An unknown person smashes through the defenses of Academy City one night, in a burst of unrelenting speed, and grinds to a halt in front of the front step of Shokuhou Misaki. What could this person possibly want?

Sup? It's been a while. Anyways, just... just go read and enjoy, will you?

I kinda feel like I could've done better on this one somehow... my quality is dropping :sad:

"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those whom ask for it."

~Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Somewhere in Academy City, 8:15

This story begins with, as all others do, with a mistake.

But the lone guard sitting behind his comfortable desk knows that he didn't make any.

He has a desk job. A nice, safe job, behind several meters of thick steel walls, where he sits on his desk and watch and made sure less people die than is strictly necessary, strictly necessary being whoever isn't in his team. And during his night shifts, he stares at the camera. But not half asleep, not with that horrible Camera pointed to the back of his neck. It bores into his soul. Sometimes he thinks that the Camera knows exactly what he thinks.

So he made sure that everything runs precisely as it should. Various paraphernalia runs as they should on the far side of the desk, the screen is spotless of any dust, and the cold sweat drops on the cloth on his lap. If even one thing doesn't run precisely as he should, he has a feeling that he should be the one to begin running, because his superiors have various ways to make people disappear, oh yes, myriads of ways, and not all of them have been tested yet and more importantly, you do not want to be tested on.

So when the radar blips, his eyes shifts towards the screen.

There is a single dot approaching the city perimeter at an alarming speed, and he says alarming, because he blinked once and that dot has already disappeared into the chaos of the city.

He quickly scans all the security cameras, but they show nothing out of the norm. In a cold sweat, he begins to mull things over.

Here, the man is faced with a decision.

He can tell his superiors. Something just breached the city perimeters, sir, yes, it appeared at an insane speed, sir, blinked once and it's gone, sir, yes, it disappears into the city, no, couldn't say for sure sir, could be an equipment malfunction, so sorry to waste your time sir aiiiieee…

No, telling his superiors would be a bad thing. Besides, the occasional glitch does happen, and the superiors themselves acknowledge it.

He could stay silent, but if, if, and by the gods he hopes it doesn't, if the shit hits the fan, then Coordinator Shiroinu would have never existed, never heard of him, nope, now be quiet and let me treat you to a drink…

Oh, dear…

He grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbles furiously in it. Now...

Do you spell resignation with an extra e?

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Academy City, Sunshine 21
Accelerator walks home, a bag of groceries in his hand, grumbling furiously about the unreasonable prices that seem to be the one thing he couldn't redirect.

A gust of wind gently caresses him, rustling his bag and hair slightly.

Oh? What's this?

He casually reaches towards his neck and flicks his little finger nonchalantly, the way a person would flick a mosquito off their neck. There is a small whine, and then a hum. A green light winks gently in the darkness.

Now, let's see which unfortunate little bugger…

But there is nothing. There was something, he is sure of it, but now, it's gone.

Shrugging, he continues to walk home. It's someone else problem, after all. Whatever it is. And it doesn't pay to stick your nose in.

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Academy City Slums
A blonde-haired figure in the alleyways turns abruptly and waves its hands. Something large and white swells for a moment, forming a barrier that blocks the alley and then dissipates in flecks of white foam.

The figure stares. That's odd…

Something was there that shouldn't be there, he was sure of it, but whatever it is, it's no longer there. It resolves itself to shrugging and continues on its merry way.
But just to be sure…

He scrapes his finger along the wall. A white residue emerges, and coalesces into two beetles, which took flight immediately, and station themselves at the opening and at the top of the alley, respectively. Their efforts are wasted, he knows – but one can't be too careful.

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Tokiwadai Dorm

Misaka Mikoto snaps.

"Would you just – "she roars, "STOP - "

This is punctuated by a high-pitched whine followed by a sizzling hiss, and the crackle of fresh sharp burning ozone. The lights begin to blink on and off, on and off –

"Touching – "

There's a scream, although muffled somewhat by pillows, followed by the clang and clatter of things hitting the floor, being knocked about by a whirlwind of limbs –

"My –"

More screams, followed by a suggestion of very fast movement and blue light, as well as flying bodily appendages dancing in excruciating pain –

"FROG COLLECTION!"

The torrent of electricity subsides, and the air thickens again. Misaka huffs in anger and annoyance at the prone figure lying on the bed. She'll likely get into trouble with this, and she may or may not have fried a few brain cells – not that she needs those brain cells, given the things that she thinks about on a minute interval basis –

Something fast flew past her window.

She didn't see it – she couldn't have, because her back was turned. But she senses the sudden emptiness in her electromagnetic field. It's a very peculiar emptiness. It's almost completely straight, and somehow, the field isn't passively reforming.

Curiosity aroused, she opens the window to have a look around, but found nothing. Closing her eyes, she extends her radar field. Looking at the world as a series of blue dots among the black that is her eyelids, she saw her surroundings, but found nothing exclusively out of the ordinary.

Whatever was there has been long gone. She briefly wonders if it was him, but she reasons that there is no way he could have moved that fast.

Well, it doesn't seem to involve her, and if there's something she learns, it's that there's no profit to be made in sticking your nose in where it was unwanted…

"Heh… you said… mmmn…zzzz… aroused…"

The mumbled sleeping reply rouses her from her trance. Sighing, she prods the prone, slightly twitching figure with her foot.

"What the heck am I to do with you…"

Oh well.

She closes the window, locks it, and turns off the lights.

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Mugino snaps awake.

Something awfully annoying is cricking in the dark.

She listens to it for a second, fries it, then goes back to sleep.

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Shokuhou Misaki stares at the blue screen, enjoying her cup of tea. Her bag full of remote controls is next to her, but she feels no need to use any of them. Everyone in the vicinity is either sleeping or otherwise playing computer games, the way she is.

