--14th September 1:17p.m.--
With his battery charged up, he was ready to burst into action.
Except...
The action came to him instead.
"Accelerator-kyun☆~"
"Ugh...why does that voice annoy me so much..."
Accelerator sat up on his own bed with his legs out by the side as he looked towards the direction of the door.
A particular girl had decided to pay him a visit instead.
A girl who he had saw during the opening of the Daihasei Festival.
"Shokuhou Misaki."
Accelerator looked at her with eyes that pierced her very soul.
He could've attacked her right off the bat, but he would be damaging the building and the people who reside in the hospital. So he kept his power on to ensure his brain does not get taken over by the 5th ranked Level 5 esper.
"Now now, I'm not here to pick a fight with you.☆"
"..."
"I'm only here to negotiate with you."
That statement made Accelerator chuckle a bit.
"Heh, and what makes you think I would work with you when I could just kill you and get this over with. You looking for me doesn't really change the fact that I'm about to kill you, does it?"
"And why would you want to do that when I'm innocent?"
"Ah? Oi, oi, oi don't fuck with me, you fuckin' bitch."
Accelerator stood up with his hands inside his pockets as he slowly approached the Level 5.
"Ya know what ya did, I know what ya did."
Misaki was slowly pushed against the wall by his mere presence.
His skinny yet daunting figure made her nervous as sweat slowly dripped down from her head.
If he were to resort to violence, she would be utterly useless against him because she didn't even call for backup.
Once her back touched the wall, he placed his foot beside her head, blocking her way to the door.
"A-Accelerator...kun? I believe this sort of thing is not necessary. If you want to know the location of the Sister, I recommend you to sit back down on your bed and have a relaxing talk with me. Do you prefer tea with that?☆"
"..."
Seeing as how he had the upper hand against her, he didn't hesitate to sit back down on his bed.
"Right now, I'm not your enemy but your ally."
"And how can I trust you?"
"The fact that I haven't made use of the Sister should be enough evidence, no?"
"..."
Accelerator clicked his tongue as he looked away from her.
This relieved the tension between the two of them as Misaki's shoulder loosened up a bit as she silently heaved a sigh of relief.
"Kihara Gensei."
Upon hearing that name, Accelerator's back shot up as he gave her his full attention again.
"I have an adviser who's telling me every single bit of info about this matter."
"Screw your adviser. What about Kihara Gensei? What about him?!"
Accelerator stood back up as he rushed towards her.
"T-Too close!!"
Accelerator was right in her face, very close to tasting her luscious lips. However, the strongest esper didn't care. His mind was only focused on the name...
"Kihara."
His euphoria was evident by his wide smile.
"Tell me more. Tell me more!! Shokuhou Misaki!!"
At this point in time, being close to him didn't matter to her. Her heart was racing.
But it was not because she was barely a centimeter away from a boy.
Rather, it was because she could feel the fear his opponents felt when being attacked by him.
She could feel his bloodlust pouring out from his aura.
Her legs shook so much that it forced her onto the ground with her arms wrapped around her head.
"Huh?"
Accelerator was confused by the 5th ranked actions.
"(What the hell? Why the hell is she cowering in fear? Heh, I knew the other Level 5's were weak.)"
Accelerator backed away from her to give her a bit of space.
"(But I didn't know they were THIS weak.)"
Misaki was shivering as her arms blocked her view. She only peeked out the moment there was silence in the room.
"Ya done cryin' or what?"
Accelerator had his left hand on his head as he stood in front of her with his cane in the other hand.
"Ah-Ahem..."
Misaki immediately stood back up as she adjusted her sleeves on her singlet.
"Come to think about it..."
"Hm?" Misaki tilted her head towards Accelerator's thoughts.
Then, he glared at her.
"Aren't you supposed to be participating in the Daihasei Festival?"
The 5th ranked esper was wearing Tokiwadai's gym clothes in the hospital. It revealed her arms, half of her thighs and everything below from there. Even in her gym clothes, she still kept some of her accessories around her.
Misaki looked at him as she blinked in surprise.
"Pfffft...Hahahahaha!!" The 5th ranked esper laughed so hard that she hugged her stomach.
"Oi, what's so funny?!"
