CHAPTER 5

A Sunset Spent in Vagueness
Hard_Way, Hard_Luck.

1

“Wow, it’s raining, says Misaka says Misaka, looking up at the night sky, a little bummed out she can’t see the moon.”

On the now-dark streets, Last Order was catching raindrops in her palms.

In Academy City, once the last schools let out, the trains and buses stopped as well. Most residents were out of sight. The only ones left were the gutsy types who stayed out late, deciding they didn’t need to go home today. The nearby bus stop, simple with a galvanized iron roof, was empty, too.

The rain continued to patter.

It wasn’t enough to warrant an umbrella, but those gutsy students were nowhere to be seen on the streets, either. They’d probably decided not to stand around on the roads, talking and causing a ruckus inside stores instead.

As Last Order wandered all over the place, excited, Accelerator glared at her, tired of it. “You’re being annoying. Go stay put over there or something.”

“Oh, is that the puppy who’s been hanging about near here in that bus stop taking shelter from the rain?! says Misaka says Misaka, darting off and beginning her pursuit…Urk!!”

“Do you need a collar and a leash or what, you stupid brat?!”

He grabbed the back of the small girl’s head and kept her in place. If she ran away again, he wouldn’t have the energy to go after her this time. A nearby building could find itself destroyed after he finished venting.

Last Order flapped her arms around. “Misaka thinks she’ll be okay without you being so overprotective, says Misaka says Misaka, requesting freedom and release.”

“Save your stupid frontier spirit for your dreams. Anyway, I’m not being protective, and if you cause me any more trouble, I’m gonna punch you in the stomach and knock you out. It’ll probably be easier that way.”

“There you go again—you don’t have to be so shy about it, says Misaka says Misaka, pointing at you crossly…Why are you making such a tight fist? asks Misaka asks Misaka with a bright smile meant to calm your anger and stuff.”

What a pain, he said to himself with a sigh.

Not everything in a tailored daily life was bright. People would always be unhappy with something, no matter what the world was like. An ultimate world where everything was best for one—when a person thought about it, that just meant a space where they could be self-righteous and completely ignore the needs of others.

The languid annoyance he felt was like a contract price for living in the world.

He knew that.

Accelerator smiled sardonically at himself.

How terrifying it was to grow used to something.

Who did he think he was, accepting everything around him as natural, even complaining about things?

When he’d already done all that.

He should be thanking God or whoever was above the clouds just that he was standing here now.

As he walked, deep in reflection, a voice reached his ears.

“Ow!! …Misaka fell down, says Misaka says Misaka, giving a situation report from the ground.”

“Quit complaining about nothing.”

“Misaka scraped herself, says Misaka says Misaka, looking carefully at her hands.”

Last Order got up off the rain-soaked road. She had a little mud on her, and her hands, wet with moisture from the ground, had tiny scrapes on them. A red color began slowly seeping into them.

“Misaka thinks she needs disinfectant, says Misaka says Misaka, getting a little teary-eyed.”

“Spit on it or something.”

“Misaka thinks she needs disinfectant!! shouts Misaka shouts Misaka again, sounding like she’s about to start bawling!!”

“…You’re one annoying pest, you know that? Just forget it. Let’s get back to Yomikawa’s place.”

“…” Last Order fell silent.

Accelerator looked over. She bit her small lip and said abruptly, “All right, says Misaka says Misaka, convinced. It hurts, but Misaka will get through it, says Misaka says Misaka, plodding after you.”

As though trying to do what he said, she kept her eyes forward, not sparing any more glances at the scrapes on her palms.

But it seemed like she was just forcing herself not to look at them.

Her small mouth clammed up, and she walked after Accelerator without a word. Not speaking put an odd pressure on him. It seemed to him like she was a moment away from crying.

“…Bullshit,” he said, accompanied by teeth sucking.

If she got noisy, that would be annoying, too. Accelerator used the hand not on his modern crutch to push Last Order away by her forehead with his index finger. He didn’t put much force into it, but the suddenness made her start to fall backward.

“Wah! says Misaka says Misa—?!”

She flapped her arms about, but in the end, she couldn’t regain her balance and fell onto her backside.

Not onto any hard asphalt.

She fell onto the bench of the roofed bus stop.

Startled, Last Order looked about the bus stop, protected by its galvanized iron roof.

Accelerator spoke without looking at her. “Wait there. If you move, I’ll beat you to a pulp.”

He spat on the road.

