Author Note:

Originally this was all one chapter... I generally write long chapters, and 19k is not the longest I've done. I split it in half because I know some people don't like such long chapters, but I'll be interested to know if people want chapters of around 10k length max, or if I should just write until a chapter feels finished, even if its 15-20k?

This chapter has more mature elements than the first.

xxxx

There she goes, just as expected. The young man watching the front of the house through binoculars thought to himself with a self-satisfied grin, as he watched the abso-fucking-lutely DELICIOUS looking silver haired girl in her hot-as-hell running attire exit the front door and head off down the road at a steady jog. The temptation was to follow her progress with the binoculars for a while, and watch that fine ass and those plump titties bounce and sway and jiggle a bit, but this unfortunately wasn't a personal outing, so the stalking would have to stay professional.

Putting down his binoculars, the young man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, thumbing a speed dial as he brought it up to his ear. "She's gone out. Get the lads together and meet me there." He ordered with casual authority, not even bothering to listen to his underling answer, as he flipped the phone shut. With that set in motion, he swung a leg over the saddle of his blue and white and chrome motorcycle, an American model that was a bit loud and obnoxious for England's motorways, but that was just the sort of statement he liked.

This young man had a proper name, but it was one he intensely disliked for a variety of reasons, and he preferred instead to go by his own chosen moniker of "Sharkey". The reasons for this nickname were varied and a topic of discussion amongst his minions and acquaintances from time to time. Some said it was a nod to the tattoo of a great white shark with gaping, bloodied maw that he sported across his chest and collarbones. Others alluded it to his predatory nature, or the fact that he had once been a loan shark before properly getting established in the criminal underworld of Blackpool. Some, especially those whom had been on his bad side in the past, maintained that it was his bloodthirsty viciousness in a fight that it reflected.

Sharkey never commented on why he wanted to be called that, and anyone who tried to press him on it tended to regret it quickly. He was in his late teenage years, eighteen or nineteen, and the sort of well built handsome that bespoke of an upbringing in an upper-middle class or lower upper-class family, wanting for little, and with plenty of opportunity. He had fair skin, short blond hair and bright green eyes, and was well muscled but not overblown. How he came to be an up and coming member of the local organized crime syndicate was anyone's guess… perhaps he did it for the money, or the power, or just for fun. But regardless of reasons, Sharkey was good at his job, trusted by his superiors, reasonably liked by his peers, and properly feared by his subordinates.

That job was of a legbreaker and troubleshooter for the mob. He didn't really own a territory or administer an aspect of the various illegal trades the mob owned. He didn't deal drugs, didn't pimp girls or boys, didn't fence stolen goods or do the stealing of said goods, and wasn't into any of the white-collar crime either. If he could be said to be part of any particular racket, it would be the protection money racket… where individuals and businesses paid a monthly tribute to the mob in order for their business to remain unmolested by various underworld sorts… including the mob itself.

Few people or businesses enjoying having to put up a cut off their profits for this particular "service" of course, and it was one of Sharkey's jobs to go and visit those who proved especially reluctant or tardy with their payments. He would have a little "talk" with the recalcitrant person, occasionally with some of his boys backing him up for proper emphasis, and get the money flowing again. Most of the time, physical intimidation and the right verbal threats were enough to do the job. But sometimes a little brutality was called for as well, some property damage, some patrons or employees getting their teeth kicked in, that sort of thing. And Sharkey was VERY good at that side of things.

He'd never killed anyone and held that as a point of personal pride. Killing people was, after all, generally bad for business. It drew a lot of attention from the authorities, and even with the local cops being bought off by the organization, there were some things they'd couldn't bury, and that included civilian bodies turning up at random. But there was a hell of a lot of damage you could inflict on a human body without actually killing someone… and Sharkey was an expert at inflicting just enough of the right kinds of damage to get his point across very effectively. He'd never killed anyone… but that didn't mean he hadn't put people in the hospital for a very long time when they refused to be reasonable.

One of several projects he was currently working on concerned the girls who lived at the unassuming semi-rural house he had just been observing. His information said there were supposed to be four of them but he'd only ever personally seen three… apparently the fourth was out of the country on an extended trip of some sort. It was irrelevant though, because the leader of the four girls, the silver haired hottie who was off on a jog, named Bayloupe, was obviously still around. And when it came to the protection racket, you didn't talk with the employees, it was the boss you had to get your point across to.

Sharkey wasn't sure exactly what Bayloupe and her friends did for their business… they called themselves New Light, but that didn't explain much. The info he had on them from his bosses was… incomplete on that subject. In ways that made Sharkey think more of redactions than lack of intel. But he knew how to read between the lines, you didn't survive long enough to ascend in the mobs ranks without picking up some sequestered knowledge about the hidden workings of the world. He'd seen some things, and heard some stories, about people who could do things that they really shouldn't be able to do. The mob called those kinds of people "Specialists", and they were always in demand for their skills.

If Bayloupe and her girl-friends were Specialists, Sharkey could see why the mob was interested in getting a cut of their business. That sort of group could be a big income earner, and usually worked primarily for cash, so there was less worry about the government noticing the reduction in tax money earned. And for that matter, some of the non-redacted info he had said that New Light was currently persona non-grata with the majority of the Authorities, because they were involved in that terrorist attack on London a few months back… and judging by the heat that was on them now, not on the side of the good guys.

