Chapter Text
August 22nd, 8:53 PM
Accelerator charged at the no-good third-stringer, ready to snuff out his life with both hands, when he felt something on his face. A blinding, smashing, overwhelming - what? He had never felt anything like this before.
Time seemed to reset, and Accelerator found himself looking up at the cloud-streaked sky and crescent moon.
The moon? Why am I looking at the moon? Oh, it’s because I’m on my back. Well, how come I’m lying on the ground? His lungs ached, and Accelerator gasped in a painful breath. He must have had the wind knocked out of him when he... fell? Accelerator’s brain started to come back online. Wait, where is that guy? He was just in front of me. How did he…
Accelerator’s face hurt. He raised a hand to his nose, still confused. What is this? He looked at the blood smeared on his hand. Is this...pain?
Accelerator hadn’t felt physical pain in so long, ever since his esper abilities had manifested themselves. “What the hell is this?!” Accelerator shouted his outrage to his own bloody hands. Did he knock me flat? ME?! That’s impossible! If that were true, it’s his arm that would be broken. He shouldn’t even be able to TOUCH me!
A crunching noise made Accelerator look up to see the guy in question standing over him. Accelerator forced himself to his feet, his mind going a million kilometers a minute as he tried to come to terms with what had happened. Did I focus everything into my hands, unconsciously shutting down the Reflection around the rest of me? He giggled manically as he realized what must have happened. Damn it, what an idiotic move! Still, he knew what to do now, and he grinned savagely.
“Interesting. Damn it! Good! The best! You pleasantly, fantastically nailed me there!” Accelerator was giggling uncontrollably now, but he didn’t care as he reached out both hands, his Reflection now at full strength throughout his body. “And now, you…!”
Slap.
Accelerator blinked as his mouth fell open in shock. This guy, this third-string, this wannabe fucking hero , just slapped his hand away ! This wasn’t possible. This was unacceptable ! Accelerator’s face twisted in rage as he screamed his anger to the sky. Dirt and rocks flew into the air as he bent the vectors to throw everything away from him, to prove that he was ACCELERATOR, the closest thing to God Academy City had ever seen, and then-
Crunch!
Accelerator reeled backwards, trying to regain his balance, as this guy, this unbelievable fucking guy , pulled back the same right hand that had slapped away Accelerator’s killing blow like it was nothing and PUNCHED HIM RIGHT IN THE FACE.
From behind a chain link fence, Mikoto saw Kamijou deck Accelerator, his thin body falling backwards onto the gravel of the railyard. “No way,” she breathed. Kamijou was fighting Accelerator. Kamijou was fighting Accelerator , and he was on the offensive? Accelerator was probably the strongest guy in Academy City, and that idiot, who had nothing to do with this shitty situation and who no one would blame if he ran away, was fighting him.
He really is keeping his promise , she thought, as the two circled each other. Accelerator was flailing his arms wildly, trying to connect, while Kamijou hit him again, and again, and again with that right hand of his.
“Damn you! Stop zig-zagging-” Accelerator’s growl was cut off by another blow to the face that flung him backwards, but this time Accelerator dug in his heels and managed to stay on his feet. He glared at Kamijou. “What is the deal with you? How are you neutralizing my-” Kamijou interrupted him by burying his fist into Accelerator’s gut.
Accelerator choked like he wanted to vomit, but recovered himself almost immediately this time. “Don't get too carried away with yourself, third-string!” he snarled, as he stomped his foot, dirt and rocks flying into Kamijou, knocking him off his feet.
Misaka was about to scream, when Kamijou suddenly launched himself into an uppercut that seemed impossible to pull off, knocking Accelerator to the ground. Mikoto couldn’t believe this was happening, but she started to hope. Maybe, just maybe, that idiot really was going to win.
Accelerator lay on his back again, flattened by the last blow of that fucking third-string. He heard the guy speaking to him, talking like some damned hero. “These fights you’re involved with are complete bullcrap. The Sisters are living as best they can! They each give every ounce of strength, desperately trying. Why should they have to end up as fodder for someone like you?”
They’re...living…? Accelerator closed his eyes. He was having trouble thinking straight. His whole world had been turned upside down by this insanity. What’s he talking about? They’re wind-up dolls, right? That’s what they told me, isn’t it?
I need a new move. Something to shut him down, to shut his mouth, to make him realize that he is facing the god of Academy City, and that he’s just some nobody.
He had to try a different approach. Something this third-stringer wouldn’t see coming. Something that he couldn’t counter with whatever power that right hand had, so that Accelerator would be back in control. Every time I try to use my powers on him directly, he somehow manages to reverse it into punching. Accelerator had come to the conclusion that he really didn’t like getting punched.
