On a windy, starry night, the cool evening breeze swift past the curtains through the windows. It looked like a peaceful night to everyone, except for a certain girl who was sulking in a corner.
"Seriously..."
Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance as she stared at the inescapable situation in front of her.
"...WHY THE HELL DID IT TURN OUT LIKE THIS?!"
Our unstable protagonist shouted once again in frustration. Don't worry, the author won't let her scream again in every start of the chapter.
She breathed heavily in desperation. The other inhabitants of the apartment just stared at her with different expressions on their faces.
"Shut up shitty brat. I'm trying to sleep here."
Shouted the albino from the living room.
"'What's wrong, Onee-sama?' asks Misaka as Misaka stared at her Onee-sama in confusion."
"Onee-tama, no matter how loud you scream in the middle of the night, you won't increase in size. And Tou-san, how dare you sleep without Misaka beside you~"
"Which size are you pertaining to?.."
Her small form trembled as her face turned a deep shade of red from extreme irritation. The older looking girl, who was actually younger than our petite protagonist and to all of the characters in this story, simply smirked at her. She then stared a bit lower from the smaller girl's face, and cackled out in laughter.
"Well, Misaka can see that it's a lot smaller now."
"Are you picking a fight with me?!"
Turning back a few hours, here's what really happened after the hostage drama in the department store.
Misaka Mikoto walked like a robot beside Last Order, who was half dragging her along the way. She felt like her soul has already departed her as she stared at the crimson sunset stretching over the horizon.
'If the paradise called 'heaven' is real, I would freely go there without regrets...'
"That would be nice..."
She muttered under her breath. Last Order heard this, and she looked back at her big sister.
"'Did you say something, Onee-sama?' asks Misaka as Misaka stared at Onee-sama."
"Huh... Ah, no. It's nothing..."
She weakly replied. Last Order looked back on the road as she hummed a certain tune happily with a smile on her face. She could barely keep up with her younger sister's energy, but seeing her like this made her feel happy. She then glanced at the white haired boy walking behind them. He had a neutral look, but it slowly turned into a scowl when he noticed Mikoto was staring at him.
"What?"
"Ah, nothing. I just thought how could a person like you keep up on Last Order's energy... I guess you've been together with Last Order for long, right?"
Accelerator clicked his tongue and looked away from her. He just remained silent and it pissed her off.
"Oi, I hate being ignored, you know..."
She heaved out a sigh. The three of them were walking to Yomikawa's apartment. Yomikawa still had something to do in Anti-Skill, that's why they went on without her.
Her backpack was starting to feel heavy on her back when they stopped in front of a decent apartment. Last Order opened the door hastily and ran to the living room. Mikoto and Accelerator followed, and they saw someone sprawled on the couch.
It was Worst.
"Tou-san, you're back~! Misaka is waiting for y-"
Worst looked down beside Accelerator and saw Mikoto on the side. She had an unreadable expression on her face, then it quickly changed into a teasing smirk.
"Oh my~ I didn't know that Tou-san had a fetish on young girls. Or maybe that's the reason why he ignores Misaka's advances. Misaka is heartbroken~"
"Wha-!"
Mikoto's jaw hanged open. She forgot that this clone had a certain connection with Accelerator, and she didn't know that she also lived in Yomikawa's apartment. She gulped as she started to lose her color.
"This is hell..."
"Shut your fucking trap, Worst. I'm really tired for fuck's sake."
Accelerator walked away and went to the kitchen to find some coffee. Worst looked back at Mikoto and she had a confused look on her face.
"Who are you? And where did Tou-san found you, lost kitten?"
A vein popped on her head.
"You really are annoying."
Last Order suddenly interjected in the heated conversation.
"'Don't you recognize her? She's actually Onee-sama,' says Misaka as Misaka states matter of factly."
"Hmm? NYAHAHAHAHA! Last Order, did you hit your head or something?"
From a crazed out laugh to a monotone voice, Worst swiftly changed her tone in seconds. She then looked back at Mikoto and asked her with prying eyes.
"Are you really Onee-tama?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I somehow turned into a kid..."
Worst covered her mouth to stifle her laugh, but she failed in the end. She burst out laughing as she rolled on the couch.
"Pfft... NYAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you serious?! Ahahaha, Misaka couldn't take it anymore!.."
"Ugh... This is worse than I thought..."
She brushed off Worst and sat on a chair tiredly. She set her bag on the floor beside the chair and rested her head on the table. Last Order suddenly appeared beside her, startling her back to reality.
"'Onee-sama! Let's play together!' says Misaka as Misaka shows Gekota to Onee-sama."