Now, Sharkey was not really a patriot, and certainly couldn't be called an upstanding citizen of the UK, but he was still an Englishman… and there were things no real Englishman would tolerate, and those included any attempt to harm the Queen or the Royal family. It was a cultural thing. Maybe New Light had only been peripherally involved… it would explain why they were currently still in business and not in prison or executed for treason… but they'd still been involved in the terror attack. And that made them vulnerable in all sorts of ways.

Normally, the mob approached Specialist groups warily, with a contract as a partner, or sometimes even asking for a favor. But not this time. With New Light in a precarious position, and just recently moved into the Blackpool area away from their previous territory, Sharkey's bosses felt like there was an opportunity here, and he agreed. Getting a Specialist group under their thumb would be a huge feather in the boss's caps, and a great way for them to progress upwards even further in the national organization. And if he could facilitate such a thing, Sharkey knew the rewards would be ample, in wealth and prestige.

Overtures had already been made to the group, offering them substantial money and unofficial protection, as well as access to the mob's other resources, in exchange for New Light's exclusive services. Unfortunately, Bayloupe and her girls appeared to not properly understand their own situation, and had been prideful, disdainful and outright rude to the messengers and negotiators, over several encounters. So now the kiddie gloves were coming off, and Sharkey was assigned to educate them on the realities of life.

Of course, the usual tactics probably wouldn't work on a group of Specialists. Sharkey didn't know what the girls could do, but it was a safe assumption that any one of them could probably wipe the floor with his entire gang in a physical confrontation on equal terms, without breaking a sweat. But that just meant he had to get creative. Attacking the girls was out of the question, but similarly, they couldn't afford the official scrutiny that would come down on them if they got involved in beating up a lot of guys for anything other than the most clear-cut case of self-defense. So, he couldn't threaten them with violence, and they couldn't inflict violence on him unless attacked first. Stalemate, or it would be for most legbreakers in the mob, who were one trick ponies for the most part.

But Sharkey was cunning as well as brutal. There was more than one way to skin a cat, or break the haughty resolve of a teenage girl. His planned encounter this morning was the start of one such method, and if he was lucky, it would produce the desired results… both for his boss, and for Sharkey himself. He wasn't afraid to cut himself in on a little "side action" if the opportunity was there after all. And since it wouldn't involve money in this case, the boss wouldn't care even if he found out. Sharkey grinned like his namesake, but then admonished himself not to get too far ahead. He had to play this smart, or he'd be made a fool of instead.

Starting up his motorcycle, Sharkey roared off with a howl of exhaust, making his way along the country roads until he arrived at the designated meet up spot with his gang, and once there, he moved with them to the pre-arranged position just around the bend from New Light's house. After posting a sentry to watch for Bayloupe returning from her jog, and placing a call to one of the mob's contacts in the local police, to make sure there wouldn't be any random patrols or other interruptions, it was simply a matter of waiting.

After another twenty minutes or so, right on schedule, Bayloupe was sighted running down the road, working up a fine sweat and a little out of breath as she pushed herself for speed on the last leg of her exercise route. Sharkey timed his arrival at her house, along with his boys, so that Bayloupe was just opening the gate of the fence when his bike and the car with his goons pulled up right behind her. His boys piled out in a hurry, three of them going to either side of Bayloupe, staying a respectful few feet away, but clearly blocking her path away to either side, while Sharkey slowly got off his bike and approached her directly from behind.

"Hey there, sweet stuff, got a moment to talk?" Sharkey called out to the silver haired girl. Like his boys, he was dressed in dark leather jacket with metal studs, dark jeans tucked into sturdy steel toed boots, and with fingerless gloves that had metal studs sewn into the knuckles. He wore a white tank top underneath his jacket, with a wide enough collar to show the top half of his tattoo.

Bayloupe turned to him with a cool look on her face and a glare in her aquamarine eyes, and Sharkey took a moment to simply admire the girl from close range. She was tall and fairly busty, with a narrow waist but a hefty ass and strong thighs that went on for days. Her silvery hair was obviously natural, and worn short and a little wild. Her skin was pale and creamy, and free from blemishes as far as he could see… and he looked pretty carefully. The oddity was the vacuum-tube looking things that rose in pairs at an angle from behind and above her ears… some kind of futuristic headphones or headband or something he didn't quite understand, but they didn't detract from her overall sexiness in the slightest.

Said sexiness was only enhanced by the tight blue shirt and black short shorts she was wearing, damp with her perspiration, sticking to her body even more than usual, outlining every curve and highlight of her eighteen-year-old figure. The sweat also made her skin shiny like it had been freshly oiled, and her hair was slicked down a bit, like wet steel. She was delicious. Abso-fucking-lutely delicious, and his boys were eying her up just as much as Sharkey was. Which was fine… as long as they remembered to keep their hands to themselves later on.

"I'm actually busy right now, thanks." Bayloupe replied, taking in the situation at a glance, her cold eyes telling him that she knew the score. Or thought she did anyway. She started to turn back to the gate of her fence.

