———29 August 1:39p.m.———
Accelerator was in bed with Misaka as her body slept on top of his. A moist patch of liquid was on his shirt.
"What the fuck is this?" He touches the moist spot on his shirt and then a hot breath hits his fingers.
"Urk!"A vein had burst in his head as he pushes Misaka's face off his body. Then she woke up as well as she rubs her eyes and he clicks his tongue.
He gets up while scratching the back of his head and then he slips on his floor and he stumbles all the way to the kitchen counter and then...
*Boom!*
"No...fucking way..." He looks at the floor behind the kitchen counter as he curses. The bento boxes from last night were all scattered all over the floor and the contents of those boxes were scattered as well.
"...Tch." He clicks his tongue and he heads into the bathroom with Misaka following behind him.
———29 August 2:01p.m.————
Accelerator and Misaka were walking to the convenience store to buy more bento boxes and see if there was at least even one can of black coffee in stock.
"You must be kidding me...It's been so long yet there's nothing..." Accelerator laments and when he went to the bento boxes section, there was nothing.
"Hey,what's the meaning of this...?!" Accelerator walks to the counter and slams his left hand on the counter and asks the cashier in an aggressive tone,"What happened to your stock of bento boxes and black coffee?! Do your damn job properly!"
"I-I'm sorry sir! It's just that someone already bought them earlier!" The cashier repeatedly bowed his head down as he tells him.
"It's just 2p.m. in the damn afternoon!What the fuck do you mean you're sold out?!" Accelerator shouts at him and the cashier replies,"I know! I know! But they were sold out really quickly!"
Accelerator clicks his tongue as he leaves and then he thinks,"I can't cook,going to a family restaurant will dull my tongue sooner or later. What the hell do I do? Guess I'll go to the supermarket and buy some ingredients. I should learn to cook for myself now since I can't even get a damn seat at a restaurant and the convenience store is getting less convenient. There's just no way a supermarket will run out of ingredients. Right?"
He made his way around District 7 and had managed to find the nearby supermarket. When he went in,he didn't know what to buy.
"Eggs...Meat...Vegetables...Rice...And I think that's enough..."Accelerator thought to himself as a hand pulled his shirt. When he looked behind him, he found Misaka holding 3 packs of potato chips, which spurred an idea in Accelerator.
———29 August 3:35p.m.———
He set the ingredients back on the kitchen counter at home and then he prepared a pan and then he heated the pan up on high heat on the stove. Accelerator took out everything and he sets them up beside the pan. He opens up the 200g of meat and then he drops it onto the pan and starts frying it and using a pair of chopsticks to turn it. While he was frying the meat,Misaka tried to touch the flames but he hits her hand away and then she looks at him.
"No,don't you dare..."Accelerator says as Misaka's eyes start tearing up.
"Fuck..."He drops the chopsticks on to the ground and leaves the pan on the stove to tend to Misaka.He ruffles her hair as he comforts her,"Just shut up!You were doing something bad...can she even understand a single word I am saying...?"
He asks himself in confusion and then he holds her tight with his right arm and lifts her up and sets her down on the couch. He sits beside her,waiting for her to calm down as she plays with his hair. Well,to be precise,he was just waiting for her to fall asleep.
"*sigh* Why am I doing this again...?Babysitting is not for me,someone just take her from me already."Then he smelled something burning.
"Fuck!"He turns to his stove as his eyes opens wide and then he quickly runs to the stove to turn off the fire. He uses his hand and then he grabs the meat with his right hand as he redirects the heat back into the meat,"cooking" it even more.
He prepares a white plate and dumps the meat on it as he heaves a sigh of relief.Then he thinks,"I give up on cooking...let's just go to a family restaurant..."
He dumps all the equipment into the basin and then he walks out.Misaka tries to follow him but he flicks her forehead back and points to the ground and says in a strict manner,"Stay here,you annoying brat."
She starts to tear up again and he clicks his tongue. He goes back into the house to grab a pack of chips and then he hands it to her after opening it.
"I need a damn teacher to lecture her..."Accelerator thought as he finally closes the door and walks to a family restaurant to get a take away at a family restaurant.
"But I'm glad that today has been quite a relaxing day if I were to exclude the fact that I haven't even eaten my dinner,breakfast and lunch."Accelerator talks to himself as he closes his eyes to focus better and then he bumps into something and was pushed back.