She quickly turned her head to Last Order as she heard the name 'Gekota' escape from her mouth, almost snapping her neck. She saw the frog stuffed toy on Last Order's hands as she smiled happily. She couldn't help but stare at the stuffed toy with a cat like expression on her face. It felt like her soul came back to her as she grabbed her little sister's shoulders hastily, which startled the younger girl.
"Hey Last Order, do you like Gekota?!"
Mikoto asked enthusiastically, which was replied by a smiling Last Order.
"'Yes, I like Gekota a lot! Gekota is my friend!' says Misaka as Misaka hugged Gekota tightly."
"Fuwa... So cute..."
'Oh, right. I still have them with me.'
She then searched her bag and brought out a finger puppet. She placed it on her finger and showed it to Last Order.
"Look! This is the rarest of the rare, with only one in 64 chances of getting it, Rainbow Gekota!"
"'Woah! That's amazing!' says Misaka Misaka in astonishment."
Then the two started playing as they ran into the bedroom. Accelerator went back to the living room with a can of coffee in hand and noticed that someone was missing.
"Where's Yoshikawa?"
Worst looked back at him from the sofa and answered his question.
"She said she had some business to do and she won't be coming home for days."
After that, he threw the empty can of coffee in the trash and went to the room. He saw Last Order and #3 on the bed, playing with frog toys. They really looked like average young twins enjoying their toys in their playtime, which was actually quite wrong in some ways. One: They're not twins. One of them was a clone, while the other was the original. And Two: One of them was actually a teenager. She just suddenly popped out and said she turned into a ten year old child. He plopped on his bed and commented on the two on the other bed.
"So that's where that brat got her liking on some retarded frogs."
Mikoto twitched and glared at the albino on the other bed. She didn't like what she heard.
"Hey. First, Gekota is not retarded. And second, he is not a frog. He's a mascot! How dare you say bad things about him!"
"Yeah, yeah. I don't fucking care if that thing is a frog or not, but its still retarded."
"YOU!"
She jumped from Last Order's bed to Accelerator's and landed an elbow at his abdomen from midair. He did not expect this move from her, that's why he didn't have the time to turn on his choker and dodge that wrestling move. He clutched his stomach protectively and glared angrily at Mikoto, who was standing triumphantly on the edge of the bed with her hands on her hips.
"What the fuck was that for, you shitty third rate piece of shit?!"
"Heh! That's what you get for getting on my wrong side. I still have some moves left with me."
"IT FUCKING HURTS! What are you, a stupid muscle-headed brute?! I might die from that, you bitch!"
"Hmm? Don't worry, you won't die from that. I practice these moves on a daily basis, and I know how to hold it back to avoid unnecessary casualties..."
"Why on earth are you practicing those kind of things? Are you a pro wrestling fanatic or something?!"
Mikoto slightly looked away and mumbled in reply.
"Well, if you have a perverted stalker as a roommate, learning this is quite necessary..."
"Huh? What kind of a fucking reason is that?"
"Long story..."
Accelerator writhed in pain on his bed while Mikoto raised an eyebrow at him. Last Order just continued to play on her bed, ignoring the loudness of the two people on the other bed.
"What the hell? You're so weak..."
"Shut up, shitty third rate. I'm NOT that fucking weak..."
"Then stop overreacting. The pain should go away by now, but I think it still depends on the target. I should take note of that..."
After a few minutes, Worst entered the room and plopped down on the other bed at the right side of the room. Accelerator looked a lot better now, and Last Order was already asleep. Suddenly, a question popped up in Mikoto's mind, and she voiced it out.
"Wait. Where am I gonna sleep in here?"
As the other awake residents heard this, Worst's lips curved up into a mischievous smile.
"Then, Onee-tama can sleep on Misaka's bed."
"Huh? Are you sure? Then where are you going to sleep after that?"
"Then Misaka will sleep beside Tou-san, I think he needed some company tonight~"
Accelerator scowled at Worst and sat up straight. He held his crutch and tried to stand up, then he pointed on his bed.
"No fucking way Worst. Not gonna happen. Third rate, you can sleep on my bed, I'll just take the couch."
Mikoto felt awkward, as the thought that sleeping on a boy's bed is a bit...
"Inappropriate..."
"Huh?"
Then she flustered in response.
"I-I mean, I think I'll be the one who should take the couch. With my height right now, I think I'll just fit nicely in there..."
And she also thought that sleeping in the same room with Worst would be a bad idea.
Accelerator shrugged her off and went to the door.
"No excuses. I'll take the couch."
"B-but-!"
And the door was slammed at her face. She looked back at the room and she can hear a snickering Worst in the corner. This is going to be a bad night.