"Oh, don't be like that, hottie." Sharkey grinned at her with all his teeth, moving a bit closer, to almost invade her personal space. "We just wanna talk for a bit. You seem new to the area, and we feel responsible for telling you how things work around here… to keep you and your little girl-friends out of trouble. It's our… civic duty."

"First off, I know how things work, or how you want things to work, but as I told the other guys before, I'm not interested in that line of work. And even if I was, not under those kinds of terms. New Light is an independent group, from the government and from anyone else. We're free agents and want to stay that way. End of story." Bayloupe answered coolly and calmly. Though there was a certain tension in her stance, and maybe a vein twitching in her brow at how flirty Sharkey was being. "Second off, back the hell up off me. You wanna talk, then talk, but get out of my face."

"Make me, hot stuff." Sharkey retorted, bracing himself in case she went stupid and actually did it, but after a moment or two of her steady glares, he grinned again, thanking God that the info he had was correct. He took a half step closer, invading her personal bubble now, within arm's reach, as his boys crowded a bit closer too, a wall of leering muscle and leather on either side. "Oh? Not gonna make me? Maybe you don't dislike this after all…" Sharkey made as if to lift his hand to touch her cheek.

"Give me the excuse, punk." Bayloupe snapped at him, refusing to back away. One had to be firm with this type of man, and this type of situation. Any sort of retreat, physical or emotional, would be seen as a sign of weakness, and New Light couldn't afford weakness or even a perception of it right now.

"Scary…" Sharkey withdrew his hand, having not intended to follow through anyway. He'd never forcefully put his hands on a girl, except when needed to beat one up for a lesson. He was a big believer in choice after all. People could choose to do the reasonable thing and go along with his desires or the terms of the deal they had made with his boss, or… they could suffer the consequences. "That just makes you hotter though." He licked his lips, and ignored her look of disgust. She'd change her tune eventually. They always did.

"I don't have time for this." Bayloupe growled at the goon squad and Sharkey. "If you're here to pass on a message, then pass it on. Otherwise, I'm going inside."

"We'll come with you then." Sharkey said, and smirked at the flush of real anger he could see on her cheeks, along with a hint of unexpected nervousness… she obviously didn't want them to follow her into the house, but there was something more to it than just the usual reasons. "See, I'm not here to give you a message… my boss wants me to have a real conversation with you. He feels there may be some miscommunication between us and you, and he wants that hammered out." Sharkey gave a signal with his hand, and two of his guys pulled out claw-hammers from within their jackets. "Your choice on literally or figuratively, hot stuff."

"You must be kidding." Bayloupe snorted and rolled her eyes. "You and I both know you're too chicken to try and use those on me or my teammates. Seriously, you call that a threat? Don't make me laugh."

"Laugh if you want, I don't mind. Bet you sound really fine when you're laughing." Sharkey shrugged off her disdain, somewhat to her surprise and he saw her become even more wary. "Look, sweet stuff, you're pretty special, in all kinds of ways, and I know that. But you aren't THAT special. There're rules to follow, and you don't get to just ignore them when you're on our turf. Maybe, in a normal situation, you could contest the rules a bit, maybe even get away with it… but your situation right now… its not normal, is it?" Sharkey stepped forward once more, almost nosetip to nosetip with Bayloupe.

Close enough to feel her heat, and for her bust to almost touch his chest. With her back to the fence gate and his guys looming to either side. Nowhere to run. Close enough to kiss her, had he a death wish. Too close to comfortably talk. She would either have to push him back, which would just play into his hands as an aggressive action to justify his own future actions, or she'd have to tolerate an invasion of her intimate space, which would show she was more powerless than she wanted them to think, which would open the door to renegotiations on the offered deal. Not quite checkmate, but definitely check… or it would have been, without outside interference…

"And just what the FUCK sort of shitshow is this!?" An unexpected and angry male voice suddenly intruded on the confrontation, from the direction of the house's front door…

Xxxx

Having the house to himself was normally something Accelerator treasured, as it was a blessed and usually all too brief period of quiet and solitude amongst the chaos and disorder and commotion that his life was plagued with. However, after Bayloupe left to go on her run, he could not deny he felt a certain sense of dissatisfaction. He had all the quiet and solitude he could want, moreso than he could ever get in Academy City, but it felt… empty. Hollow. Boring.

He tried to watch some television, but while he had no problem with the English language, the sorts of mid-morning and daytime TV shows that were shown in this country were not his idea of quality TV. Soap operas and romantic dramas and kids shows for the most part, which was often what he was forced to watch at home, because Last Order enjoyed them, and Worst knew he hated them so she watched them just to piss him off. British TV turned out to be even less filled with violence and blood or gore than Academy City TV was, and he quickly turned to the news in search of something less eye-rollingly dull.

But even the news failed to truly garner his interest. For one, it involved a country he really could care less about in the wider scheme of things. And any interest he did have in England was all due to the Magic Side, which sure as fuck wasn't going to be on the news. It was perhaps a trifle entertaining to see the breathless coverage of Academy City from an outside perspective, but since foreign media wasn't allowed inside the City for a variety of reasons, they could really only report on rumors and hearsay, or repeat the usual Academy City official propaganda material.