"Tch,what is this now?"He looks up and then he sees a very familiar person again.The same person he had seen yesterday.
"Tch,why do I get to see your dumb face everyday?"
Right in front of him,the figure spoke.It was Mugino Shizuri.The #4 level 5 in Academy City.Behind her were 3 of her comrades from yesterday.
"Do you think that I want to see your face too? I'd rather look at a pile of shit burning than to see an old lady in front of me." Accelerator taunts her and a vein had burst in her head as she activated her esper power.
"I dare you to say that again, albino!"
"I'd be more than happy to!" Accelerator grins as he takes on an aggressive stance,prepared for battle as the floor slowly started to crack.Then a monotonous voice rang out,"Mugino you should ultra stop this right now.If not,we'd be super standing out right now."
"Kinuhata's right,Mugino.You should stop before the two of you destroy the area around us."The girl in the pink tracksuit said in a monotonous voice as well.
"Tch,fine fine! But if I see your dumb face again,I'll melt you down."
"I'd be more than happy to fight back,hag."
Mugino grits her teeth as she stomps off and Accelerator smirks and then Kinuhata walks up to him and asks if they could trade numbers.
"Ahn?Why the hell would I do that?"
"...We hope to form a super successful business relationship with you in the future."
"And what would I,the number—"He hesitated to finish his sentence but he regains his thoughts and continues,"What would I need from all of you?"
"If you ever super need anything in the future,feel free to call me."
"...Okay,I see.I'll use all of you well."He grins at her and they exchange phone numbers.
"I ultra hope to see you again soon."
"Tch,stop using 'super' and 'ultra' it's annoying!"
She ignores him as she runs to the rest of her team,ITEM.
He continues walking to the family restaurant as the streets were filled with many people talking on their phones and chatting away.It was like a mass of noise accumulating around him.He clicks his tongue as he starts to redirect the all the noises around him.
———29 August 4:56p.m.———
"Yes...finally...finally I found somewhere..." Accelerator was relieved as he had walked to 4 different family restaurant outlets and not a single one of them were open.
The one he was in was called 'Julian Restaurant'.He stopped redirecting the noises around him and then he was greeted by an annoying voice.
"Hey!!! Can!!! You!!! Hear!!! Me!!!"
Accelerator looks behind him and then he sees a girl who was at the height of his stomach with a blue dirty towel covering her whole body and face. Accelerator ignored her as he walks in to the restaurant but the girl followed him in,insisting on initiating a conversation with him.
"Hey,Misaka feels very ignored by you right now. Misaka has been trying to talk to you for the past 40 minutes while following you around. How can you treat Misaka like this? Misaka says as Misaka feels like her existence has been a lie. Wait how many Misakas did Misaka just say?Misaka asks as Misaka feels confused."
Then Accelerator stops in his tracks and then he whispers to himself,"Wait a minute..."
Then he turns to look at the small girl and he orders her to take the towel off her.
"Eh—ehhhh?!A-Asking something so daring from a girl...It's impossible. Moreover,in front of a large audience? Misaka says as Misaka feels slightly embarrassed."
"Just shut up and reveal yourself,you fucking brat!"He holds the towel and then he pulls the towel off her and the diners in the restaurant gasps while some of them were shaking their heads.
"Daddy,look!There's an exhibitionist." A child says while pointing at the girl.
"Yes son,keep looking.Engrave that figure into your mind." The father places his hands on his son's shoulders while nodding his head.
"Don't look! You'll only become more corrupted." The mother says as she closes her son's eyes.
"H-How could you?!Give it back!Give-It-Back!"
The girl was stark naked as she stood at the entrance of the restaurant.
"What do you want now? The moment I leave you all alone,you want to come back to me.What are you,a masochist?"
"Shut up and give the towel back to Misaka! Misaka begs as Misaka feels very ashamed now."
He throws the towel on her head and she quickly wraps herself with it immediately. Then a waitress approached them and then she told them,"Sir,I'm afraid you'll have to leave with your daughter. We cannot tolerate inappropriate behaviours in our restaurant. So please leave."
