September 15th, early morning.
District 7, a certain hospital.
A few streetlights scattered along the road emitted a cold glow, their light casting long shadows of the roadside trees swaying gently in the wind. On the silent road, thump thump~
Like an iron rod striking the ground, the sound echoed beneath Accelerator's thin frame.
Staring at the hospital gate sign before the fenced-off inpatient building, Accelerator lifted his head and paused for a moment. For some reason, he suddenly burst into a hysterical laugh.
God knows what nerve had been touched. His laughter was filled with sharpness and mockery.
"As expected, someone like her could never have good intentions. If I accepted her terms, a cure... hahaha, what a joke. It's slavery, isn't it?!"
Perhaps it was a scathing jab at Selene's insatiable thirst for control—or maybe just a bitter sneer at his own powerlessness.
The laughter lasted only four or five seconds before cutting off abruptly. Then, every trace of emotion vanished from Accelerator's face. Through his white bangs, his crimson eyes fixed tightly on the palm of his left hand.
Without question, he had refused Selene's offer.
At the time, Accelerator had prepared to go all-out, ready to fight to the death under her oppression. But surprisingly, Selene made no move. She merely tapped the left arm she had once severed, left him with a single sentence—"Wait and see"—and teleported away.
"She means, 'You don't even qualify for me to strike.'"
Clenching his fist tightly, Accelerator felt the brand-new, unblemished left arm—as if the injury had never existed. He knew this arm had been severed in his first battle against Selene. To be restored now, aside from Academy City's medical technology, Honkai energy from Selene had likely played a part.
It was even possible that, without his knowledge, Selene had secretly engraved a mark onto his body.
If he accepted the olive branch she offered now, it would mean that mark would embed itself deep into his soul. From that moment on, he might no longer be himself. He'd lose any ability to defy Selene.
A lifetime of servitude—just another dog.
Accelerator had never shied away from assuming the worst about Selene.
Still, he really should think of a way to speed up his recovery. Maybe go see the doctor again tomorrow.
Creak—
"La la la!"
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the inpatient building. "Finally back! Misaka Misaka says happily."
A mini version of Misaka Mikoto dashed out and hugged Accelerator's leg. Dressed in a yellow T-shirt, gray shorts, and blue sandals, with a long ahoge swaying on her head, the little girl beamed with excitement.
"Ooooh, it's Misaka's first time heating food! I made a hot, steamy meal! Misaka Misaka is so excited! It was amazing, the whole tray was steaming! Misaka Misaka kept staring at it—come on, this is what Misaka made for you!"
Accelerator could tell that the little girl had stayed up waiting for him. Her sleepy expression gave it away—she had clearly forced herself to stay awake and only dozed off at the end, likely startled awake by his laughter.
"Hot food? You can cook, brat? Don't tell me you burned down the hospital kitchen... that old hag would kill me..."
Even though he felt unexpectedly relaxed inside, the hostility between his brows dissolved in an instant, Accelerator's mouth still shot off with its usual gruff tone. The little Misaka clearly didn't mind—she was already used to his brash way of speaking.
Before he could react, the tiny Misaka tugged at his pants, trying to pull him back toward the building.
Accelerator didn't resist and let her drag him along.
In the auxiliary kitchen near his hospital ward, seeing the perfectly intact kitchen and a steaming lunchbox on the small dining table, Accelerator let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, the brat knew her limits and hadn't gone and burned down the whole place.
Otherwise, he really might have had to take on dark side missions to raise a kid.
Just thinking about his wallet made Accelerator curse under his breath.
Kihara Amata! You damned bastard!
Despite being a Level 5 esper, Accelerator had accumulated quite a bit of savings. Between his stipend as a top-tier student and the compensation for offering his body to various research projects in the past—not to mention that he rarely had any personal expenses—his bank account had been rather healthy.
But all of that had come to an abrupt end with the complete failure of the Level 6 Shift Project. After being laughably defeated by a powerless esper and then taking a bullet to the head that ruined his calculation abilities, everything changed.
Academy City had suspended his Level 5 student stipend, and his savings were frozen by Kihara Amata under the pretext of reimbursing the research institutions involved in the Level 6 Shift Project for their financial losses.