Maybe I should have gone with her? Heh… who the fuck am I kidding? Accelerator thought, indulging in a bit of brooding. Not self-pity… he DESERVED to suffer, he knew that, after all he'd done, and his broken body and ravaged nervous system was the LEAST of what he owed to his countless victims. But all the same, he was keenly aware of the limitations he now had. Which included barely being able to move faster than a racing turtle when he was using his cane to get around. During PE at school, he usually got lapped by the rest of the class, even the fat kids and prissy girls, several times over during any running exercises. Going on a jog with Bayloupe would be impossible… he would just make a fool of himself trying and failing to keep up. And he would hate to see the look on her face at his incapability… even if it was a kind one. ESPECIALLY if it was a kind one!

And turning on the full power of his electrode, while it would restore his physical capability… even his baseline athleticism wasn't exceptional. He could run when he had to, more so than the Fourth rank could anyway, not that such was a very high bar. But with his power available, running was unnecessary. He could fucking FLY if he needed to get somewhere fast! So that would mostly just be a waste of battery life, and earning him the ability to get all red in the face and soaked in sweat just to end up falling off the pace after five or ten minutes, instead of within one or two.

"Fuck this." Accelerator growled unhappily at the TV, flipping it off and levering himself to his feet. Even standing took actual effort if he wasn't using his cane as a brace. Part of him wanted to go for a walk, as stalking the streets was one of his usual methods of blowing off steam. He could usually wander into a bad part of town and work of some of his ill feeling on whatever unlucky punks decided to try and start trouble with him. Maybe even occasionally do some good in the process, help out someone in trouble… not that he sought out situations like that, unlike the fucking Hero… but he wasn't averse to the excuse to step in and cause some guilt free havoc if it presented itself.

But there was no city to prowl in this case, or the one that was here was too far away for a casual walk. Bayloupe had left the scooter behind, but it would be a much colder day in hell before he got on that thing and puttered off on his own, even if nobody could see him do it. He could perhaps go off into the woods, explore the countryside, by his cane and physical weakness was not ideal for cross country foot travel. If he twisted his ankle in a gopher den or something, or fell in a creek trying to cross it, Bayloupe probably wouldn't tease him… but the humiliation would still be unbearable.

But more than the possibility of a humiliating accident, the idea that Bayloupe might return from her run before he returned from his wandering, made Accelerator discard the idea of going for a trip. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" He asked himself aloud, even though he already knew the answer. It was fucking bullshit, of course, but he wasn't going to live in denial like the goddamn Hero did. He was attracted to her, physically and emotionally. He knew it, and furthermore she knew it too, which made it all sorts of complicated. He had no experience in "liking" a girl after all, and even less in one "liking" him back. He was not a likable guy after all, and grew less so the better someone knew the real him, in his opinion.

Bayloupe however DID know the real him, well, more than anyone except for Last Order and Worst did anyway. Yomikawa and Yoshikawa didn't know the full details of what he'd done during the Level 6 Shift project, much less some of the other things he'd been involved in. They were aware that he had killed a lot of people and hurt even more. But exactly who he had killed, and how, and the sheer cruelty he'd exhibited at times… and still did, when pressed into a tough situation… that was not something his "guardians" were privy to. They would probably still support him, and stand by him, even if they did know the full details, and that was something Accelerator did not take for granted, even as he did not fully understand it either.

Bayloupe was also like that. She had seen him at one of the lowest points of his life, when he was completely unable to stand up to the monster known as Cain, despite being at as close to full power himself as he ever got. No gimmicks, no bullshit anti-AIM tricks, he just got overpowered and stomped by superior force, and the people closest to him got hurt because he COULDN'T protect them. And there, beaten and bloodied in body, battered in mind and spirit, he had cracked a bit, and admitted his sins to her and Last Order, with the intention of dying to hold off Cain long enough to let them escape.

But there, at his weakest ever moment in his entire life, that was when Bayloupe had told him how strong she believed him to be, and in complete contravention of his every wish and desire, had refused to flee with Last Order. Instead they had both promised to stay by his side, even in the face of hopeless doom, until the end… with the faith that despite everything, HE would somehow manage to come through and save them. Like a hero. And that even if he failed, they would be there with him when it ended… without regret, because of their feelings for him.

He still didn't know how to react to that, and had done his best to just set it aside, but it wasn't like it was going away, that connection they'd forged, that bond that had appeared in those moments. Of course, he HAD pulled through… with a little assistance perhaps from the total BULLSHIT that was Ghost Girl, and the less thought about that the better… but pull through and save the day he had. But after an event like that, things couldn't just stay the same, despite his best efforts to set things aside.

Should I count that as a confession? Accelerator wondered with a grimace. If it was, I didn't really give her an answer, I guess. Then again, she's not like those idiots and sluts who flock around the Hero… she doesn't need things spelled out in huge block letters all the time. Shit, I don't know… its so complicated, it makes my head hurt. Continuing his grimace into a scowl, he tried to decide whether to go looking for some of Bayloupe's books on magic she had mentioned, or to get his phone and check in with the Brat to make sure nothing weird was going on back home, and see how she was getting on with the babysitters he had "arranged" for her and Worst.