Accelerator looks at her as his face starts to become paler than before and he asks her,"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Accelerator clicks his tongue as he walks out and then stands outside the restaurant facing the girl in front of him. He places his hand on her face as he smiles and says,"goodbye,you won't be missed."
"Ah! Wait wait wait! Why do you want to kill Misaka now? Misaka thought that we were friends already! Misaka says as Misaka feels slightly betrayed..."
"Huh?What made you think we were friends?"
"Mmmhmm...Misaka feels very touched that you hadn't killed the people in the restaurant or sent the building flying already."
"What? Why would I do that?"
"Hmm it just seems to Misaka that you're that type of person to do those type of things."
"...It's not that I can't do it. It's just that if I do it and I garner the attention of Academy City,then I'll never have time for myself."
"Misaka already feels weird when you say it,says Misaka as Misaka can't help but butt in. Including Anti-Skill and Judgement, nobody can beat you,says Misaka as Misaka expresses her honest opinions."
Then they started walking to the next restaurant.
"*sigh* Let's say I do create a ruckus. I have the whole of Academy City on my ass. Who do you think would be my first enemy?"
"A worker?"
"That's right. After I kill a worker,the boss will seek revenge. Kill the boss,I have to deal with Anti-Skill and an annoying pigtailed girl. Then what? Academy City asks for help in other countries and they send aircraft carriers to come and kill me. Worst case scenario,they drop nukes.Tell me,how does a single one of those situations benefit me? World domination? What's the point in ruling over the world when I am the only one? It's just too boring."
"Uuuu...do you normally talk like a machine gun?Asks Misaka as Misaka is surprised."
Then they turn a corner.
"But according to information gathered from the Misaka network,the world should have some place called a school.Can someone like you mix around with people in a class?Asks Misaka as Misaka ponders."
"That's not a problem. I don't have any classmates. I attend a special class. After the Power Curriculum Programme that had awoken my abilities, I was sent to this special class. With me being the only student out of 2 thousand students." Accelerator says as they continue walking.
"Though I didn't really mind it.Being the only person there was soothing and relaxing. Learning couldn't have been more fun and productive." Accelerator smiles as he said that.
"Ah! So you can smile! Says Misaka as Misaka expresses her surprise."
Accelerator just clicks his tongue and she asks him,"Are you lonely?"
"..."Accelerator just kept quiet for a while until they've reached their destination.Another Joseph's Family Restaurant outlet.
"Not really. I enjoy being alone. Table for two." Accelerator says as the waiter lead them in.
"Are you sure? You could've easily massacred the sisters without saying anything. But every time you went to the experiment site,you tried talking to the Sisters.Misaka just don't understand your logic,says Misaka as Misaka wonders."
"You're overthinking it. It's true that I tried to initiate a conversation,but I just hoped to see your reactions."Accelerator says as he raises his right hand up and a waitress walks up to him.
"This,this and I want this to be packed in a container." Accelerator points to three different food items on the list as he tells the waitress and he hands her his money card.
"Oh! So you CAN order and pay for food like a normal person."
"Huh? Of course I can,are you taking me for a fool right now?"
"Hmm Misaka just thought that since you barely had any communication with anyone that you wouldn't be able to order things normally."
"...I've had plenty of communication with a bunch of annoying people. I didn't need you to mock me for it."
Then her food came and she says,"Ohh,this is the first time Misaka's eating such a hot meal,says Misaka as Misaka feels really excited. Are you sure you're okay with paying for Misaka's food?Asks Misaka as Misaka tries to confirm with you."
"Tch,if you don't feel like eating then throw it away."
Accelerator felt weird.He was in an unfamiliar setting. In this restaurant,seated in front of him was the girl he had massacred 10034 times yet she wasn't particularly scared of him,she didn't show signs of being lifeless. She had feelings. Happiness,fear,shamefulness and was talkative as hell. This was the second time Accelerator had seen this. With Febri being the first artificial construction he had seen possessing feelings. Usually the clones would just respond by telling him the amount of time left before the experiment starts or they'd just speak in a monotonous manner. It was strange. Too strange in fact.
"...Hey,aren't you going to eat?" Accelerator asks her.
Her mouth was watering, and it looked as if she was ready to swallow the plate in one swoop.