"Gahahahah!!"
Misaki couldn't stop laughing after hearing what he said.
"Tch, what the hell's so funny about that?!"
"Ahahaha!! Sorry, sorry, I just can't help but laugh when I hear you ask about something like that. Gahaha!!"
"And that's why I'm askin' you what's so funny about that?!"
"It's...It's just..."
Misaki sat on the floor as she was laughing, but it slowly stopped as she leaned against the wall.
She wiped a final tear of joy as she took a deep breath.
"...I just can't imagine you caring about something like the Daihasei Festival."
"Ha?"
Misaki wiped the smile off her face as she looked at him seriously.
"Level 6 Shift."
At that moment, Accelerator frowned.
"How do you know about that?"
"I have my sources.☆"
"Then how does it concern you?"
"Oh, it doesn't really concern me. But what I want to do is to protect the Sisters."
"..."
"I'm sure you'd want to as well, right?"
Misaki smirked at him as her starry eyes looked directly into his eyes.
"Why do you want to protect them? What is your connection to the Sisters? It was not like you were eligible to ascend to Level 6. Only I was able to reach that height, from what the Tree Diagram..."
"Now wait. Before you start questioning my intentions, let me ask you a simple question."
"?"
"A certain hero once told me this."
Her smirk slowly faded as it turned into a warm smile.
"Do I need a reason to help someone?"
For some reason, that line ticked Accelerator off.
"Fine, you win. But how can I trust you? You could easily backstab me when I'm distracted."
"You know...I'm already breaking one of my own policies by working with you."
"And what's that?"
"I don't work with someone whose mind I cannot read."
--14th September 1:32p.m.--
Accelerator and Misaki were both on the move in a truck that was supposedly supposed to lead them to Kihara Gensei in District 9.
The only reason she was confident that Kihara Gensei would be there is because there was going to be a international psychic powers conference at 2p.m., and she confirmed it by reading the minds of the people who were also going to be involved.
The truck they were in had no connection to the place they were heading to, it was just to act as a fake truck carrying goods.
"So, why did you abduct the Sister?" Accelerator questioned her as he sat on the other side of where she was sitting.
"Don't make it look like I did it on purpose. My adviser happened to stumble upon her collapsed body. It seemed like a military nanodevice had taken her out, and it has been affecting her health since then."
Misaki looked depressed as she was talking about it.
"Right now, she's being taken care of, so you don't have to worry about it. Well, you shouldn't even be worried since they can just be manufactured again with a single button, righ--"
Before she could finish her sentence, Accelerator grabbed her neck tightly. However, given his physique, he couldn't really do much harm to her.
"Ya have a sharp tongue, don't ya? Maybe I should rip it out. GYAHAHAHAHA!!"
The truck started swaying left and right all of a sudden. The items inside started flying all around inside the truck.
Just to his luck, one box flew to the side of his head, pushing him all the way to the door. Right after that, another box came flying and it smashed right into his chest.
With an 'oof' sound coming right out of his mouth, he pushed it away just for another wooden box to smash right into his torso.
"Goddamnit!! What the fuck is this?!"
Accelerator cursed at the sky as something else came flying to him again.
He raised his right hand up and his left hand on the other side to push the box away, but it felt too soft to be a box.
His right hand slapped something soft and bouncy as his left hand touched something soft and fluffy.
He didn't know what he touched because he had his eyes closed. He only expected boxes to fall on him. However, the moment he heard a response near him, he could guess what he touched.
And it came in a yelp.
"EEP!?"
"Get the fuck off of me!"
Due to his weak physique, he couldn't push her away from him. And it didn't help that the truck wouldn't stop around.
"Keep your hands to yourself!!" Misaki shouted as she threw her shoulder bag back.
The side of Accelerator's face was hit with a bunch of controllers behind that leather exterior, and out of pure instinct, he tightened his fists.
However, the palm of his hands were still in contact with the 5th ranked esper in Academy City.
With an unintentional two pronged attack, Misaki's screams became even louder and desperate to get out of that situation.
"Stop it please!!"
Immediately, the truck came to a halt and everything flew forward.
Including them.
"Tch, weren't you the one controlling the driver?"
"I would like to answer you, Accelerator-kun. However..."