Before he could come to said decision, he was interrupted by the sound of a far too loud internal combustion engine roaring up on the road outside, and coming to a halt with a squeal of tires nearby. His keen ears also picked up the sound of a car similarly stopping nearby, and immediately his instincts for trouble pricked up a bit. Perhaps it was just Lancis and whatshername, Flour, come to visit their home base like Bayloupe had said they might… but that didn't feel right. They would have driven up normally, not in a rush with squealing tires and roaring engine.

Making his way to the window by the front door, Accelerator instinctively checked the back of his waistband, before scowling deeper as he remembered he didn't have his handgun. Academy City could care less if he carried a gun, but England, with its very strict firearms laws, was much less accepting, and since this was a vacation after all, he'd been obliged to leave the gun at home. Well, he still had his choker of course, and that was all the power he would ever hopefully need. Edging the curtain to one side, he peered carefully out to assess the situation.

And what the hell is this shit? He asked himself, in mingled amusement and confusion. The situation wasn't particularly strange, at least to someone steeped in darkness like he was. Bayloupe was just getting back from her run when a gang of young toughs had shown up and cornered her at the gate to the yard. Seven of them, six of which were pure muscle and the last had to be the brains of the operation, as far as such things went. All of them were as big or bigger than Bayloupe, and considerably heavier in muscle. They were probably armed as well, with blunt force weapons if probably not handguns, judging from their postures and the way their jackets hung.

Accelerator settled in with a grin, leaning against the window frame in anticipation of a bit of a show. After all, he had encountered Bayloupe dealing with stupid thugs before, back in Academy City, and while there had been no need for her to get in on the action then because of his arrival, she had seemed perfectly willing to crack some skulls and break some arms if he hadn't come by. Sometimes old-fashioned physical violence was the only language some people understood. Accelerator spoke it fluently and was interested to see how Bayloupe was with it. He was confident she would put all seven of those goons into the trash with little effort… she wasn't as strong as him, but she was in no way weak, even without resorting to Magic.

It was thus with some surprise that he continued to watch the confrontation escalate without much action from her. She and the head thug were bantering back and forth, in that way people who disliked each other but didn't want to be the first to throw a punch did, but he couldn't understand why Bayloupe was soft-shoeing the situation. This was literally her home, right outside her own yard, and these losers were getting right up in her face in a manner that was begging for a smack down. There was no good reason to tolerate that sort of bullshit from lowlifes like them, it would only encourage them to take even more liberties with you in the future!

Still, it was HER problem, not his, and her turf, not his, so even though he felt she was handling it wrongly, Accelerator didn't feel the urge to step in. That is, of course, until the head thug suddenly invaded Bayloupe's personal space in a big way, getting right up on her, almost chest to chest and face to face, with her back hard against the gate to the fence. From the wrong sort of angle, it might almost look like they were embracing or kissing.

Fuck this nonsense! Accelerator thought savagely, a vein pulsing in his jaw and forehead as a fierce light filled his crimson eyes. He wasn't making some stupid misunderstanding like the third rate or some of the other girls did with the fucking Hero… he knew that Bayloupe didn't like this guy and wasn't inviting him into her space, even if she was for some reason beyond his comprehension tolerating it. But it did piss him the hell off that the guy was doing it, especially because she didn't like it, and before he even really stopped to think about anything, he slammed open the front door and stepped out into the yard.

"And just what the FUCK sort of shitshow is this!?" he demanded, speaking mostly to Bayloupe, but addressing the whole group. The seven guys stared at him in a mixture of surprise and incredulity, but Bayloupe's reaction was different. There was a flush of embarrassment on her face that was briefly intriguing, along with a great deal of anger. She clearly wasn't best pleased at his intervention into whatever the hell this was. Tough shit for her.

"Who the fuck are you!?" The head thug, who sported a tattoo of some kind of large fish on his upper chest, retorted with a deep frown, clearly not expecting someone else to come out of the New Light house. "You know what, it doesn't matter… mind your own fucking business, cripple!"

"Accelerator…" Bayloupe started to say something, but as far as he was concerned, she'd already mishandled the situation, so he was going to clean it up for her whether she wanted it or not. Maybe afterwards he would let her explain why she let these no-life losers get the upper hand on her… it was kind of disappointing really, and that just made him even angrier.

"Who the fuck am I!?" Accelerator snapped back, putting on one of his nearly patented crazy-ass motherfucker grins, the kind that made him look like every bit the sort of serial killer he was, or had been. There were a lot of ways he could answer that question. In Academy City, his name would be more than enough to end any confrontation with thugs. Everyone knew who the number 1 was and what happened to people who fucked with him. Here in England, that rep didn't exist though, at least not outside the highest levels of government.

And that's when it occurred to him, the perfect reply for the situation, and a method of getting a little payback for some of the trouble Bayloupe had caused for him with Yomikawa back in Academy City. He'd been forced to bear a lot of bullshit after what she told Yomikawa about why they'd been found together in his room after the confrontation with Cain, stuff he didn't even want to remember anymore it was so humiliating! Let's see how she likes it then! He thought as he finally answered the fish-guy. "I'm her fucking boyfriend, asshole, that's who the fuck I am! So, what the fuck is your problem then, huh!?"