"From research gathered by the Misaka network,everyone should say 'thanks for the food' before everyone starts eating and Misaka wants to try that,says Misaka as Misaka tries to mention what she wishes for."
"Tch,do whatever you want. I can really care less."
"Okay! Time to dig in! Says Misaka as Misaka feels extremely happy!"
Accelerator clicks his tongue then he sees an all too familiar middle aged man out in the parking lot behind the clone.
"Amai Ao...? What is he...wait"
Amai Ao,an assistant researcher in the Level 6 Shift was walking towards his car.
Then he looks at the clone,"Hey,what is the most important thing to you now?"
"Huh? Eating and keeping you in check,so that you won't kill anymore Sisters?"
"No,what is your main purpose for finding me?!" Accelerator shouted at her as the whole restaurant looked at them and when Accelerator looked outside,he had made eye contact with the assistant researcher. Amai Ao quickly departed in his sports car the moment he saw Accelerator.
"Huh?Why the hell is he running away from me?" Accelerator thought then the girl replies to his previous question,"Ah! Yes,now Misaka remembers! Misaka was supposed to ask you to bring Misaka to the lab where Misaka was made! This Misaka is Misaka 20,001,the last sister created with an easy to understand name,Last Order.Says Misaka as Misaka explains the current situation to you."
"Uh huh,then?"
"Then,since the experiment was put on hold halfway through,Misaka didn't get to finish her body adjustments and was thrown out of the incubator halfway through. So this Misaka is a lot smaller than the normal Misakas. Says Misaka as Misaka continues her explanation."
"*sigh* Yeah...no."
"Wah! How could you say that?! Now Misaka feels tricked as she used a lot of energy to explain the situation,says Misaka as Misaka laments."
Then Accelerator's food and packed food came and he picked up the fork and knife as he tore down the steak in front of him.There was a bowl of rice by the side but he wanted to eat the steak first.
"You're a key person to the experiment,please! Misaka is begging you!Says Misaka as Misaka starts tearing up!"
"*sigh* How can this girl be so calm around me?Does she not remember what I did to the Sisters? Wait actually,they share a common memory through their neural functions,so that cannot be the case. But her personality is too different from them...what's up with that?" Accelerator ponders as he continues cutting the tough meat in front of him.
He clicks his tongue and he uses his right hand to pick up the hot metal plate on the wooden board.Everyone stared at him in shock and the waitress behind him gasps as she walks by.He picks up his fork and then he stabs it into the meat and started ripping through it with his teeth.
"You remember what I did to all of you,right? I basically massacred over 10,000 of you. Don't you feel any sort of anger towards me?" Accelerator asks after swallowing a part of that steak down his throat.
On that night where he had met Touma,Touma seemed to see them as humans. Whereas Accelerator saw them as clones,mere puppets for him to feed on to grow his powers.
Had he got it wrong?
Was what Touma saw in them the right thing?
He had no idea. But everything changed after he had met Touma. The boy who cursed him and set him on a different path.
Was it a path of heroism,or a path of villainy and regrets?
Either way, there was no changing the past. What was done,was done. That much he knew and he was willing to pay Touma back for cursing him by giving him something in his left hand.
Then Last Order answered him,"Misaka can connect all 9966 Misaka's personalities together.The connected brainwaves will form a mental network,says Misaka as Misaka tries to explain."
"Like how humans have a collective consciousness?" Accelerator asks.
"Hmm...It's a little different, says Misaka as Misaka denies it. The brainwaves linking the Misaka units are like brain cells that are being controlled by a big computer,says Misaka as Misaka explains."
Then she continues,"The death of a Misaka will not cause the Misaka Network to vanish.However, when a Misaka dies, the memories and experience will vanish. Only when every Misaka is killed, that is when the Misaka Network will vanish,says Misaka as Misaka finishes explaining."
Accelerator sat back and looked at the ceiling,and he was disgusted with himself. All this time,he had thought that he had retained just a bit of his humanity.
He had only targeted people who dared to pick a fight with him and only focused on killing the clones. In the first place,he didn't want to kill Touma.He just wanted to intimidate him. Make Touma fear him and run away,but when Touma started to harm him and hold his ground, that was when he had lost control of his emotions and killed him.
When he had erased Misaka's memories, it was to avoid having to kill her due to the same intent. To not repeat another tragedy.