And that's the reason why she shouted in frustration. It's not just about the fact that she's using a boy's bed, but the thing that bugged her the most was actually the constant teasing of Worst. It's already late in the evening and she still couldn't sleep. Worst would always find a way to annoy her, like teasing her about their 'physical differences' (iykwim ;)) or just by simply creating unnecessary noise in the whole room. This actually woke up Last Order in the middle of the night, and Worst just laughed it off. But this actually became a good thing for Mikoto. She can ignore Worst by talking to Last Order, which was proved to be successful. The 'more developed' girl gave up on teasing her and sulked in a corner, while the original was talking to her little sister about different things. Suddenly, Mikoto remembered something.
"Hey, Last Order. You said you're going to explain why you guys are living with Accelerator, right?"
"'Yeah!' exclaims Misaka as Misaka almost forgot about it."
Then, she gave her big sister a sincere smile.
"'Accelerator saved Misaka Misaka, the Sisters, and Worst before,' states Misaka as Misaka unfolds the truth."
"Eh...?"
Mikoto's mind turned blank. She never expected her answer, so it took her a few moments to understand what she said.
"Saved... you?"
"'Yes!' says Misaka Misaka in agreement."
For Mikoto, the word 'saved' and the name 'Accelerator' didn't sit well with each other. It's like a taboo for her. She clenched her fists and burst out in anger.
"That bastard killed 10,000 sisters, how am I supposed to believe that?! That guy... That guy-!"
A flashback rang in her head. She saw one of her sisters getting squashed by a train. Crimson blood pooled down under the heavy metal frame. Then she saw another one. A white haired boy touched the wound on her shoulder, and blood splattered everywhere, obscuring the view from the surveillance camera.
She shivered at the memory and covered her trembling form with her arms as she hugged herself. She bowed her head down with her body hunched over the white sheets of the bed. Her heartbeat was racing as her breathing turned erratic. She jolted when Last Order touched her left shoulder. She lifted her face and was greeted by a solemn expression on her little sister's face.
"'Onee-sama, do you know why Accelerator is using a crutch right now?' asks Misaka as Misaka remembers an old memory."
"... Eh?.. "
Now that her sister mentioned it, she failed to notice that obvious change. She also remembered that she actually landed a hit on him earlier, which made her a bit confused.
'He should have reflected my attack earlier...'
"N-no... I don't know."
"'Accelerator was shot in the head to save Misaka Misaka and the Sisters. Because of this, he became crippled and was unable to use his powers without the help of the Misaka Network. Without him, Misaka Misaka won't be here,' answers Misaka as Misaka said this in a sad tone."
Mikoto's eyes widened in disbelief. Even if she actually believed Last Order's words, her mind continued to deny it. She clutched the sides of her head protectively. She couldn't understand anything anymore. It's not just about the fact that she despised Accelerator, but something else was stopping her from believing those words.
The monster, Accelerator, actually saved her sisters from absolute death.
While the original and the Sisters' Onee-sama, Misaka Mikoto, couldn't do anything to save them.
The person that anyone would least expect him to save the Sisters actually succeeded in doing so, while the young girl who wanted to protect them the most failed miserably in her own powerlessness.
This fact tore her heart apart and she clutched her chest. She was silently whimpering in pain as her heartache reached its intensity. Last Order looked alarmed as she saw her big sister's depressed state, even Worst who was eavesdropping in their conversation stared worriedly at the original.
"In the end... I was useless afterall..."
"'Onee-sama...'"
She weakly stood up and wobbled on her way to the door. Last Order tried to stop her, but she glanced back at them with a smile on her face.
"I-I'm just going to... drink some water..."
What made them stop wasn't her excuse, it's actually the smile on her face.
A fake smile, which was actually a facade to the pain that she felt in her heart, a shield to hide the feeling of powerlessness that was slowly creeping into her soul.
She turned her back and closed the bedroom door. The two clones stared at each other for a few seconds, then the older-looking girl pointed her finger accusingly at Last Order.
"It's your fault, not Misaka's."
Last Order stood up and peeked through the door. Worst followed suit, and they saw Mikoto slowly walking to the kitchen with her weak legs. They just stared at her destroyed state until she disappeared from their view. The two of them walked back to their respective beds and stared at the blank ceiling.
It's going to be a sleepless night for them.
Meanwhile, Accelerator was sprawled on the couch. He couldn't sleep because of the noise in the bedroom, which was actually heard in the living room. Suddenly, he stopped hearing the noise, which turned out to be weird for him. Then he heard someone leaving the bedroom with unsteady footsteps echoing through the apartment.
He saw Misaka Mikoto slowly walking to the kitchen. Her posture was wobbly as her small form swayed as she took a step. He also saw her stumbling a few times until she reached the refrigerator. She opened it and grabbed a bottle of water. She sat on a chair, drank the cold water, and placed it on the table.
'Something is wrong with her,' he thought.