Right now, it isn't her turn, but she contemplates her next few moves as she –

Damn. Where did that come from? How can she not have seen that coming?

Setting down her cup, she starts to click the screen furiously. No, nope, oh no you don't, you –

Something downstairs crashes, but she pays it no heed. Probably just some unfortunate person stubbing his leg or possibly breaking an arm, which takes the several-hundred spot on her current priority list, the top currently being winning this god-forsaken game.

Oh, she's not so unkind as to not help him out at all. She'll just do it. Just a bit later. Possibly when everyone else is already downstairs trying to help. Help is invariably like that – you never want to be the first on the crime scene, because it creates some unfortunate implications if you do.

Something else crashes, much nearer this time. There is a sound, like air whistling. Her body tenses. Something - or someone - approaches.

She doesn't know it for sure, and it's just a hunch. But you don't survive in Academy City for this long and not develop a seventh* sense regarding dangers and its various ways of coming on to you. Slowly, cautiously, she stands up –

The door slams open.

A figure stands on her doorway. Its clothes are tattered, smoking remains of blue and red. His pants are torn around the edges, especially near his feet and knees, and his jacket and shirt tore near his elbows. His – yes, it's definitely a he, because no girl could be so flat chested while retaining a respectable amount of muscle – hair is black, but ashen, as if he recently came out from a fire. But what caught her attention the most are his eyes, because despite the ashen glasses he wore, his eyes shone in a sort of manic brightness. And that was it. She can't really describe a color, but if she had to pick, it would have been brown or black, despite knowing that it couldn't be that. No – boy? Yes, it's a boy, because under all that red, raw skin, he seems young – and besides, he's barely taller than she is. No boy should have those eyes, because, because –

It's the same kind of eyes that Dolly had. Completely lonely. And too scared to trust someone, but realizes that it requires her help in particular.

Both figure freeze for a moment, in the same way two predators freeze when regarding each other, in case the other makes a sudden move. They study each other, bodies tensing, twitching, waiting for the first sudden movement to break the impasse.

Then Misaki dives for her bag –

"Alright, that's enough!" shouts the boy in a somewhat hoarse voice, and tired voice. The voice booms around the small dorm room, but not loud enough to be heard from the outside. Ignoring his call, she reaches into the bag, and as her fingers pull out the remote she spins around and –

"Time!"

Something slaps the remote out of her hand, and briefly, she experiences a burning sensation in her entire body -

Then the sensation passes, but she couldn't move. Every time she tries, a searing pain shoots throughout her body, as if it was hit in several places in the same time.
She shouts out, but she couldn't move her mouth. Something is forcing her mouth shut, and painful burns sear her stomach and throat.

"Sorry!" shouts the boy. "But please understand –" he draws a sharp breath "that my hand is forced!"

He can control time? No, that's not what this feels like… but I can't move! Every time I try to move –

"NN!"

I can't even open my mouth? What the hell is this?

"I'm… hhh… sorry," says the ashen boy again. "But I need your help, and I don't … hhh… think that you would listen… nnh"

Because assaulting someone is really the best way to make them listen. Right.

"Please…"

Is he... tired? I won't be trapped in this technique of his for much longer, and then –

Wait. He knows who I am, or at least, what I can do. How does he know?

Whoever he is, he came prepared and ready. Treat him with caution, Misaki!

"I just have to … haaah… stop you attacking me for just… a second… just one more sec- "
Something shifts. The heat disappears.

She can move again!

With the full force of her vengeance behind it, she takes the remote, fully intent on wrecking this insolent boy's brain –

But she couldn't. The boy already lies on the floor, unconscious and spasms in exhaustion.

Cautiously, she prods his broken body. He twitches, but nothing about him suggests that he could possibly move.

How curious. Someone half-dead and exhausted, coming to her… knowing full well who she is, and possessing a strange technique… well, contemplation won't give her answers. But reading minds, on the other hand...

She presses a button on her remote.

Something explodes in front of her face, and she is thrown back slightly. The sound of breaking glass can be heard, and she realizes, feebly, that the remote was forcefully thrown out of the window by an unknown force.

Looking at the boy again, she can see him still unconscious, but his hand is outstretched and his palm is open, before it lifelessly falls again. Even while unconscious, he continues to defend himself.

What a nuisance, she thought. And he needs my help? Why should I help him? A boy with stories, that's for sure...

Interesting but dangerous, her more practical side reprimands. Surely this boy would be detrimental to our health, and you know why you shouldn't ever get involved in the shenanigans of the Board of Directors!

But his eyes…

I know those eyes well. It's someone being hunted, and knows they can't escape. I owe it to her, don't I…

She closes the door silently. She couldn't do much about the hole in the window, but at least she could make an excuse about throwing the nearest object to her due to her game, which she have almost definitely lost. And she could probably brainwash one of those janitors to sweep up the ashes that this person left behind...

Why do I go so far?

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Just underneath the window
"Ack!"

Something clocks his head at terminal velocity, which thankfully wouldn't be fatal due to a) the thickness of his skull and b) the lightness of the object. It doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt, however.

Touma rubs his head woozily. That hurt. "Such misfortune…" he mutters. He looks around for whatever hit him, in case it tries to do so again, or to at least give it a good kick. Eyes wide in the darkness, he does a quick search, but he couldn't find whatever it was, so he gave up. If he delays any longer in delivering food to that nun, then he'll sleep with a bump and several bite marks.

He continues on his way home, hauling the heavy bag of groceries, and one remote.

And there we have it! Chapter one.

I sometimes feel like my writing style is deteriorating here. I need more practice bluh.

I need more reviews bluh but EVERYONE says that, so hey.

Anyways, leave a review if you enjoy it, and I'll see ya next chapter!