Winters Embrace
A/N: A little latter than planned, but Merry Christmas!
Once upon a time on Christmas Eve there was a boy. Such a innocent sounding start right, but wait till you hear the first words of the boy in this story...
"Fuck Fuck FUCK!" Swore the white haired albino known as Accelerator as he walked out of yet another toy shop in his epic hunt for a doll. As you can likely reason, Accelerator wasn't after the doll for himself, but for a certain hive mind queen with a ahoge.
"Why after eight fucking different stores have I yet to find the dam ice princess doll!" He shouted out, uncaring that many older siblings with younger brother and sisters were giving him dirty looks. However a fellow Level Five with the looks of a model and the mindset of a natural born killer gave him a small and understanding nod, like him she had a small charge (through hers was blond and overly fond of the word absolutely) who too was fond of singing about things being let go off (and considerably better at it due to the lack of a third person talking style).
"I've hit nine so far, I'm starting to think I might have to consider 'alternative methods' to get the dam thing." She told the Boy. Of course she didn't explain what said alternative methods were (extortion and bribery), but she also didn't explain to him the two of the retail staff in the shops she had visited had had emotional breakdowns under the pressure of her inquires (which was a improvement over the eight of last year, so she be able to explain that to Shiage and make him proud latter).
"The brat would probably get pissed of with me if I did that." The Boy explained grumpily. "I'm going to have to find one via the fucking normal ways."
It was at this point that the pair of Level Five's found they frequent bad language and casual reference to possibly criminal acts had gained the attention of a local authority figure.
"Accelerator!" yelled a Middle School aged Judgement Officer who was best at fighting cybercrime and fond of wearing flowers on her head. "There's under fives within hearing distance, can you -please- tone down your language?"
The Boy looked towards the Judgement Officer and simply replied...
"Sure. I'm sorry I forgot my self there."
Now you think this would cause the other Level Five (who shall henceforth be referred to as 'M' because that mysterious, cool sounding and easy to type.) to be somewhat confused and react oddly to seeing a boy well known for being arrogant, rude and taking no crap from anyone, being bossed around by a young teenage girl with no apparent power who could likely pull of a good moe act. But you be wrong, really wrong.
"Oh she's your Hamazura." M said with a little nod. "I understand."
"Wait a minute!" The Boy replied with crimson cheeks. "I don't have some weird crush on her and I certainly don't treat her like she some kind of hope of a happy ending for someone as messed up as me at all!"
It's safe to say that the Judgement Officer was blushing at this point.
"I went through this denial stage too." M explained as she grasped that albino wasn't being entirely honest with her. "I thought if I just blew him and his girlfriend to bits, I be happy again. But he proved me wrong, even after I tore ITEM apart, he forgave me and put everything back together."
"Wait a minute here!" The Judgement Officer exclaimed. "What kind of love story am I suppose to be involved in here?!"
Now you must realise at this point that M was a little messed up in the head (in fact you could argue this was true of all Level Fives) but you must also understand she was sincerely trying to help her fellow Level Five and making the connection that he might feel the same way about the Judgement Officer as she felt about Hamazura was a huge step forwards in her emotional development.
"Maybe the only hope I have now is the harem ending by scoring enough points." M continued to explain, while neatly explaining what kind of love story she thought the Judgement Officer was involved in (a little screwed up, with a lot of hope). "But you can get her all to yourself if you seize the moment now!"
"Harem ending!?" The Judgement Officer screamed in embarrassment and distress as her planned day of 'Keep little kids smiling at Christmas' was rapidly turning into 'Fifty shades of love you didn't know exist and really wish they didn't'.
It was at this point the Boy felt a need to step in, before his friend was permanently emotionally scared.
"Mugino fucking knock it off already." The Boy said sternly (as he unconsciously reverted to his cruder speech pattern out of habit). "Your scaring my friend, stop it, she's not like us."
"You two use to date didn't you?" The Judgement Officer asked nervously as she tried to confirm why M was acting so weird in public. "And it was one of those messy splits in which you try to stop the other dating anyone else right?"
"The only messy split I've had was with Frenda." M explained. "But the rest of ITEM forgave for that mess in the end."