If it hadn't been for the emergency cash stashed in his dorm, he might not even have had the money to pay for hospitalization. What, did people think everyone was like that Selene woman?
Kihara Amata's betrayal—"the birds are gone, the good bow is stowed; the cunning rabbit dies, the hound is cooked"—sparked hardly any protest.
After all, these institutions weren't charities. To those unaware of the full picture, or lacking a deeper understanding, it seemed as though Accelerator, once the second-ranked Level 5, had sustained severe injuries. His brain was damaged, and his powers had deteriorated—possibly even to the point of falling out of the Level 5 bracket.
Accelerator could more or less guess why no one was making a move for now. Most likely, they were all waiting to see what the third-ranked "Dark Matter" Kakine Teitoku would do—if he would take action and pull Accelerator off the second-place pedestal.
"Instant food, huh? Brat, when did you learn to use a microwave?"
Glancing at the microwave nearby, still plugged in, Accelerator leaned against the dining chair and yawned.
"What the heck? Is that how you see Misaka? Something like this, Misaka can learn just by looking! Misaka Misaka rebuts your comment with puffed cheeks!" With hands on her hips and cheeks puffed out, little Misaka turned her head away indignantly.
Accelerator waved dismissively, brushing it off. Still, he didn't waste her goodwill. After all, he was genuinely hungry. Ever since separating from Selene, he had walked back the whole way lost in thought, limping along on his crutch. It wasn't like he had spatial abilities.
Tearing open the packaging, he muttered, "Beef curry again..."
His eyes lit up.
Accelerator liked meat and coffee—especially when the two were combined.
"Hehehe..."
Seeing Accelerator dig in heartily, little Misaka beamed, her eyes sparkling. She no longer pouted.
Even though it was just pre-packaged food and not something she made herself, she had still heated it. Rounded up, it counted as her accomplishment.
As he ate, the sound of a car braking rang from outside the door. Not long after, footsteps approached, and the sliding door was pulled open.
"Hmm? Smells like curry. Instant meals... really now, you're in a growth phase, you should be eating proper food, not just going for convenience."
Carrying a shoulder bag in one hand, her black hair neatly tied back, she wore a simple, practical green tracksuit. Her mature, alluring figure radiated the charm of an adult woman, particularly emphasized by her voluptuous chest. Calmly, she walked up beside Accelerator and gave him a light knock on the head.
It was hard to believe: the infamous, foul-tempered second-ranked Level 5 esper had just been bonked on the head—and didn't even explode in anger.
Yomikawa Aiho.
By day, she was a P.E. teacher at a certain high school, and also a member of Judgment in Academy City.
She was one of the rare few whom Accelerator recognized as having the right to scold him like an elder.
Back in mid-August, after being punched back to his senses by Kamijou Touma's infamous "Ideology Correction Fist," Accelerator had a wake-up call. He began fighting to save others, seeking redemption.
Through his connection with the geneticist Yoshikawa Kikyou—who was involved in the Level 6 Shift Project and had helped manage and care for both Accelerator and the Misaka clones—he came to understand more about the experiment's inner workings.
Determined to save Last Order and the remaining ten thousand Sisters, Accelerator was formally introduced to Yomikawa Aiho through Yoshikawa.
Yoshikawa Kikyou and Yomikawa Aiho were close friends—besties, in fact. Since Yoshikawa was still recovering physically, she had entrusted her old friend Yomikawa with caring for both Accelerator and Last Order.
As for why it was considered "formal"—
Back when Accelerator was still a villain, he'd had plenty of run-ins with this justice-driven officer. At the time, he'd mostly met her with scorn and disdain.
But now, with newfound clarity, he couldn't help but admire Yomikawa Aiho. Her dedication to protecting Academy City and her unwavering belief in never using weapons against students deeply moved him.
And perhaps most importantly—Yomikawa Aiho was now, officially, his legal guardian…
As for why not Yoshikawa Kikyou? Well, let's just say she still carried a few bad habits from her researcher days.
At the moment, Yomikawa looked thoroughly exhausted—clearly having just returned from a Judgment operation. Now she was switching roles back to that of a high school P.E. teacher.