He stood up from the couch and went to the kitchen. When the young girl noticed him approaching, her body stiffened. She rubbed her eyes and hid her face by facing down against her arms on the table.
"Oi, why are you not sleeping in the room?"
He asked. Silence enveloped the apartment for a while, but was suddenly broken by Mikoto's reply.
"I just... couldn't sleep right now... That's all."
Her voice was a bit muffled, but Accelerator heard a sniffle.
"Are you..."
Her body tensed from his voice. He just stared at her small hunched form as he continued his sentence.
"...crying?"
She did not answer his question, but she talked about something else to change the topic.
"Last Order is a really good kid, isn't she..?"
Accelerator stared dumbly at her for a while, then replied.
"If that's what you call a good kid, then she is. What made you say that?"
She wiped her eyes for the second time and lifted her face, but she was not looking at him. She opened her mouth to answer.
"Because she can easily forgive others without holding a deep grudge in her heart..."
Accelerator was about to speak when she silently mumbled the last part of the sentence.
"...unlike me."
He noticed that she had a bitter look on her face as she gazed at nothing. Her eyes were a bit red, which confirmed his suspicions. She then rested her forehead on the palm of her hand as she chuckled half-heartedly.
"Don't you think it would be hard to forgive someone who had done something bad to hurt you?... But that girl handled it nicely, and she immediately forgive those people who have wronged her. Isn't she a peculiar girl?.."
"You know, you're starting to sound creepy and I'm greatly disturbed by it..."
"Ah, sorry about that..."
She chuckled again. Accelerator suddenly felt pissed off with her smile and her chuckles as he clicked his tongue. He confronted her about it, which surprised the young girl.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You look like shit right now."
"..."
She never looked at him, even once, which further angered the white haired boy. Her face turned solemn as she answered him.
"I heard everything... from Last Order."
"So? What the fuck is your problem then? Why are you wearing that irritating expression on your face?"
"You saved her, right?"
His face looked a bit surprised from her question, but he quickly hid it behind a poker face. He responded flatly.
"That's what she said."
"Then..."
She stared at him with dead eyes, and smiled at him again.
"... I should thank you for it."
Accelerator snapped. He couldn't take any of this anymore. He slapped her in the face, and hesitantly withdrew his hand.
"Stop this fucking bullshit and stop making that stupid face in front of me. It irritates me like hell."
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked away from him.
"I'm... really useless, don't you think?"
"Huh?... Now you're really-"
"I'm their big sister, yet I couldn't do anything to save them..."
"..."
"...And what's more is that my nemesis is actually able to save them. Isn't that ironic?"
She brought her hands to her eyes as her tears continued to fall on her face. She was now sobbing quietly, unlike what she showed earlier. Accelerator stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Then tell me, am I really worth it to be called their big sister if I couldn't do anything for them?..."
Accelerator's gaze turned a bit soft as he outstretched his hand. Mikoto flinched from his action, but was suddenly surprised at what he actually did.
Accelerator patted her head, just like what Touma did to her on that day.
She was so surprised that she thought her mind actually stopped working. Accelerator looked away from her as he spoke in a serious tone.
"You may not be the one who saved them directly, but you're not useless. Last Order and the Sisters needed you. They're just waiting for you to do something for them, and they know that you're the only one who can do it because you're their big sister. You might already did something for them without you noticing it, so stop moping around and do your work, dumbass."
She stared wide eyed at Accelerator with a hint of a blush on her face. She then wiped her tears away and smiled. But this smile was different, it didn't hide anything in it, just pure sincerity. Accelerator looked back at her with hesitation.
"I never knew you could actually say something like that, bastard. Now I'm starting to believe what Worst said earlier when we got here... What are you, a lolicon?"
A vein popped on his head and he clenched his fists in annoyance. He clicked his tongue and retorted.
"I'm NOT, third rate, so shut the fuck up. Why the fuck am I being plagued by Misakas everywhere?"
Mikoto's eyes looked distant as she stared at Accelerator with a sad smile on her face.
"I guess that's because no one could escape the sins that they committed in the past..."
Accelerator watched as her eyelids slowly closed down. Before she could completely doze off, she muttered the continuation of her statement.
"... including us..."
Then she fell asleep. Accelerator carried her small form on his back to let her sleep in the room as he struggled to walk with his crutch. Suddenly, Yomikawa arrived home, and she saw Accelerator carrying Mikoto on his back. She just smiled at them and commented on how close they became within a single night.
"They sure are comfortable with each other now, huh?"
And the night ended peacefully in Yomikawa's apartment.
Author's note:
This chapter is actually fun to write.
And yes, I actually like writing heart wrenching (XD) scenes, so I included some angsty stuff here.
(In my other account, my story is actually filled with drama in every chapter XD)
See you later guys!