Accelerator’s eyes snapped open. That’s it. I have to get him to lower his guard, and if I can’t use my Reflection on him, I’ll just have to dominate him in another way. Accelerator stood up. The guy was standing there, ready for the fight to continue, but Accelerator had other plans.
“Hey, you. What’s your name?”
“My name?” The question seemed to put the guy off balance. Good , thought Accelerator. All according to keikaku. “I’m Kamijou, Kamijou Touma.”
“Well, Kamijou, you certainly aren’t what I expected.” Accelerator started walking towards Kamijou slowly, the aches and pains of the fight making him stiff. Kamijou tried backing away, but Accelerator kept approaching, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. Maybe I’ve been approaching this whole situation all wrong.”
“Really?” Kamijou still seemed unsure, but he had stopped backing away, his hands slowly drifting down to his sides. “Then you’ll stop hunting the Sisters? You’ll let them live their lives?”
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe you need to do more to convince me.” Accelerator wasn’t even sure what he was saying, but he was getting closer to Kamijou with every step.
Mikoto didn’t like how the situation was developing. Sure, Accelerator had his hands in his pockets, but he was advancing on Kamijou, and she was sure that he would try something once he got close enough. Mikoto didn’t know what she could do, but she climbed the fence, leaping to the ground from the top and immediately slipping behind a container. Looking around, she saw someone’s legs in a very familiar skirt laying nearby.
“Oh, it’s you.” She paused for a moment, then a lightbulb went off, and she dashed over to the unconscious body of Misaka 10032. Mikoto started shaking the prone girl, muttering to herself, “Come on, wake up, I need you now.”
There was no response, and Mikoto’s vision blurred. She wiped angrily at her tears. “You’re not dead. You can’t be dead, or that idiot will get killed for nothing. I need your help, so we can save him. I need my sisters, so we can all live our lives after tonight.”
The figure didn’t respond, and Mikoto felt her heart sink. She was always too late. Too late to save 9982 from that railcar. Too late to save 10031 from her hopeless fight in the alley. Too late to stop her DNA map from starting this whole screwed-up situation. Too late to realize what these girls were to her - and how much they hurt to lose. And now, too late to save that boy. That boy who she-
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying, but for some reason, your words have resonated with me.” Misaka 10032 raised her head, her expression still the same curiously blank one as always. She held out her hand, and Mikoto let out a shaky, relieved breath, and pulled Misaka 10032 to her feet.
The two young men were standing three meters apart now, looking at each other. Kamijou looked wary, one foot braced behind him as if he was preparing to dodge at any second. Maybe this third-string wasn’t completely stupid. Accelerator began to smile again, anticipating his victory.
“You’re a fascinating guy, thinking of those wind-up dolls as people.”
Kamijou frowned at him. “They are living people, you idiot! You can’t just call people dolls, when they’re trying to live as best they can. Weren’t you listening to me?”
“Oh, I was listening, and I’ve got a question. Everything I have been doing has been to get the power to dominate this world, and now you want me to stop because you think I’m hurting people. But maybe you’re right - maybe I see a different way to be in control. Do you think I should try that instead?”
Kamijou seemed confused by the question, but replied, “I don’t really understand what you mean by control, but as long as you aren’t hurting anyone, I think it’s worth trying.”
With a tap of his foot, Accelerator flashed forward, and was now staring into Kamijou’s eyes from ten centimeters away. Kamijou raised his right hand up to protect himself, but Accelerator was already too close to ward off.
“I’m so glad you agree,” Accelerator said, and closed the gap to kiss him.
Accelerator had planned to use his Reflection on Kamijou, but the same moment that his lips touched Kamijou’s for the first time, Kamijou’s right hand came to rest on his jaw. In tilting his head to avoid Kamijou’s nose, Accelerator had actually leaned into the hand that had so recently been pummeling him. The touch was far more gentle now; and if Accelerator had been thinking about such matters, he might have been astonished that his Reflection had not sent Kamijou flying lips-first into another cargo container.
Instead, Accelerator’s thoughts were completely preoccupied with the sensations of kissing Kamijou. Kamijou’s mouth was stiff against his, lips neither parted to invite him to continue nor pursed to reject the attention. The hand, which had been so hard and painful during their fistfight, was laying gently against his skin - Accelerator couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him so softly. Months? Years? There was a gap between their bodies, a gap that felt awkward and unnatural, but Accelerator was too taken up with the novel sensations he was feeling to close that space. He wanted more, more gentleness, more softness. The tingles running from Kamijou’s fingertips over Accelerator’s skull and down his spine were nice, in some weird way, and... Wait. I was planning to use this kiss as a distraction, to finally use my Reflection on him. It should have worked when I first kissed him, shouldn’t it? Whatever. I just have to tap him, or hit him, or something. I have to take him down.