It was all for the sake of peace and he had thought that killing the clones,who he saw as mere puppets,meant nothing. But due to recent events,he had seen the light.
"Was I wrong...?"He looks at Last Order,who was trying her hardest to tear the meat out,as he thinks to himself.
When she had bit off the meat,she then says,"But Misaka changed her mind. Misaka has learned something new.And that is,a Misaka's value,says Misaka as Misaka says confidently."
Then she continues,"It's not just as a whole, every Misaka unit's life is valuable. Nobody can replace a Misaka. If someone dies, someone will be crying."
Those words had hit Accelerator like a train. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. All this time, he had thought killing the clones meant nothing. That their life had no meaning.
Something changed in him...
Regrets filled his head...
"I guess I'm not a kind person as I thought I was. All this time,I thought protecting her was enough to prove my humanity. Protecting her with this power that could only kill. I thought killing villains proved my rights as a good guy. Becoming strong for other people's sake was enough. Were my intentions wrong? Was I missing a piece to the puzzle? I know I am a villain,I know that I made the wrong judgement. But how far was I off?" Accelerator thinks to himself but his thoughts were cut off by Last Order as she continues.
"That is why Misaka won't die. Misaka won't let another Misaka die,declares Misaka as Misaka looks at you with a smile."
She did it. She had declared that she would not forgive Accelerator for what he had done.A vengeful declaration that Last Order will never forget.
"Tch...so this is what real pain feels like..."Accelerator thinks to himself as his heart felt like it was being bitten off by some unknown entity.
He felt shackled. Like something was pulling him down. Something was stopping him from moving forward. He was in an imaginary tunnel with the light up ahead. Stranded in the darkness, he wanted to move. He wanted to reach that light.
He wanted to continue enjoying his freedom but he couldn't anymore.
Bloodied hands touched every part of his body as they pulled him back even further. The pull was so strong, that even the #1 Level 5 esper couldn't escape.
No matter how hard he tried to escape their grasp, he couldn't. Even if he manipulated every single vector on earth, there was just no escaping.
"But Misaka is really grateful to you,says Misaka as Misaka continues. If it was not for you, the experiment wouldn't have started. The bottlenecked Radio Noise plan wouldn't have so much attention to it. You're a saviour and a killer, you're Eros and Thanatos,Misaka says as Misaka feels grateful,because you helped give life to the Misakas who didn't have any life."
Last Order looked at him with gentle eyes,accepting him for the monster he is.
"... No... you're lying... you're just trying to hide your fear of me by telling yourself those words. But in truth, you're scared. Scared of being killed by me. Yes... yes that's it. I finally get it now. You're just trying to fuck with me to get me to let my guard down.Ehehehe...ahahahaha!" Accelerator whispers like a maniac before he laughs maniacally.
He grabs Last Order's towel and he pulls her closer to him and he whispers,"That's right, you should fear me! I'm invincible...I won't let those words get to me. I've killed over 10,000 of you. I don't care if you're a child, I'll still kill you! And I'll enjoy every single moment of tearing you into tiny little pieces. I'm inhumane."
"And that's where you're wrong! You didn't want to participate in the experiment,says Misaka as Misaka makes the hypothesis."
Accelerator was stunned. Usually normal people would fear him after that and cry while running away but she didn't. She held her ground as she faces him with eyes of determination.
"No no no... do I look like I was forced to do that? Since I continued to follow the directives of the experiment, it means that I don't give a damn about a single one of your lives. It's that simple."
"It's not JUST that,isn't it? If that was the case,why did you try to talk to Misaka throughout the experiment? Asks Misaka as Misaka inquires. You tried to talk to Misaka a few times, why is it so? Think about it calmly, your words aren't too natural,says Misaka as Misaka analyses further. The basis behind talking to one another is to understand each other and build a relationship with each other. However, in this experiment where only killing is involved, if you wanted to just let the experiment succeed, there was no need for you to initiate a conversation,says Misaka as Misaka makes her point."
All Accelerator had said in the experiments were threatening words. Words that could be described as a natural born killer. A natural enemy to mankind.
He lets go of her as he settles back down and she continues,"Those crude words you had used during the experiment were meant to scare the Misaka units,right?"