After a bitter click of his tongue, he walked toward a pharmacy, supported by his crutch. It was only two hundred meters away, but it was incredibly annoying to him to have to walk that far.

He went in.

It was far too big for a pharmacy. All sorts of shelves sat all over the place; just those made it feel oppressive. Still, the ceiling was five times the shelves’ height, which relieved the sensation somewhat.

The last school closing time had passed, and there weren’t many customers.

Because of what pharmacies were for, they had to be open at all hours. The store clerk in front of him, though, had “I want to close up and watch TV” written all over his face.

Antiseptic solution and bandages…, he thought at first, but decided instead on smaller adhesive bandages. They were really small scrapes. They didn’t need an entire roll of bandages.

“Overprotective…”

He made a face, remembering the impudent line.

And now he was having a staring contest with a box of adhesive bandages, shopping basket hanging from one arm and his face anxious. This was nuts. A screw must have popped loose somewhere in him. Angrily, he threw a package of adhesive bandages into his basket and headed up to the register on his crutch.

When he opened his wallet, he saw only pocket change left there.

He had to think for a few moments before remembering how the strange nun calling herself Index had vanished with his food expenses.

“…Piece of shit,” he muttered to himself, causing the person behind the register to almost jump out of his skin. He probably didn’t know who Accelerator really was, but the aura he felt emanating from him was too dangerous.

Then, on a shelf fixed to the counter next to the register, he spotted more colorful varieties of adhesive bandages. They looked like they were meant for children. The store seemed to have a surplus after stocking things for the Daihasei Festival—some simple first aid kits could be seen as well on shelves.

“What’s this? Is it different from normal?” he asked.

He could almost see the person behind the register’s heart leap into his throat as he desperately answered. According to him, they all had some kind of childlike modification, indeed, like antiseptic that wouldn’t seep into the wound, or adhesive plaster that wouldn’t stick, or fragrant bandages that covered the scent of medicine.

Meant for children. Accelerator thought for a moment. Overprotective.

Bang!! He kicked the counter with one foot.

The employee looked about to faint from fright. Nevertheless, when Accelerator tossed “for children” antiseptic and adhesive bandages into his basket, the employee’s face softened a little. Maybe he thought he was a kid who hated scabs, despite his appearance.

Accelerator managed to fish out enough coins to pay for them.

The trains were done for the day anyway, so he wouldn’t need to leave money in his wallet for anything.

He left the store and walked out into the street. It had started to drizzle. He lifted his pharmacy bag up toward the streetlight and saw a deformed mascot character on it, smiling at him.

“…Fuckin’ stupid,” he spat.

Yomikawa had asked him if he wasn’t used to doing things like this. What kind of question was that? He’d never get used to it. What the hell was this, anyway? Wasn’t he just about the furthest away from this stuff possible before? He’d beaten over ten thousand people to death, and here he was, zealously hurrying down the street at night with a bag of adhesive bandages for a couple of tiny scrapes. It was crazy. He’d gone mad. Anyone seeing this would have been confused, too. What other reaction could they have but to sneer at him?

Was it okay to get used to this?

Was it okay to worry about one tiny little injury?

Was it okay for a monster to do it, when he’d spilled at least ten thousand liters of blood?

“Bullshit,” he cursed.

He’d given an answer to that on August 31. He could be the biggest pile of trash ever, but that had nothing to do with the brat next to him. In cases where that brat could be hurt, and only then, he’d be decent and do something about it, no matter how out of place it seemed.

It was a good perspective.

But it wasn’t enough by itself.

Another way to look at it was that he was pushing his burdens onto the brat.

Wasn’t he just redirecting the responsibility for motivating him?

What the hell am I looking for…? he thought, lightly gritting his teeth. What am I all angry for? What do I feel like I’m missing? Hah, I’m further behind than I thought. You should know best—this whole “finding myself” thing just isn’t me.

Then his thoughts cut off.

Thud!!

A black minivan speeding down the road had crashed into him.

It was a single attack from behind.

The place he was standing was a sidewalk, separate from the roadway.

A thick guardrail blocked the roadway from the sidewalk.

However.

It didn’t take much for the jet-black minivan to smash through onto the sidewalk Accelerator was on. The driver didn’t seem to have hit the brakes, either. The impact flung pieces of the automobile, like its headlights and bumper, all over, and there was the sound of a beam smashing against the shattered front windshield. Iron plates from the torn-apart guardrail flew into the air, slamming into shutters belonging to business buildings facing the road. One thunderous roar gave way to another.

The street corner looked like a bomb had hit it.