Don’t I?
Touma's eyes opened wide with shock. In his wildest imaginings he wouldn’t have predicted that the other boy would kiss him. Even as he stood stiffly, lips and hand pressed against Accelerator’s face, his brain was processing the options he had.
I can’t stop touching him with my right hand, or he’ll turn that power against me. This is actually the safest place that I could be right now, but if he breaks away, I don’t know if I’ll be able to hit him before he blows me away. How do I keep him right here, where he can’t hurt anyone?
Touma’s body reacted to answer that question even as his mind was still processing. He took a half-step forward, so that their chests came together, and his left hand slipped around Accelerator’s hip to hold him in place. Touma’s head tilted slightly to the left, and he relaxed into the kiss, letting their lips press softly together instead of rigidly permitting the other boy to push his mouth against Touma’s.
Accelerator made an indistinct noise in his throat, but Touma was focused on how to best accommodate the direction their contest had taken. If he wants to do this to resolve his conflict, then I’ll make sure he gets everything he needs from me.
Accelerator was trying to think of the best way to throw Kamijou into the nearest shipping container, when Kamijou made his move. Accelerator shivered as Kamijou brought his body close, wrapping the two of them together with a hand now on his hip, as well as his head. He had thought that by taking the lead, by asserting himself on Kamijou, that he would gain the upper hand, but Kamijou seemed to relax into the embrace, rather than show the distress and fear that Accelerator was used to inspiring. That was unacceptable. This guy isn’t going to beat me that easily!
Accelerator opened his mouth so that he could deepen the kiss, flicking his tongue against Kamijou’s lower lip the way he vaguely remembered reading in one of those adult magazines he would pilfer from Kihara’s office. Kamijou moaned, and responded in kind, their tongues touching briefly before slipping away. Accelerator heard a dull roaring in his ears, and he wanted to smile in triumph.
Touma was a bit surprised by the eagerness that Accelerator was showing, but with every passing second the white-haired boy seemed less likely to kill him, so Touma went with the flow. He had never kissed someone before, and it was doing all sorts of things to him. Especially in his lower half.
Touma tried to adjust their position to make his enjoyment a little less...obvious to Accelerator. He used the leverage of his hand on Accelerator’s hip to turn him slightly, letting Touma take a half-step back with his right leg while still holding him close. His right hand had creeped back slightly, his wrist still pressed to Accelerator’s jaw while his fingers slipped around his neck and through that smooth white hair. Touma let his eyes flutter closed, relaxing into the kiss.
Accelerator felt Kamijou directing his stance, and his shoulders tensed. How dare he pretend like he was in control of this...situation. Accelerator was the one driving this bus, not him!
Accelerator pulled his hands from his pockets to wrap around Kamijou, mirroring where the other boy’s arms were. Accelerator’s left hand came to rest on the small of Kamijou’s back and pulled him in close while Accelerator’s right hand bunched up the fabric at the nape of Kamijou’s neck and pulled him into a dip.
Kamijou jerked slightly in Accelerator’s arms, then pulled Accelerator closer, as if he were trying to regain his balance. That pressed both of their lower bodies closer together, and Accelerator could feel just how much the other boy was enjoying this, even as he realized that Kamijou would know the same about Accelerator. He decided that he didn’t care - he was back on top in this engagement, and he wasn’t going to stop until Touma acknowledged he was in charge.
Mikoto helped her sister to her feet, draping one arm over her shoulder. The other girl looked like a mess, blood and bruises coloring her face and limbs, her uniform ripped and dirty, and her visor still slid up into her hair. “I’m not sure what Accelerator is going to do, but I need you and all our other sisters to help me stop him.”
“ ‘Misaka doesn’t know what she can do to help save Kamijou-san, but Misaka will help the original if Misaka can,’ says Misaka while resolving to do her best”, replied 10032, and Mikoto shook her head.
“I’m not sure either, but together, I’m sure that we can figure something out. Can you get in touch with our other sisters?”
“ ‘Misaka is always in mental link with the other units, so there is no need to wait for communication to occur’ says Misaka, smugly aware of the superiority of the unit’s collective consciousness.”
“Alright then. Just lean on me, and we’ll go take a look.”
“ ‘Misaka cannot walk unaided, so Misaka will do as the original asks,’ says Misaka, frustrated she has to point out the obvious.”
“Shut up,” said Mikoto, but without any heat. She and her sister crept between two metal containers until they approached the open area where Kamijou and Accelerator had been fighting. Mikoto paused, hesitant to reveal herself, but she couldn’t hear any voices, just some indistinct sounds, so she leaned around the corner to see what was happening.
Mikoto wasn’t prepared for the sight that met her eyes.