Accelerator kept quiet the whole time as he was being pushed back by the words of a 10 year old girl.
"But maybe,you said those words because you wished to be refused? Maybe you had hoped that one day, one of the sisters will be unwilling to battle? Misaka says as Misaka continues her hypothesis."
Accelerator became shocked as she lands the nail in the coffin.
"What if one day, just that one day, what would you do if a Misaka unit says that she doesn't want to fight anymore? Misaka asks as Misaka knows that it is a choice that can't be taken back again."
Accelerator hung his head low as the burden placed on him gets even heavier.
"Indeed... What would I have done... what did I want to do... what could I have done..." Accelerator thinks as he looks up and closes his eyes.
"That's right...I could've just not cooperated and they would've stopped it. Nobody could replace me. After all, I'm the only #1 in Academy City. They would be wasting their time trying to stop me. I'm invincible." Accelerator's regrets held him down as he thought.
It was not a matter of killing the wrong person now.Or could it be? Was his misfortune supposed to be facing his sins? Was this his punishment for being ignorant? If he had taken the right action in the beginning of the experiment.
If all 20,000 Sisters stood in front of him,looking fearful as they begged him not to do it,would he have listened?
Accelerator smirks as he answers himself,"Of course I would."
That was why he continued to ask. Every single time he would ask them again and again. He would ask them,
Whether they really wanted this.
Whether it was really fun for them.
Whether they wanted to continue.
However,each time he asked,he couldn't get a proper response and eventually,his questionings became more cynical. Killing and killing until he had lost all common sense and became a bloodthirsty murderer.
He had wanted someone to stop him.
He had wanted someone to drag him out of that endless tunnel.
That tunnel that knows no ends. He wanted someone to open up the exit for him again. But no matter how much he grabbed and struggled,he couldn't reach the end.
However,when he did get close,he would be pulled back again by the same rose-red hands.
At that depot where he had killed Touma, what had changed. He wasn't defeated. But he also did not leave there unscathed. He had gained something ridiculous. After he gained that 'something' he had been unlucky. He had started to feel more human-like with every flaw he faced.
Not being able to get a seat at a restaurant,not being able to buy a single can of black coffee,not even having a chance to have at least 1 millilitre of black coffee and falling down more often than not.
All these were part of human lives. These were the troubles different people faced daily but to Accelerator,these were chances for him to open his eyes and feel alive. To be conscious of what he was doing and give him time to question what he was doing.
Accelerator looks up as his mind fills with all those thoughts and deep regrets.
He opens one eye to look at Last Order who was now panting heavily with her head on the table. It was almost like she had a fever.
"Oi,what happened?"
"Ah...ha...ha..."
Last Order had a tired voice as she continues speaking,"M-Misaka...wanted to...contact the...researchers before...Misaka became like this..."
Before she could finish,she dropped completely on the table as she remains smiling.
"Oi."
No response.He touches her neck and feels her pulse.He clicks his tongue as he takes the bill to the counter.He walked out with an emotionless expression with one hand in his pocket while the other was holding a plastic bag with his packed order.
In that situation,he couldn't have done anything. His powers could only affect the space around him. Even if someone asked him for help,he could only hide inside a power that was like a nuclear shelter. He couldn't protect others with his power. All his powers could do was benefit him,and him only.
In that situation,he couldn't do anything.He smirks as he thought,"Heh,me. A hero. What a joke. That shit just doesn't suit me."
Accelerator felt partly responsible for her due to the fact that he had dragged the Sisters into hell and abandoned the experiment halfway through,causing Last Order to get thrown out of the research facility. No matter what he did,what he chose,he would end up hurting someone.
"I'm the worst...I can never be a hero."He thinks to himself as he walks on the pavement,through a crosswalk,past the convenience store,into an alley near the shopping mall,through the alley,past a student dorm,and he continued to walk on and on.
Then,he stopped in front of a research facility.The research facility which had brought him into the darkness.The place where he had started the experiment and mass-produced the Sisters. If this was the place,there should be at least one more incubator for Last Order to complete her body.
There was nothing he could do at that restaurant so he had turned to the research facility.
He knew how illogical it was for him to start saving a bunch of lives which he had killed 10,034 times but,what else could he do to take responsibility?
"Such stupidity..."He says as he walks in.