Misaki took in a deep breath as she gathered all the energy she could muster within her and shouted as loud as she could from the top of her lungs.
"COULD YOU LET GO OF ME AND GET OUT OF THIS POSITION?!"
Misaki was on the verge of crying as she clenched her fists.
What position exactly?
With her back arched forward and knees on the floor with her rear facing the sky, she was basically praying.
However, that was not her biggest concern.
Her biggest concern was the person kneeling down right behind her rear. It was needless to say...
Very indecent.
To add insult to injury, his hands were still on the same spot as they were before. However, this time his right hand was pinned down to the floor by her heavy chest.
"Can't ya pull yourself out of this position?"
"I would very much appreciate it if you could move yourself. I would prefer my hero doing this with me than some stranger who I just met."
"And you think I enjoy this with someone who I just met as well? I have standards, and you're clearly not my type."
"Then can you release me?!"
"..."
Although Accelerator thought about releasing the pitiful Level 5, there was something that was still troubling him.
"You were the one who caused this situation, weren't you?"
"Huh?! What do you mean?!"
"You had the driver under your control, which means you made him swerve around just to make me release you..."
Beads of sweat started to form around Misaki's head as she tried her very best to avoid making eye contact with him.
"I-I don't know what you're suggesting, b-but we better move quick or else the conference meeting might start soon..."
At this point, Misaki was praying for some sort of miracle to happen just so she could escape from this monster.
Just as she had her eyes closed, she suddenly heard a single beeping noise activate behind her and that was when she realised the monster had not been using his power the entire time they were together.
He had a bit of faith in her that she wouldn't use her Mental Out on him.
Now that she betrayed his trust, what would he do to her?
His grip tightened around her waist and his fingers slowly clenched even tighter that it made her let out a small and quiet moan.
She was pulled back up, with her knees now on the ground only.
And then...
*Bam*
"H-Hey!! Don't just suddenly let go!! At least release me properly!!"
"Oh, shut up. Let's just get on with it. I don't have forever. Are we there yet?"
Misaki stood up as she pats the dust off her clothes. She pulls a controller from her shoulder bag and then pressed a single button.
"We're reaching soon. It's just a few buildings up ahead."
Accelerator clicked his tongue when he heard that, and got pretty fed up with the situation they were in so he decided to take things into his own hands.
With his power activated, he kicked the back of the truck open and grabbed Misaki around her stomach. It was like she was a small child being carried by her big brother who only cared about getting back home quickly.
Her stomach was lying down on his thin wrists, and her arms just hung lowly below his thighs.
And the sudden move of grabbing her so nonchalantly caught her off guard that she could not give him a reaction. Only when they were flying through the skies that she realized she had been 'kidnapped'.
"..."
There was a brief silence between them but that was only because Misaki didn't dare say anything in the position that she was in. She was literally hanging on by a thread. With how thin his wrist was, she was worried that if she were to move forward just a bit, she would just slip through.
"Th-This isn't Hokaze...I can't trust this boy with my life..."
Misaki whispered under her breath, but Accelerator still heard her.
"Just shut it already. I can't trust you with mine either. And I'm not an incompetent Level 5 like you, I know what I'm doin'."
Misaki turned her head towards the white haired boy just to see a pair of mini tornadoes swirling behind his back.
"Ah, that's really convenient."
"Just shut up and point where the building is."
Accelerator flew her up to a position where most of the buildings in District 9 were visible and she gave him an answer almost immediately.
"Over there ☆"
Her index forefinger pointed towards a 50 storey tall, twin towers that had a bridge connecting them together.
Misaki suddenly felt a slightly tighter pull around her waists as Accelerator landed on the edge of another building.
"What are you planning to do?"
He didn't reply.
He bent his knees down a bit.
"Accelerator-kun? D-Do you mind giving me a heads up on what you are about to do?"
Misaki was sweating nervously as she looked at the boy who had his sights set on their designated location.
And she swore that she could hear the building beneath them creaking a bit before the climax.
Accelerator pushed his feet off the ground and the both of them flew forward immediately. He was like a rocket going at mach speed.
"WHY DID YOU DO THIIIIISS?!?!"
Misaki screamed at the top of her lungs as they flew forward.