Just as she was about to speak again, she suddenly felt a tug on her clothing. Looking down, she wasn't surprised to see little Misaka.
"Um... please don't blame him. This was all Misaka's doing, Misaka Misaka pleads earnestly."
The girl looked up at Yomikawa with teary eyes, her face pleading for her not to scold Accelerator.
Yomikawa couldn't help but laugh. "Guess I'm the bad guy now, huh?"
"Smart kid. Didn't expect it, but she really stands up for you," she added, turning to Accelerator.
Yomikawa gently stroked little Misaka's head. That ahoge of hers, strangely enough, seemed to have a life of its own—no matter how she tried, it refused to be smoothed down.
"Yomikawa, worked the whole night shift?"
The sliding door opened again, and in walked a woman over twenty-five with no makeup, holding a bottle of vegetable juice. She gave off an air of intellectual grace and spoke with casual familiarity.
"Yeah, couldn't be helped. Judgment work, you know. No idea where so many outside organization members managed to sneak in last night..." Seeing her old friend, Yomikawa waved tiredly. Her eyes lit up as she took in her friend's appearance.
"Looks like that hospital stay finally got you out of those faded jeans and that worn-out T-shirt you washed a million times."
"You really care about that? Let's not talk about it," Yoshikawa replied. Sitting down beside Yomikawa, she ruffled little Misaka's hair as well before sipping her juice.
"There was a huge commotion yesterday. Even from District 7, you could see armed helicopters and riot control units being deployed."
"Yeah, a lot of people died last night," Yomikawa sighed. "Judging by the insignias and paint on the riot squads, many were even redeployed directly from the Board of Directors' residences."
"It was one of the Tokiwadai girls—Shirai Kuroko, a member of Judgment's Third Branch."
"The Third Branch... That's the internal unit within the School Garden. It's mostly the territory of elite daughters. And Shirai Kuroko... she's supposedly one of the few friends of the number one Level 5. That explains a lot."
As someone who had participated in the Level 6 Shift Project, Yoshikawa Kikyou had access to a good amount of intel.
"Sigh... It didn't need to be so bloody. But after that girl made one phone call, the tone of the orders from above hardened—and things ended up like this."
With her right foot crossed over her left leg, Yomikawa slouched weakly in her chair, tilting her head to gaze up at the ceiling.
"Deploying military robots en masse to maintain public order... I don't know if it's good or bad. On one hand, it greatly reduces Judgment casualties. But on the other hand, it raises the risk of collateral damage and wrongful deaths during arrests."
"Some of those people didn't deserve to die. They still had a chance to change... but..."
The conversation had taken a heavy turn. In the hospital's auxiliary kitchen, only the sound of Accelerator chewing remained.
"Hey, Kakine, why are we coming to the hospital? I don't like it here."
"I don't like it either, but it's necessary. We didn't have time before, but now that we're settling down, you need a full checkup. Otherwise, I won't be at ease."
"Oh... Kakine, I'm hungry."
"Hungry? I think each floor of this hospital has an auxiliary kitchen..."
A male and female voice echoed through the corridor. The moment Accelerator heard the male voice, his eating halted abruptly. He stood up and protectively placed little Misaka behind him.
Slide~
The door opened. A brown-haired teen and a petite black-haired girl entered side by side.
"...."
In that instant, Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku locked eyes.
Both immediately noticed the girl beside the other.
Ah, you're babysitting too?
"Dark Matter..." Yoshikawa Kikyou's voice broke the silence.
Kakine shoved one hand into his pocket and clicked his tongue irritably. "Woman, I have a name. I'm not that skinny idiot who uses his code name like it's his real name."
"Heh, what's wrong, Number Three? Can't wait to knock me off my perch?" Accelerator, of course, didn't back down.
"I don't want to stain Ringo's eyes with your filth. But if you're looking to die, I can make time."
"Right back at you. I don't want this brat's eyes tainted by a mutt like you."
"This is a hospital—no fighting allowed." Yomikawa Aiho quickly stepped between the two, arms outstretched. "As a member of Judgment, I have the authority to stop your ac—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before—
BOOM—!
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