"Oh." Replied the Judgement Officer as she concluded that ITEM must have had some really messy romantic troubles, and not murderous levels of infighting. (It was probably for the best she thought that, the conversation was already a awkward one as it stood).
"Anyway I have a ice princess doll to find." M noted as she walked off, leaving the Boy and Judgement Officer alone (Well bar the endless mass of shoppers, but neither was paying attention to them).
The result was off course awkwardness.
"So having a nice Christmas so far?" The Judgement Officer asked as the awkward silence went on for a little bit to long.
"Not too bad I suppose." The Boy admitted, and it was true to. There had been no dark side attacks, attempted abductions and for bonus points Worse had only come in drunk once so far. "Through the Brat being watching that dam princess movie with the snowman pretty much constantly."
The Judgement Officer giggled.
"I've never really been one for princess's, back when I was little I always wanted to watch the cop shows with my dad!" She admitted.
"And that's why your in Judgement right?" The Boy inquired curiously.
"Oh its not that simple." She replied with a grin before talking more seriously. "It's a family tradition to serve justice, my great grandfather started it, and I plan to continue it as a Judgement Officer."
"Your lucky then." The Boy noted. "I don't have any blood family, closest I got is the Brat and Worse."
"Are you all Child Errors then?" She politely inquired, as she tried to put together the evidence of there bond together (wrong ages to be romantic, too different faces to be blood, but clearly so tight in hearts).
"You could say that." He admitted somewhat truthfully, feeling that perhaps mentioning two of them were illegal clones was unwise, before adding. "We certainly don't seem to fit in anywhere else than with each other."
The Judgement Officer smiled softly.
"And you take on the role of the big brother who keeps them both safe?" She asked with a sweet tone that really should sent alarm bells ringing in the boys head about her intent...
"I owe them both." He replied somewhat stiffly. And it was true, he murdered over half of there hive mind network, that kind of thing really leaves a huge mountain of sin on your side of things. "I be the worse kind of trash if I didn't watch there backs."
"That's sweet to hear!" She replied with a bright smile that anyone who wasn't as a emotionally stunted as the Boy would have realised was a smile of the hitting on you variety.
How much longer this attempted flirting would have lasted is anyone's guess, if a certain pigtailed teleporter with self restraint and lust issues hadn't turned up.
"Hey Uiharu." The Teleporter greeted as she teleported a polite meter from the pair. "Who's this guy?"
Of course being caught by one of your best friends while attempting to hit on a guy is likely one of the most embarrassing situations a Middle School girl can be caught in. So the Judgement Officer reaction was fairly predictable.
"Oh hi there Shirai!" Said a rosy faced Judgement Officer. "I was just talking with this good student here about the importance of responsibility and justice, ha ha ha ha ha!"
Yes that was a incredibly nervous laugh on the end of that sentence, and yes the Teleporter wasn't convinced about the nature of the conversation at all.
"You trying to take advantage of my friend naivety aren't you?" She said seriously as she walked towards the Boy in a menacingly fashion (he wasn't bothered. Angry looking thirteen year old girls who the term cute could be applied too were rather tame compared to say, a evil angel).
"We're just talking." He muttered.
"Oh your just 'talking' are you?" The Teleporter replied in a aggressive and confrontational tone. "Well it looks like to me that your trying to put the moves on her and do perverted things to her!"
It may be worth noting at this point that the Pigtailed Teleporter had a rather active imagination when it came to things of a 'lustful' nature and as you can guess by her fondness for the word, a judgemental nature. Also while she didn't look at her friend in that light, she automatically assumed anyone who did look at her in that way, was automatically planning to do the very same things that she tried to do her 'Onee-sama'. In a classic case of double standards, while she considered her own actions to be romantic and soppy, she coincided someone else doing the exactly the same things to her friend to be a twisted pervert worth of Judgement! (with a capital J and exclamation mark for good measure).
"Perverted things to Uiharu!?" The Boy shouted out in shock and embarrassment as his skin tried it hardest to match his eye in hue.