Misaki's right hand man, or woman rather, could do the same thing as what Accelerator did, but hers would go much slower. Much much slower than the speed they were going.
Accelerator slammed through the middle of one of the buildings with Misaki right under his arm. It was like he was barging into someone's house as his left arm smashed through the windows on impact. He went too fast that he overshot and broke through a door.
"Can't you be a bit more civilised?!"
"Tch, don't keep blaming me. If someone had not sabotaged the ride earlier, we wouldn't be in this predicament."
"Urk...?! You really don't know how to let up..."
The both of them got up from the ground as they pat the dust and debris off themselves. Due to the massive commotion that they had caused, the people guarding the building quickly noticed what had happened and were making their way up to them.
Shouting and multiple footsteps could be heard all around them.
"Ya think ya can handle yourself?"
"Hmph, of course I can. There's a reason why I'm one of the 7 Level 5's in Academy City."
"Heh, ya seem pretty confident now."
With that, the both of them went their separate ways.
---14th September 2:01p.m.---
"Stop right there!!"
Five men in black suits had surrounded Accelerator with their guns drawn. Even though he was just a kid in their eyes, the fact that he managed to blast a hole through a brick wall was enough to send alarms ringing through their heads.
"If you surrender nicely, we'll make sure you die a quick death."
Accelerator closed his eyes as he listened to their pointless threats. He knew he had very little time to waste.
Or rather, he had a lot of time to waste seeing as how Kihara Gensei was in the same building as him.
With a demented look in his eyes, he licked his lips as he stared down his foes.
"Anyone care to tell me where Kihara Gensei is?"
None of them replied him.
Without a single warning, they all shot him simultaneously.
However, their bullets came flying back to their guns, one bullet even grazing one of their cheeks.
"Eek!?"
They were all shocked to see how their bullets came flying back to them.
"Wh-What kind of broken ability is that?!"
"HeheheheKHAHAHAH!!"
In a blink of an eye, he moved behind one of them, grabbed him by the neck and squeezed into his neck.
The rest of them watched in horror as their ally screamed out in pain.
"If you had played a little nicer, I would have been more merciful, but you caught me in the wrooooong mood."
Blood oozed out from his victim's neck like a broken pipe and then the grand finale as he pulled out the poor man's spine.
The four other men were shaking in their boots. Never in their life had they expected to see such a gruesome sight. It was more painful than looking at someone being gunned down at the firing range.
None of it made sense to them.
They couldn't comprehend this madness.
The blood splattered all over Accelerator's shirt and face. He expressed his disgust for only a brief moment before licking the blood from his lips.
Ecstasy ran through his vein as he laughed his heart out.
The four of them started running away in two seperate directions, however, the predator wasn't going to let his prey escape so easily.
With a single step, he caught up to two of them and with a single swipe of his right hand, their heads clashed against each other as they slammed against the wall beside them.
The two of them laid down on top of each other as Accelerator snatched one of their guns and pointed it at them.
"I don't really know how this works, but..."
Accelerator looked at the other direction of where the other two ran off and he could see them scrambling away.
He carefully aimed the gun at one of their heads and with a single bullet, he got him first try.
"Bullseye!!...Is what they would say, right?"
The two people that he had cornered were cowering in fear.
"Let's see how creative I can be when using such a complex tool."
Accelerator spun the gun around like it was some sort of fortune wheel and he 'accidentally' pushed the trigger as it was spinning around his forefinger. Unfortunately for him, the gun barrel was facing him, and all he could say was...
"Oops" With a grin on his face.
The bullet travelled to his torso, but then he redirected it to the final man at the end of the corridor.
With such force and velocity, the man's head popped like a popcorn.
"Well then, now that I've crushed the vermins, what should I do with the both of you?"
The two men hugged each other as their black sunglasses fell off their nose.
"Where is Kihara Gensei?"
"W-We don't know!! We're only hired guards!! Please just let us go!!"
Accelerator looked away as he clicked his tongue.
For a moment, the two men lowered their guards only by a little though.
Accelerator sighed as he looked at his surroundings, but then his eyes found them again.
"Well...I guess..."
The two of them slowly released each other as they heard that line.
They had a sigh of relief as Accelerator lowered the gun.