The look on her face was everything he could have hoped for, her mouth dropping open in stunned disbelief, her entire body twitching as if struck by lightning, as a bright red flush of mingled embarrassment and outrage covered her cheeks. She was a lot more expressive than he was, and damn if she didn't look cute when she was pissed, he had to say! "What the…!?" She cried out but was overridden by the fish-guy.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING, SHITSTAIN!?" Fish-guy seemed quite upset with Accelerator's response… moreso than Accelerator's rough and abrasive delivery would account for on its own. "She don't have no fucking boyfriend! We woulda seen you while we were staking this place out" He declared furiously.

"And how the fuck would you know, dumbass?" Accelerator sneered with all the arrogance and disdain he could muster as the Number 1 of Academy City. Looks like fish-guy has a thing for her. Too bad for him, she's out of his league. "Not that its any of your fucking business, but I live in Academy City, and just got in for a visit." He smirked in a way that he knew would push all the buttons on the loser. "She's been making me feel… very welcome… so far."

Bayloupe was positively fuming, her face as red as fire, steam almost visibly coming out of her ears… but unlike the third rate, she could keep a handle on her rage when need be, which he liked. She didn't like that he was stepping in and resolving the situation and liked even less the way he was doing it, but it was still resolving the situation and giving her an out, and she wasn't going to ruin that opportunity.

"Oh, is that so!?" Fish-guy scowled mightily, looking between Bayloupe and Accelerator, and probably imagining all sorts of infuriating things. Accelerator was almost certain the bastard was going to flip his lid and charge into the yard to try and beat him up in a testosterone fueled display of stupidity. That would be all the excuse he needed to flip his collar on and show all these fuckers a one-way road into pain-town. It wouldn't take more than a couple seconds. "Well… fuck you too then, gimpy!"

To Accelerators surprise, and disgruntlement, the fish-guy actually backed off, returning to his motorcycle, simmering with anger, but keeping his lid on. "Come on guys, let's get out of here, and leave these two lovebirds alone." He said scathingly, and if his eyes were a laser, he'd have been burning a hole in his own skull from it reflecting off Accelerator's face. "Clearly this bitch really is busy after all. We'll come back another time to have our talk… don't you doubt it… and YOU, gimpy… I'll be seeing you around, I bet…" He promised darkly, before roaring off in a cloud of burnt rubber and thundering exhaust, with his goons somewhat belatedly following after piling into their car.

"Heh. Losers." Accelerator scoffed at their threats, and then turned to scowl at Bayloupe. He was not averse to confrontation of course, but it irritated him all the same that he had been forced to step in while on vacation, and for someone he had felt capable of handling the issue on her own, and then failed to. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He demanded of her, as she walked, red faced, up the path from the fence to the house door towards him. "That was pathetic… I expected MUCH better from y…"

He was interrupted by Bayloupe grabbing him by the front and collar of his shirt, her strength now on display as she lifted him onto his heels and literally slammed him against the side of the house next to the door. He was caught off guard by the violence of it, not hurt really, but unbalanced, his cane flailing for a moment as he tried to recover his equilibrium. But before he could even swear at her unexpected action, she completely trumped it with another one! She leaned in, pressing her sweat soaked body against his own, pinning him in place against the house, and slammed her lips into his nearly as hard as she had his back into the wall!

WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK!? Accelerator's brain screamed at him, but he seemed to have lost the connection to his body, his eyes as wide as saucers as Bayloupe held him tight and close, pressing her warm and soft and damp body against his rather leaner frame, and kissed him full on the lips! With tongue even! He was intensely aware of her scent and her warmth, and her strength as she held him on his heels, off balance and kind of helpless to resist without activating his collar, devouring his mouth with her own with her eyes closed and her face burning with some combination of anger and embarrassment he could not decipher!

As suddenly as the kiss had started, Bayloupe ended it, releasing her grip on his shirt and stepping back, a trail of saliva connecting their lips and tongues for a moment before fading away. "Welcome home… boyfriend." She snarled at him almost viciously, without looking at him, and stormed inside, slamming the door almost off its hinges behind her.

Accelerator actually fell over, sliding down the wall to land on his ass, as he goggled, completely stunned to incomprehension. And then, his own anger took over again, as it usually did when he was completely floored by the unexpected and unlikely. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" He shouted between panting for breath, loud enough to echo off the hillsides.

Xxxx

"You…"

Bayloupe looked up from where she was seated on the couch, her face still red as a tomato, and her body still shaking with the emotions of what she had done. She almost flinched when the door had opened a couple seconds after she heard Accelerator's ringing shout from outside, but with effort she had steeled herself and held still. She had done something foolish, out of anger, embarrassment, shock and perhaps a little excitement, and now that she had sown the wind, she would reap the whirlwind.

Accelerator was a bit red in the face too, his eyes almost glowing with emotions too turbulent for her to immediately decipher… other than anger. There was a lot of anger in the room, between the two of them. He stood in the doorway, a couple feet away, leaning heavily on his cane, his mouth working on words he couldn't seem to find as his eyes pierced into her own. "What… the fuck… was THAT!?" He managed at last, grinding out each word with his hands in white knuckled grips on the cane and the doorway.

