's… unique disposition in this world.

After an hour of pacifying Saki and Eri, Accelerator was finally able to meet with Asphalt… fifteen minutes late.

That explained the smug, cheeky grin on the older man's face as he laid his head on his hands, elbows propped on the table. "Shut it," Accelerator snapped at the man, only making him chuckle.

"Kids ain't no walk in the park, now are they, brat?" Asphalt preached knowingly, making Accelerator's brow twitch in annoyance.

With a roll of his eyes, Asphalt's smile turned gentle. "I'm just messing with you," he said with closed eyes before opening them and giving Accelerator a hard stare. "Now… let's get to it, shall we?"

"So, what's the 'mission' that's supposedly been assigned to me?" Accelerator bluntly asked with a bored expression, making Asphalt comically fall out of his chair. "TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, TWERP!!" Asphalt roared as he pushed himself upright. "Yeah, yeah, sure," Accelerator said in a nonchalant tone as he briefly closed his eyes calmly. "Let's just get to the point of it all, shall we?"

Asphalt let out a tired sigh. "Why am I even trying anymore? Kids these days are hopeless."

Briskly coughing into his fist, he clears his throat. "Have you ever heard of a man named Jason Olas?" Asphalt asked in a serious tone, looking Accelerator straight in the eyes. "No, why?" he asked in return, making Asphalt lean forward. "He was once known to the public as a great biochemist, capable of miracles, which is an unknown concept in a world of quirks, where miracles are made every day to the point they became ordinary."

"But the truth was, he was no scientist; he was a sorcerer, a powerful and dangerous one," Accelerator watched Asphalt in silence as he listened intently. "Most of his research, magic-wise, was all about immortality and life preservation. We aren't exactly sure why."

Asphalt picked up a Takoyaki stick delicately, before slowly, gently swishing it around, watching the soy sauce slide down. "I don't know the full details, but apparently he was looking into the arts of a forbidden type of magic," Asphalt continued. Accelerator looked at Asphalt's older, larger figure with a raised brow. "Forbidden?"

"The practice of magic is an art, a craft that is perfected with practice and knowledge," Asphalt explained. "Under normal circumstances, those with quirks are incapable of using magic. The actual reason why is still not very well known, but we're getting off subject."

"Do you know how sorcerers utilize magic?" Asphalt asked, making Accelerator raise a brow in question. "We use something called the 'Idolatry Theory'. Know what that means?" Accelerator brought a can of coffee to his lips before taking a sip and saying, "Something Christian…? Housing a living demon or something," he answered, making Asphalt release a small chuckle. "Well now, I didn't think you knew much about religious history," he teased, causing Accelerator to let out an exasperated sigh. "Do I look religious to you? I just came across it from somewhere," he groaned, but inwardly, he was curious. 'It was something I happened to read somewhere in Academy City,' he thought to himself. 'So, there are similarities in this world and my world, or is it just religion…?' He closed his eyes for a second in contemplation. 'I'll have to do a bit more research in that regard.'

"Anyways, the principle behind the Idolatry Theory, or Idol Theory for short, is more or less imitative magic," Asphalt continued. "A copy of a part or a whole of a certain object grants the copy a limited amount of the original's properties, attributes, and power."

"You remember Hayate? The blood manipulator you fought," he asked. Accelerator did, sort of, remember. "The whiner who hung out with that narcissist doctor?" Asphalt let out a smirk. "Yeah, that's the one. Do you remember him having anything particularly odd, or acting odd with any object?"

Accelerator thought for a moment. He didn't give the guy much thought; he personally didn't care if the guy or his friend were still alive or not. Accelerator's eye narrowed for a moment when the image of the bloodied Hayate flashed in his mind, a hand clutching onto a cross on his shirt. "He had a silver cross on his shirt."

Asphalt smiled. "Yep. When Christ was crucified on the cross, his blood was spilled on it, so Hayate used that concept as his medium."

Accelerator gave him a blank look, portraying disbelief. "How the hell does that even work?"

Asphalt gave a cheeky smile. "Honestly, I figured you would have known something about it since you were quick to respond in our fight," he shrugged his shoulders. "You targeted my glasses." Asphalt pulled out a pair of glasses similar to the pair Accelerator had broken.

"So, your glasses are… mediums?" Accelerator asked curiously.

"Sort of. Fuck, I'm shit at explaining this," Asphalt groaned as he placed the glasses on his face and lightly tapped the markings carved on the frame. "Anyways, the point is that's the basis of magic. I'll explain it in more detail later," he gave Accelerator a serious look. "The more you know about magic, the deeper you'll be dragged into my world, but… that was already a given." Asphalt leaned back in his chair. "The minute you decided to take that girl under your protection, you were bound to get dragged into the magical society."

Asphalt looked to his left, staring outside his seat window with a distant look in his eyes. "To be honest, there aren't many sorcerers left in this world," Accelerator gave him a curious look. "For some unknown reason, those who possess quirks are incapable of using magic. Some even die in attempts to use it."

"Some?"

Asphalt let out a small grin. "There are few who manage to survive, and even fewer who succeed in using magic, but even then… their magic is… odd, to say the least." Asphalt stared at the empty Takoyaki plate in front of him. "Jason Olas was a man who conducted a series of experiments on those with quirks… experiments that involved them utilizing magic… and being left dead or surviving and… let's just say they would have been better off dead."

"He used a type of magic that has yet to be properly determined… so—"

"So basically, you're looking for a guy with a power you have no information on, and you're asking me to help you," Accelerator interrupted. Asphalt gave him a wide grin. "Pretty much, but I'm sure you can handle it," he exclaimed, before narrowing his eyes at Accelerator. "Unless you can't?" he asked in a condescending tone.

Accelerator gave him a smirk. "This whole thing sounds pretty interesting… so, why the hell not?" Red eyes gleamed under his bangs. Asphalt let out a short, nervous chuckle. 'Damn, this kid's freaky!'