And in the midst of it all…

Accelerator was standing there calmly, the same way he had been three seconds ago.

His hand was on the side of his neck.

He cracked it loudly.

His thin fingers were touching the electrode choker—the on/off switch.

His “reflection” was active.

Academy City’s strongest Level Five, who wouldn’t be scratched even from a direct hit by a nuclear weapon, now reigned.

The hell…? He turned around.

He stared at the black minivan that had charged him.

The iron plates all around it had been cratered like they’d been hit by a cannonball. In the middle was lodged something he wasn’t sure what to call—a car or wreckage—flattened to a pulp.

The sun had already set, yet its front headlights were off. They hadn’t broken when the minivan hit. They’d been switched off to begin with.

Almost like they didn’t want me to know they were sneaking up on me, eh?

Plus, he spotted traces of someone forcing off the license plate and replacing it. Despite the impact being enough to shatter the windshield, it didn’t look like the airbags had activated; the thing seemed to be a stolen vehicle to begin with, given the wrenched-open lock on the door.

Which means it’s, well, the usual.

In the driver’s seat, which was smashed beyond all recognition, a man dressed in black was moaning.

Special forces–esque armored clothing and a black mask covering his head. The man was thorough in his concealment, even wearing thick ski goggles to perfectly hide his eyes.

…Either he’s got somethin’ against me, or a research group is out to try to use me for their own purposes.

A smile split across Accelerator’s face.

He smiled, delighted, at the military pistol grip holstered near the driver’s chest.

So they came. I knew idiots like you would come. Shitheads tryin’ to bring me back. Walking garbage cans who can’t tell their asses from their elbows.

Accelerator looked upward.

He looked up at the driver’s face, slightly higher than his, and smiled.

“—I’ll fucking kill you.”

Bam!! A huge roar echoed through the night city.

It happened in an instant.

Accelerator jumped toward the driver’s seat through the windshield-less window. His slender arms, as though sucked in, drew near the man in black’s face. More specifically, his mouth. Four fingers, from his index finger to his pinkie, drove into the man’s mouth. His pale hand tore through his black knife-proof mask, driving deep into his throat. With his leftover thumb, he held up the man’s jaw from below.

Then he pulled his hand back.

Grrrk—the sound of his jaw dislocating.

“Ah-ha-ha-gya-hah-ah-ha-ha-ha-hi-hi-hi-gya-ha-hah-hah-hah-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!”

A laugh exploded out of Accelerator as he dragged the man’s body out of the driver’s seat like a fisherman reeling in a tuna, then flung him away behind him. He flew over the sidewalk and crashed into a building shutter.

Smash!! came the noise, booming like thunder.

He heard a high-pitched squealing gasp come from the backseat of the black minivan.

There were more.

Accelerator’s red eyes squirmed and writhed.

“Hmmm? This is fun. Ah-ha-ha. Holy shit, this is amazing, this is insane, you shithead!!”

He dove like a wild animal through the front window.

He tore up the passenger seat like wild grass, then stepped into the backseat. Bgrbghee!! The entire vehicle vibrated strangely. Almost like the metal and interior of the van were trying to avoid him of their own accord. Its frame was already twisted, and he heard a succession of bolts bouncing out of their sockets and window panes breaking. As though the vehicle were a hot-air balloon made of metal, trying to expand.

Another man was in the rear seat.

Before the man in black could draw his gun in his haste, Accelerator grabbed his head and slammed it straight down. Gonk!! came the dull sound as the seat split open to let the man’s head sink into its cotton insides.

Only the sound of short, muffled breathing came through.

“Ha-ha-ha…Ah, now I’m bored, goddamn it. I’m over this. I ain’t a demon.”

Accelerator grinned.

“Shit. I won’t kill ya. That’d be a pain. If you act now, I’ll let you off with a fifty percent discount.”

“Ah, ah…” The man’s voice was unclear, his mouth buried in the seat as it was. Even so, he barely managed to croak out words. “…Ah…fifty…you mean…money…?”

“Nope.”

Accelerator slowly shook his head.

“I’ll only tear off fifty percent of your skin. If you’re still alive, you’re off the hook.”

There was an insect-like screech.

Accelerator smiled.

With joy, with happiness, with bliss, with amusement, like licking an ice cream cone after coming off a diet.

Then.

Grsshhh!! came a scraping from the road surface as three black minivans ground to a halt surrounding Accelerator. He looked out the broken windows at them. These vehicles were probably stolen, too, but he sighed—must’ve been a lot of work to find more of the same exact kind.