"Perverted things to me!" The Judgement Officer screamed out as her mind raced with some of the possibilities that her creative mind offered (again proof that a active imagination isn't always a good thing).
"But misfortune has caught you, for I, Shirai Kuroko, Officer of the 177th Branch of Judgement and beloved of Misaka Mikoto, Academy City's Number Three Level Five will.."
"Number Three is into girls!?" The Boy shouted out in panic as whole new bag of possibilities concerning the clones in his life's social interactions flashed through his brain (Yes, that the third creative in this conversation, and if anything he's the best/worse).
"That is not the topic of this conversation!" The Teleporter shouted out in slight embarrassment, but mostly annoyance.
"But I'm thinking of Kuroyoru's well being here." The Boy stated in a worried tone before adding. "She might get taken advantage of by Worse, and she only twelve."
"Wait who is Worse..." The Teleporter tried to ask before the Boy interrupted.
"Least with Last Order I got a few years thinking room." The Boy noted with slight relief. "With any hope she'll take a interest in that Fremea and I won't have to vet any outsiders.."
"Hey, stop ignoring me pervert!" The Teleporter shouted out in annoyance as she was in fact mostly ignored by the Boy who trying to digest that the little sister/daughter figure in his life might be interested in girls romantically further down the line (It was a bit of a shock to his system to say the least).
"Maybe I should ask Yomikawa-sensei for advise..." The Boy noted, mostly to himself, as the Teleporter anger at him was far lower on his list of priorities.
"Who the hell do you think you are!" The Teleporter screamed, as her bruised ego made its presence felt.
"Accelerator." The Boy admitted, and with that simple admittance the Teleporter's whole stance and mood changed.
The Teleporter was the sort of girl who took pride in her strength, and more so, her strength to protect others. That's why she why was in Judgement, to protect people. She also had no lack of confidence, that's why she had never been in the 'closet', that's why when she found a certain electromaster attractive, she had made her feelings very obvious. However there was one thing she did lack...
"I've waited a long time to find you monster!" The Teleporter screamed with months worth of frustration, disgust, anger and most of all raw hate as she teleported to the Boy, grabbed his walking stick, and teleported it away as she did a good and rather solid right legged roundhouse kick into his jaw.
"Shirai!" screamed the Judgement Officer as the Boy, unbalanced by the loss of the stick and surprised by the force of the young girl's foot under his chin, fell backwards and to the floor behind him badly.
"You -will- answer for your crimes, even if I have to beat a confession out of you, lowest scum!" The Teleported screamed out with a outright demonic visage. "What you did to those girl's was unforgivable and Judgement has come for you!"
You see what the Teleporter did lack was restraint. She tended to act before she thought, she tended to charge forwards without out glancing left or right. That's why she didn't pick up on the fact that despite being on the floor and apparently at her mercy, the Boy didn't look remotely worried, didn't look remotely scared.
"You only know part of the story." The Boy noted. "But your right when you say what I did was unforgivable and I should answer for my crimes."
"Dam right!" The Teleporter screamed back.
"But if you try to resolve that here, all that will happen is that you will get hurt and you will get frustrated." The Boy explained in a tone, that if one was listening to carefully, would note the rings of both pity and guilt.
"I will drag you to Anti-Skill and..." The Teleported stated before being interrupted rudely by the boy.
"Name a single time Number Three has been legally prosecuted." The Boy stated sternly.
The Teleporter looked at him seriously, despite the fact she was deep in the haze's of rage and hate, she still registered the point he was making.
"And your saying this goes well pass electronics damage?" The Teleporter asked aggressively.
"The system is that fucked up yes." The Boy replied. "But I'm paying for my mistakes, even if I have to nibble a mountain pebble by pebble, and I'm willing to give Number Three a chance to make her own mind up being hearing about those pebbles from sources she trusts."
The Teleporter looked at him deeply, caught somewhere between hate and hope.
"Here's my address and the rest of that kind of thing." The Boy stated as he pushed over a notepad with some rapidly written details on. "There's a pair of girls there that Number Three would love to talk to, and if anyone has the right to judge me, they do and she can see them as much as she wants."