"Our first kiss." Bayloupe replied, knowing that adopting a snarky tone right now would only piss him off, but she was so furious herself at what he'd done with Sharkey and his boys that she didn't care. Yeah, he'd stopped the confrontation this time, but it didn't solve the underlying problem. And now Sharkey was going to be on the warpath after being forced to retreat like that, and from what things Accelerator had said. He was just a thug of course, a low-level enforcer in the local mob… but he could still cause trouble for her, and New Light, all the same. And now he would be causing trouble, no doubt about it.

"Our first…" Accelerator trailed off as a dark aura formed around him, almost a sort of pressure that made her shiver despite herself. It wasn't as bad as Cain's warping of the world around him when he got serious, but it was still something a human should really not be able to do! "Explain… yourself… NOW!" Accelerator ordered her, his voice drained of anger but far more intense and powerful because of it.

Doing her best not to gulp nervously, as despite his attitude, Bayloupe was still at least 95 percent sure he wouldn't harm her even if she outright refused to explain herself at all, she nonetheless faced him squarely and gave him what he wanted. After what she had done, he deserved the plain truth, even if he didn't like it. "This isn't how I wanted this to go, but you just… you pushed my buttons and I just acted." She admitted to start with. "Accelerator… I… I like you. You've known that, and I've known that, for a while now, but we never really spoke of it. There just wasn't really the right moment, a break in the action or a time when we wouldn't be interrupted or spied on. So… I guess this is my confession. I like you, Accelerator. I would like to become your girlfriend. Real and officially."

"My girlfr… you're serious…" Some of the dark aura faded from around him, and some life began seeping back into his words and expression. He released his hand from the doorjamb, and stepped into the house fully again, letting the door close behind him. "Well… it wasn't a secret, I guess." He grumbled irritably, as he slowly made his way around onto the couch, sitting down on the other end from her with a grunt of annoyance. "All the time hanging around me, and those verbal shoving matches you had with the Ice girl and Saiai…" Accelerator noted the slight tightening of Bayloupe's lips when he mentioned Kinuhata by name, but since she had stood by him in a fight herself, she was worthy at least of that much. "So, what then… what do you expect me to say?"

"I told you before." Bayloupe replied, not looking away from him. "I invited you here with no expectations at all. I wanted to see you, yes. I wanted to see if I could find a way to get closer to you, to turn our lie of convenience into a truth. But those are my wants. They don't necessarily have any bearing on what you might want."

"What I want… huh." Accelerator scoffed, and glanced aside from her unwavering gaze. "What I might want doesn't matter, because I don't deserve it."

"That is NOT for you to decide." Bayloupe snapped at him, unwilling to let him denigrate himself over the past. Yes, it was terrible, the things he had done, the lives he had ended, for the sake of mere power. But he had been lied to. Manipulated. Wrapped in layers of deception and corruption until his actions had seemed reasonable. Many powerful men had fallen to much lesser temptations in the past. "Last Order has told you that. And now I'm telling you that too. You are a good man… a good person. I have seen it, and I won't doubt it because of the mistakes you have made in the past. You deserve to be happy too."

"Maybe." Accelerator grunted noncommittally. "There's more than killing in the darkness of my past though… good people… don't always get what they… deserve…"

"I know that." Bayloupe swallowed heavily and decided that it was time to reciprocate to him what he had once done for her. "You know, I was… a couple years younger than you are now, when I first willingly slept with a man." She let that admission, and everything it implied and left unsaid, hang between them for a long moment. She had his gaze again, sharp and piercing, but she did not give him time to reply.

"It was for money, of course. We needed to pay for food, and lodging, and bribes to get the local authorities to look the other way regarding our lack of adult guardians. The other girls were still just kids really, much too young to put to work on any sort of legal job… and far too innocent still for me to want them to work in the ways they could work. Not completely innocent… none of us were by then… but… innocence is precious. It should not be wasted frivolously." She caught his eye, knowing that he understood that, which was one reason he watched out for Last Order so fiercely.

"It was never my first choice, then or other times when we needed a sudden influx of cash, of course, but it was often the best choice all the same. It paid well, and the work… well, it wasn't really difficult for me. I matured fairly early, in terms of my looks, so acquiring clients wasn't too hard. Most of the time they were just regular people, perhaps on the immoral side to be seeking such things with an underage girl, but not awful people all things considered. Some of them though… some liked to… pay extra for… special services." Bayloupe swallowed and clutched her knees tightly. "And some of them… didn't like to pay… at all."

"Of course, I had my magic, even if it wasn't in the complete form you've seen me use. But there's a lot of rules here in England about the usage of Magic on other people… especially magic that causes harm or could kill people. It may not seem that way to you, because most of the Magicians you've encountered have been tied to the Church or the Government, and they are allowed the use of deadly force for various reasons. That's not the case for independents like New Light. Sometimes… sometimes fighting back and hurting or killing people, even bad people that DESERVED IT… it would have caused more trouble than it solved." Bayloupe lifted her head, staring at the ceiling now, not wanting to see what look was on his face.