"Thank god we're safe..."
"Thank you so much..."
"I guess you're pretty useless!! GYAHAHAHHAHAHA!!"
Accelerator raised the gun in front of them and fired a barrage of bullets at them until the magazine was empty.
Gunshots filled the whole premise, but it didn't seem like he was the only one causing trouble.
"I guess I'll take it easy for now until that princess finds something." Was what he wanted to say, but it seems like fate had something else in stored for him.
Even more men in black suits appeared around him, this time with heavier firearms.
"Gimme a break!!"
---14th September 2:07p.m.---
Accelerator was sitting down beside one out of the numerous dead bodies he had compiled in that massacre, and just as he had quickly sat down, he had to quickly get back up as footsteps were approaching his way again.
His battery was running low on fuel at this point, so he aimed the gun barrel at the direction of the footsteps. The footsteps that were approaching him sounded like they were alone and whoever that person was, sounded like they were running towards him.
Accelerator was prepared to shoot him, but then that person called out to him.
"Accelerator!!"
"Huh?"
The person who appeared in front of him was one of those men wearing black suits, but it seemed like he was smart enough not to attack him first unlike the others.
But it seemed like there was a reason for that.
"Kihara Gensei isn't here!"
Accelerator immediately took his cane and shot up from where he was sitting and this time the gun was firmly held in his hands.
"What the fuck do you mean?!"
"It seems like he was never in here to begin with."
"And how am I supposed to believe you when you're working for them."
The guy in front of him made an 'ah' face before taking his sunglasses off.
His pupils had stars just like a certain person he had met just now.
"I've taken control of this person just to tell you this: meet me at the main entrance, we have to move quick. I'll fill you in on the details once we see each other. We don't have much time."
The man in black suit pulled out a gun from his back pocket and placed it right beside his head.
In the next moment, the juices of his brain splattered out onto the floor as his lifeless body laid flat on the ground.
Accelerator just glanced down at it before limping away.
Time was of the essence.
He jumped down from a great height all the way down to the main entrance where there was no one.
Even though the message was just delivered to him, preparations for their leave was immediately put into place.
He was surprised to see a black car pull up in front of him. It looked like one of those cars rich people would take when going to a prestigious household.
He was skeptical at first, so he prepared the pistol in his left hand. However, someone from behind had snatched it away from his hand and walked past him.
"Get in, Gensei is making his next move."
The chauffeur in the black car came out to open the door for the Queen. And he left the door open for Accelerator as well.
For once, Accelerator saw the frustration in her face. It was as if she was defeated.
Even more so, she wasn't the least bit happy compared to before. Even though, she was panting quite heavily with sweat dripping down her head, it seemed like the problem at hand was more worrisome than her own wellbeing.
This is a side that he had never seen.
"Accelerator-kun, please hurry up. We don't have anymore time to waste."
For the first time since they met, she had calmly commanded him to move.
With the new demeanor that she had put up, Accelerator gladly followed her. It seems like she's ready to do things seriously.
He brought his cane inside the car, and it acted as a barrier between him and the 5th ranked esper. The chauffeur closed the door behind him and drove them through the streets at an exponential speed. They would have been given a speeding ticket had it not been for the fact that Anti-Skill's forces are all dispatched across the Daihasei Festival and at government agencies.
"Gensei prepared a body double. One of his acquaintances took his place, and left me a message."
"..."
"Accelerator, we're going to find the clone. There's a chance that Gensei might be there as well. So I want you to..."
Before she could continue, Accelerator forcefully tugged her shirt closer to him.
"Oi oi oi!! Didn't you say she was safe in there?!"
"That's what I thought too! But I don't know how he found out about that place!"
"You fucking bitch!!"
Suddenly, a click could be heard followed by the touch of something solid on his chest.
When he looked down, he could see the barrel of a gun pointing right at his heart. Needless to say, he scowled at her.
"I don't want to fight with you right now, Accelerator. We both have a common enemy. Can't we fight after we take down that enemy?"
With a gun pointed at his chest and his hands full with Misaki's shirt, Accelerator had no choice but to let go of it.
"Trust me, if I could have avoided this outcome long ago, I would have. But as of right now, we can only adapt to the situation. I'm sure even you're aware of that, right?"