The Teleporter looked at the notepad. The Boy was offering her something precious, he was offering her a way rid her heart of the guilt that she had felt when she failed her Onee-sama during those experiments.
"I'll hear what she thinks." The Teleporter stated coldly as took the notepad, before adding as she grabbed her fellow Judgement officer's arm. "And you can do way way way better than this animal Uiharu."
As the two of them teleported away the boy was left alone on the floor, no one would come near him, no one would even pass him his walking stick, and truth be told, he couldn't blame them.
It was sometime latter. The Boy had still failed to find the dam ice princess doll, despite searching all over Academy City, and he had fundamentally failed the Brat.
"I'm just a screwed up mess who can't make a single little girls Christmas go right." He mused despondently. "I done her so much wrong, and I can't even get this little thing right..."
Maybe that's why he decided to stand in the snow, maybe that's why he decided to come to a stop in the freezing cold of a winters night.
"I can't put things right with pebbles, I'm a monster." He noted darkly to himself. " I hurt that Shirai badly and I didn't even know she existed before today, how many more people have I hurt without even knowing?"
That was why he stood there, that's why he didn't seek refuge from the cold. Tears began to roll from his eyes, he couldn't eat the mountain, he couldn't put things right with Last Order and repay her kindness, he couldn't...
He realised that the cold was leaving him at about the same time as a pair of very pink gloves wrapped around his stomach from behind.
"What the fuck?" Was the Boy's reply as the cold embrace of winter was replaced by a gentle growing warmth.
"I think my Esper ability is growing stronger." Came the sweet and gentle voice of the Judgement Officer from behind him. "My Thermal Hand ability only use to be able keep temperatures stable, but now I can slowly increase or decrease them as long as it within a narrow band of relatively normal temperatures, maybe I'll be reclassified as a Level Two soon!"
The Boy had stopped there to freeze to death, to surrender to the mountain of shame, but this girl, this Uiharu, had come looking for him and stopped him freezing.
"Why?" Was all the Boy could manage to speak in pathetic and weak voice.
"You clearly need a hug." The Judgement Officer known as Uiharu explained in a mischievous tone before adding in a more serous tone. "And because I see a lot of my great grandfather in you."
Her head was now softly laying on his back, the Boy felt strange and unfamiliar feelings racing through his body.
"You see my great grandfather became a policeman after the war." She explained. "And the reason he did so was because he wasn't proud of his actions during it. He decided even if he had to nibble that mountain of shame away pebble by pebble, he would, and he would by making everyone else nightmares go away and protecting there smiles with his life and soul."
"Uiharu..." The Boy softly spoke, words struggling to leave him.
"But apparently the hardest part for him was realising that it was ok for him to accept other peoples help, to accept friendly hands offering him a pick and a wheelbarrow." Uiharu further explained, as she gave the Boy words of kindness and words of hope he had never expected.
"You saved my life." Uiharu noted. "And I bet I'm not the only you've done that for. You hate yourself because of your bloody hands, you think yourself a monster who deserves the harshest punishment? Well that just proves you have a conscious, because real monsters don't get ashamed, real monsters don't decided there going eat mountains of guilt pebble by pebble if they have too."
Uiharu spun herself around to face the Boy face to face (Well relatively face to face, she was a fair bit shorter than him).
"Your upset because you can't find Last Order the doll she wants for Christmas." Uiharu correctly observed. "And that's because there so poplar that there sold out, not much you can do about that... but your not out of options!"
"Wait.. what?" The Boy asked in a puzzled tone (with a side dish of hope).
"Chance are every little girl she knows is going to have the same doll, it be really generic to have one." Uiharu explained before adding mischievously. "And she the sort of girl who likes to stand out, so lets get her a custom made teddy bear from teddy bear factory instead, she'll love it, especially if you put effort into the details!"
It was a brilliant and simple idea that would make Last Order happy and smile...
"Thanks for the pick Uiharu." The Boy said in one of his rare kind tones. She beamed a smile in return and then the Boy did something outrageously brave.
"And Merry Christmas Uiharu." The boy stated as he wrapped both his arms around the kind girl who he was rapidly falling in love with.