Misaka.
That was what that drunk woman collapsed in the road had said.
(…Is it just a coincidence? No.)
Accelerator walked alone down the dark road with his cane and thought.
The provider of Last Order's genes was Misaka Mikoto…but that wasn't her. So that must have been her older sister. If she was in Academy City, she may have been some kind of esper, but he hadn't heard anything about that. But since he didn't really care about others, he didn't know very many details about other espers.
However, there was one thing he found odd.
(Her clothes. Elmo, Az, Scale, Losib, and her perfume is a new Zero Plus product…Wait, aren't those all for teens? Well, she was still covered in brand name clothes and all from companies outside of Academy City. The fact that not a single thing came from here is odd.)
It was conceivable that someone would order an entire outfit from a brand they really, really liked, but that drunk's clothes were all from different brands. The shirt, the slacks, the belt, the shoes, and the handbag were all different as if she had thrown a bunch of things she liked together. It didn't look like she was particularly picky about the brands she wore.
But then one would expect for there to be at least one thing from within Academy City.
Since there weren't any…
(It's possible she came from outside.)
While he thought, Accelerator was purposefully choosing paths people rarely went down even though not many people were out at night.
(Then why is she here? She said something about needing to go to the Dangai University database center, but would they really let someone in for that while preparing for a war? They're not only thoroughly checking the background of any guests, but they're doing it to the delivery workers too. So does that woman have some other reason to be here?)
A reason.
A reason for someone in the Misaka family to be here at this time.
It could very well have to do with the original, Misaka Mikoto. Or…
(…It could have to do with that kid.)
"Tch," Accelerator clicked his tongue and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
He opened the address book and moved the cursor to the entry only labeled as "Entry 3" and pressed the call button.
It was the number of his fellow Group member Tsuchimikado Motoharu.
He put the phone to his ear and it connected without even ringing.
"Accelerator. Do you need something?"
A polite male voice answered. But Accelerator's eyes widened when he heard it. It wasn't Tsuchimikado Motoharu's voice and the speech pattern was completely different.
(So they cut in on the call.)
"You bastard. I'm assuming you're the guy in charge of Group."
"I can answer any questions you might have."
"Tch. …I've got nothing to ask you. I can handle my own problems. So quit commanding us like you're our fucking guardian. You're gonna get your eyes gouged out."
"Oh, I see. Well, that's too bad. There was a matter I was hoping I could inform you of if you weren't busy."
"Ah?"
"It's about Misaka Misuzu-sama. Although, I suppose you would need more than just a name."
"…"
Accelerator looked around.
Nothing about the night-time street seemed out of the ordinary.
(Did someone give them the information or are they watching from a satellite…?)
"And who is this Misaka Misuzu? Is she related to Railgun?"
"Yes, she is. And this is perfect timing, things are just starting."
(What?)
Accelerator frowned.
With a boom, a sudden explosion lit up a certain part of the city with a red light.
It was fairly distant. The sound came a few seconds after the light.
Accelerator turned in that direction with the phone still pressed against his ear.
An unnatural light was flickering near the building-covered horizon.
"That Misaka Misuzu-sama applied for permission to use the Dangai University database center, so we have attacked it. She is the only one using it and a few private guards have been confirmed to be there, but, well, it's within what we're allowed to do. All of the main data is backed up over the network, so there is no need to worry about any losses there."
"Attacked?"
"Yes."
"…Who is this Misaka? She isn't some professional agent, is she?"
"As you may have guessed, Misaka Misuzu-sama is Miss Misaka Mikoto's mother. Her background check was clean. So you need not worry about that."
(Her mother?)
Accelerator recalled Misuzu's face and a dubious expression appeared on his face.
But what bothered him more was…
"Why are you attacking her mother? And her background check was clean? What the hell are you doing?"
"An ordinary person can be dangerous in her own way. Now I'm getting to the heart of the matter I mentioned before that I wanted to inform you of." The voice on the phone spoke quietly. "Do you know what a recovery exercise is?"
"It's that thing that's been happening a lot lately. Academy City might be becoming a battlefield, so parents are coming to take their kids somewhere safe."
"That reasoning itself is nothing more than foolishness brought about by a complete lack of understanding of the situation of this country's defenses, but it is still a problem. Having a great number of students leave Academy City is a problem for a number of reasons."
"…"
Why was that a problem?
Did they not want to let go of the students who could fight a war for them?
Did they not want their research samples to be leaked outside of the city?
(That isn't it.)
He was speaking with the person "above" Group. Someone like that wouldn't have a normal opinion. If it was a problem for them, it had to be a problem relating to some deeper plan.
For instance…
There were the various pieces of things behind the scenes he had caught a glimpse of on September 30th. Things like Kihara Amata, Hound Dog, that giant winged monster, the virus injected in Last Order, and that silent attack on Academy City.
"Misaka Misuzu-sama is a parent attempting to carry out a recovery exercise. We know that she is not intentionally causing a problem for us, but an accidental problem is still a problem. It has to be stopped here."
That drunk's face came to the surface of Accelerator's mind for an instant.
She was an irritating woman, but that was no reason to drag her down into the world of darkness.
But it was too late.
The explosion had already occurred. Misaka Misuzu had most likely been blown to pieces in the first blast.