Accelerator clicked his tongue as he leaned back.
However, the car immediately came to a screeching halt. And the two Level 5's could see why.
"Why is there a traffic jam now?!"
Misaki shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Ma'am, it seems like an unmanned bus exploded and burst into flames while on its route around the city. None of the buses are running so that they can be inspected to find the cause. With the Daihasei Festival's mode of transportation gone, kilometers-long traffic jams have been formed..."
"Kh...How can this happen?! We can't even take a detour now because we're blocked off from the cars at the back."
Misaki bit her fingernails as she tried to think of a solution, and one thing only came to mind.
And Accelerator knew it himself the moment she stopped biting her fingernails and looked at him.
"Guess there's no helping it, huh?"
"Please, Accelerator. We have to get there fast."
"You owe me big time for this."
Accelerator turned on his battery and kicked the door down.
"You could have just used the door handle!"
"Tch, quit whinin' and hold on."
Accelerator took her hand and pulled her out before carrying her like a princess. The air behind him formed 4 small whirlwinds that were enough to propel him upwards.
"A Certain Building located in District 2. That's where we have to go."
In a split second, Accelerator boosted off to District 2.
Misaki didn't have the emotions to enjoy the breeze of the ride. The adrenaline and the seriousness of the matter they were in was more concerning than she could have ever imagined.
Within a minute, Accelerator could see the building in all its glory. He landed right at the main entrance of the building. Four walls surrounded that tall building and the building itself looked like some sketchy place where illegal trades take place because it looked almost exactly like a warehouse.
However, one thing that was bothering him the most was the fact that his time was almost up. He could probably go for another 2 minutes at most.
"Quick, follow me."
Misaki led the way as the cripple behind her struggled to catch up.
Before they entered the building, the main entrance had a hole blasted through it so they knew the enemy ahead of them had heavy weaponry.
Misaki stopped to look at Accelerator and nodded at him to which his only response to her was just to click his tongue.
When they entered the place, it was pitch black with barely any lighting from the outside.
"Seems like they've cut off the electricity in this place."
Misaki pulled out her phone and noticed something missing on the top left of her screen.
"Tch, seems like they have a machine that disrupts my phone from getting a signal."
"How poor are your defenses in this building? It seems like even an elementary school kid can come in here undetected."
Misaki's face flushed red as she quickened her pace.
"I-It's not like my defenses were supposed to be strong enough to stop explosions! It was only meant to be a hideout for--"
Misaki quickly stopped herself from talking as she sucked up whatever remaining words were left in her throat.
"A-Anyway, I know where we need to go in this place. So just keep your mouth shut until we find Kihara Gensei. Besides, I highly doubt finding the way they went would be difficult."
The two of them walked through metal doors that had a hole big enough to fit an adult. It seemed like thermal lances were used in order to carve out those holes.
There was no need to be careful as they passed through the corridor as it slowly became apparent that no one was inside the building with them. They were either too afraid of the strongest esper in Academy City, or the 5th ranked Level 5 esper. Either way, they were both monsters in their own craft.
They kept walking through the empty and lifeless hallway up to the point where they reached another one of those giant metal doors. This time however, instead of walking through like always, Misaki stopped in her tracks.
"Can you wait here for a moment?"
"?"
"It's just that...I have something to check before we continue moving ahead."
"Tch, what the hell is so important that we have to stop here?! That bastard is moving along with his plan already."
Accelerator continued moving despite the girl telling him not to.
And even though he disobeyed her, she didn't even try to stop him.
She knew how powerless she was against him. That is why they were separated by rankings.
"Then try not to go crazy when you see this."
When Accelerator crossed through the doors, he was greeted by a magnificent sight.
Inside that spacious room stood two tall pillars made out of transparent glass. And inside those tubes of glass were an orange liquid with wires leading to god knows where.
"What the hell is this?"
Misaki walked past him as she stands behind a glass wall just 5 meters away from those tubes.
Accelerator followed behind her and what he saw shocked him.
Inside those tubes were not only wires, but a massive brain in each of those tubes located right at the bottom.
"This, is an extension of my power."
She places her hand on the glass wall as she looks at him.
"This...is Exterior."