Kamijou and Accelerator were locked in a tight embrace, arms wrapped around each other, while they kissed passionately. Accelerator was holding Kamijou slightly backward, with Kamijou holding on to the back of Accelerator’s head. As they watched, Kamijou let his head tilt back as Accelerator’s hand slid up to cradle his neck.
Mikoto’s brain seemed to stop working. All she could think was, what? What?! I was gone for three minutes, what?!?!
“ ‘Because the original is not part of the collective consciousness, Misaka requires that the original reposition to allow Misaka to observe the situation,’ says Misaka as she cranes her neck to try to see,” commented 10032, breaking the spell for Mikoto. She jumped in surprise, pulling them both out of cover, and giving all the Sisters a clear view of the scene.
“ ‘They appear to be attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Do we need to call medical services?’ asks Misaka while searching for her cell phone” 10032 said while making no attempt to actually find her phone or even look away.
Mikoto cried out in embarrassment, and tried to cover her sister’s innocent eyes with her free hand, while the two boys, caught red-handed (and red-faced) in their embrace, looked over at the voyeurs.
Accelerator broke the kiss at the sound of a girl talking. He looked up from the flushed and panting face of Touma to see two of the Misaka units staring at them from behind one of the containers.
“What?” He asked, his tone implying that he was not happy about being interrupted.
Touma awkwardly twisted his neck to the left to look at the two Misakas. “Oh. Hi?” He sounded breathless and flustered but not particularly embarrassed, which bothered Accelerator somewhat. Wasn’t this whole affair worth him getting embarrassed? Surely being put in his place by Accelerator should have put him off-balance.
At that thought, Accelerator looked down at the boy he held in his arms, literally off-balance and ready to fall if he just released his hold. He considered it, but decided against it, not because Touma felt so right in his arms, but because it would make Accelerator look ridiculous. Instead, Accelerator stood up straight, helping Touma to regain his footing.
“What?!” One of the Misaka units shouted - no, not one of the units; this was the original Misaka, the one who had confronted Accelerator when he crushed that doll with the train car, a couple dozen experiments back. “I was gone for three minutes and you’re, you’re k-k-k-” She was pointing at them accusingly, and Accelerator couldn’t help himself.
He turned to Touma and kissed him again, this time turning sideways so that the girls could get a good long look at the two. Touma reacted the right way this time, pulling his blushing face away while saying, “Now’s not the time.”
Accelerator gave a shit-eating grin, and said, “Fine. I’m done for now anyway.” He pulled away from Touma, whose right hand continued caressing Accelerator’s face until he was too far away to reach. Accelerator almost stepped back into reach, already missing being touched so sweetly, but Touma’s hand had dropped away by the time he thought to turn back.
Accelerator shook himself, still grinning at Touma. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Kamijou Touma. I’ll be seeing you again soon.” Accelerator put his hand back in his pocket so he could pull out his phone. “What’s your Line?”
Touma looked slightly embarrassed. “I, uh, I don’t have a Line. Let me just give you my number.” The following silence was all the more awkward because of the two middle school girls, one glaring at them, the other staring with blank-faced intensity.
When they finished typing, Accelerator began to turn away, but Touma asked, “And you won’t hurt any of the Sisters anymore, right?”
“As long as you keep me entertained? Sure. If you start to bore me, I might reconsider.”
Accelerator allowed himself one more up-and-down glance at Touma before walking off, still grinning, while the sounds of Touma talking with the Misaka brats carried to his ears.
“You idiot! What did you think you were doing?”
“Well, I mean, I know it wasn’t exactly the plan, but it seems like it all worked out in the end, I guess.”
“ ‘Misaka is experiencing new sensations in her reproductive regions as a result of Misaka’s recent observations,’ Misaka notes, blushing at the implications of homosexual eroticism.”
“Agh! No, don’t say that. You perverted idiot!”
Smack.
“Hey, what did I do?”
“Shut up! And what do you mean, you don’t have Line? What kind of friendless moron are you?”
“Hey! Just because a fancy Tokiwadai rich girl like you needs an expensive app to talk to her friends doesn’t mean that texting is too good for the rest of us! Besides, this Kamijou Touma has plenty of friends!”
“Oh, sure! Like I believe a pathetic loser like you has a single friend in the world.”
“ ‘Misaka also does not have Line,’ says Misaka, attempting to diffuse the disagreement between the Savior and the Original before the Original decides to electrocute the Savior.”
Accelerator grinned as the voices gradually turned into incoherent noises behind him. This was much more interesting, and enjoyable, than that stupid experiment. He was done killing clones. It hadn’t been showing any actual results anyway; why waste his time? He would tell the scientists to piss off the next time they contacted him. Until then, he would have to think about how soon he could call Kamijou Touma.