However, the voice over the phone spoke.
"You will join in too, Accelerator."
"What?"
"I'm saying you can earn quite a bit here. Skill-Out was hired to take care of this, but…their performance is lacking. It had been concluded that bringing a problem like this to Group was too dangerous from an exposure point of view, but that thinking appears to have backfired. If you assist us here, your points will go up quite a bit. It will be the first step towards making up for the losses on September 30th. You want to pay back the around 8 trillion yen you owe as soon as possible, right?"
"…"
Accelerator thought about it.
If the person on the other end of the phone wasn't screwing with him, Misaka Misuzu was still alive.
"No, thanks." He responded. "Skill-Out? You really want me to do odd jobs along with those Level 0 fuckers? And I don't need to bow down to accommodate someone like you. I'm not here because of that debt."
As he spoke, he checked the choker-style electrode on his neck.
He had had a bit of fun earlier, but the battery still had plenty of time left.
It was more than enough to take care of one little Skill-Out group.
He was going to save Misaka Misuzu.
That was his natural decision. It was the same feeling he had had during the incident with Kihara Amata. A tiny life was in danger from an unreasonably large power. It almost made him laugh how unpleasant a feeling it was. It made him want to beat the shit out of the people who brought about the situation. It reminded him of when he had fought for Last Order.
Even though he was of the darkness.
"Someone like you may not understand, but my life is my own. I don't give a fuck what you expect me to do. I decide what I do. I'm not your tool. Got it?"
"Is that so? If you aren't going to do the job, then just come on home." The voice on the phone sounded a bit discouraged. "I'll take care of your power until you make it back."
The electrode on his neck gave a strange beep.
(Wha…t!?)
Accelerator hurriedly put his hand up to the switch, but there was no reaction. There was nothing more than a clicking noise. He couldn't switch between normal mode and powered mode.
"You put something in my electrode!!"
"Oh, is there something you need your powers for?"
"Tch," he clicked his tongue.
In order for Group's technical team to improve the battery, his choker-style electrode had been confiscated temporarily, but they must have messed with its internal workings in that time. The person over the phone most likely had a safety device that he could freely operate remotely.
Don't trust us.
Accelerator now had an idea what Tsuchimikado Motoharu's words from earlier that day had meant.
"If you have no more questions, I'll be going. Good night, Accelerator."
The connection ended.
"Hmph," Accelerator made an uninterested noise.
(Excellent. Now I feel like doing this even more.)
There was a villainous look in his eyes.
Accelerator put his phone back in his pocket and gritted his teeth.
(…All I can use is my handgun and I have about 50 shots left. I have no idea what Skill-Out has in regards to numbers or equipment, but I bet I can get that drunk out of there with this.)
It was a tricky situation, but at least it wasn't as bad as when he had taken on Kihara Amata's Hound Dog. Skill-Out could take on a normal esper with weapons, but they hadn't had professional training.
The biggest problem was Misuzu.
The attack was already underway. A group of Level 0s – or rather, a group of delinquents equipped with weapons and self-defense items – would be enough of a threat for a normal person. It was possible she could even be killed before he got there.
"…"
For an instant, Komaba Ritoku's face appeared in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.
He had no reason to be remembering a villain taking out-of-place actions.
He had made up his mind and he was going to charge in there.
That was all.
(Tch. I just need to get this pain-in-the-ass problem over with as soon as I can.)
The attack was taking place at Dangai University's database center.
It was a few kilometers away. As he used a cane, he had no choice but to find a vehicle somewhere. As he headed for a major road…
The back of a certain boy dashed by Accelerator.
"…"
He recognized the boy.
In fact, there was no way he could ever forget him.
He had a medium build and black spiky hair and was clenching his right fist. He was talking with someone on his cell phone while heading toward the blazing site of the attack. It was obvious what he was going there to do. It would have been harder to not figure it out.
(That…bastard!!)
Either Accelerator was in the shadows or that boy was completely focused on the database center, because he didn't seem to notice Accelerator at all. If they had run into each other there, they probably would have gotten into a fight to the death. That was how strong an opponent he was.
Accelerator shook his head trying to refocus.
(Tch. This isn't the time for that. I need to destroy Skill-Out here. I don't give a fuck what those people "above" want. I have no duty to do what they say. I just need to think about how I can solve this with only 50 bullets.)
He gritted his teeth and started walking with his cane.
Misaka Mikoto's mother.
He had no reason to interfere with her life, but she still had a connection with that kid. A Radio Noise clone had no physical parents and Misuzu probably didn't even know about that small life that had been created, but there was still a connection between her and that kid.
The two would most likely never meet (it would be a problem if they did), but that didn't mean he should just let her die. That connection was probably something that mustn't be lost here even if neither of them would ever know about the other.
Accelerator was a villain.
However, he did not put restrictions on himself because he was a villain. He threw away the preconceived notions that an evil person could not save a good person or those who were not good people couldn't advance along the righteous path.
(Now then…)
Academy City's strongest esper came out to a major road, stared at the headlights of a taxi wandering around looking for drunk customers, and gave a thin smile.
(I'm not going to be doing out of character things with a serious look on my face. I'll save her in the way that's furthest from what one would call "saving". There's going to be blood everywhere.)