"Maybe if it was just me, just my life at stake, I would have done it differently. But I had Floris, and Lancis and Lessar to think of. I'm not that much older than them… but I'm enough older for it to matter. After we… escaped, from the Cabal that had acquired us as young girls, it was my responsibility to protect them, care for them, help them grow up as good, happy girls…" Bayloupe trailed off and gathered herself. "I did a lot of things in the name of that cause. Illegal things. Violent things. Perverted, disgusting things… things I don't like remembering. Things which haunt me still. Things I can never be proud of, no matter what."

"I learned a lot of lessons. Power is not strength. Handsomeness is not good character. Fine words do not mean fine intentions. The strong often do not care about the weak, and the weak will stab you in the back more often than not as soon as they get a chance. Most people suck, in various ways and at various times. The world is not fair. And magic… magic can't fix your world when it breaks on you. It can cure wounds, heal sicknesses, repair your clothes, rebuild your house, and even punish the wicked… but it can't give you back the life you once had. It can't restore your innocence. Magic can do just about anything really… except the things most of us really, deep down inside, wish it would do…"

She did her best, her absolute best, but it was not entirely enough to prevent some moisture gathering at the edges of her eyes, and a certain amount of stiffness in her throat. There was no reply from Accelerator, she could barely even hear him breathing, though she could still feel his eyes on her. "Your dark past isn't like my dark past, but dark they are… and in the past, they should stay." She said, as calmly as she could. "I have made… more mistakes that cause me and other people pain and harm, than I can even recall. But… but you CAN'T let them rule over you in the present. For the sake of all the people relying on you, who care about you, and love you… you CAN'T…" She dug her fingers into her knees hard enough she was afraid she might start bleeding.

The silence stretched between them for an eternity, and she refused to look at him. Baring your soul to your crush was supposed to be something that relieved you, the romance dramas would have you believe. Clearing the air between you, showing your heart so that the one you cared for could reassure you. Reality was not like that. It was nerve wracking, and really, nothing he could say would make it any better. Pity would be as bad as disgust. Anger was useless, and commiseration… a farce. Not only were they vastly different people, but a man could never understand what a girl felt in that sort of situation, fundamentally.

"Why?" Accelerator finally broke the silence, and Bayloupe forced herself to look at him again. To her unspoken relief, his face was back to its usual guarded state, closed off except to those who knew him well. His eyes were perhaps a little hooded, his complexion perhaps a trifle paler than usual, but otherwise he looked like he usually did. And that simple lack of visible reaction was worth more to her than she could possibly express. "Why tell me? What do you want me to say?"

"There is nothing you can say. Even the Master of Vectors can't turn back time, and nor can any Magic I know of." Bayloupe answered and sighed. "I don't want you to say anything, because it would just be inadequate. Just like nothing I can say can really absolve you of what you did in your past, for your reasons. I didn't tell you so you could say something, or do anything. Sympathy… is a poison, for people like us. I just… wanted you to know. Because… you told me about yours. So this is… fair. Life may not be… but I want to be, when I can."

"I see." Accelerator replied. In most people, that would be a platitude, a verbal shrug. But she knew that he did see, he did understand, in a way only someone like him could. And that was enough. "So… what now?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind an answer, one way or another." Bayloupe said, doing her very best to keep her heart at its normal rate and retain her cool beauty status.

"An answer?" Accelerator seemed confused by her request.

"I confessed to you. It's considered polite to respond, one way or another." Bayloupe sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, I know you're not oblivious like Kamijou is. And despite everything, it shouldn't be a hard decision. Do you want to date, yes or no? I'm not asking for your hand in marriage, just some dating, just some… exploring. Why do you Academy City people have to make this complicated when it's not?"

"And if I say no?" Accelerator asked, clearly testing the waters. Not saying no, but asking what would happen if he did.

"Then I'll be disappointed, but I'll get over it. You're an interesting guy, and I like you a lot. I owe you my life, a couple times over. But if you're not interested, then so be it, your loss. I am a gorgeous and stylish girl after all, I can find someone eventually I'm sure. And I'm only 18. Most of my life is still hopefully ahead of me." Bayloupe answered seriously. "It won't make me happy, but I won't get angry with you, and I won't kick you out. We'll just spend the rest of the week and the future as friends."

"And if I say yes?" Accelerator asked again, a slight smile on his face that put some butterflies in her stomach for sure.

"Then you'll make me very happy. And at least two girls back in Academy City incredibly jealous. I get to show up Lessar and the other girls as well. As for the relationship… that would be something we have to figure out together, what was in our comfort zones and what wasn't. I would probably be physically affectionate with you when you were in the mood, or I was. Hand holding. Hugs. Lounging together. Kissing when it felt right. And you could be affectionate as well… in your own way. I'm not expecting you to turn into a lady killer, or to alter your behavior in any substantial way. You don't need to compliment me unless you already would have, or you really want to. You don't need to change… you should just be you… because, Accelerator… it's YOU I like."

"Tch." Accelerator scowled and looked down at his lap. "Fine." He said, almost softly enough she couldn't hear him.

"What was that?" Bayloupe wasn't about to accept something half assed like that.

"I said fine!" He retorted, annoyance gleaming in his eyes even as a light flush appeared on his cheeks. "We can date then. As long as you don't get all clingy, and lovey-dovey and shit. I'm not a fucking cuddler, and don't expect a lot of expensive nights out, or for me to dress up or that shit either. And NO PDAs, especially around other people we know! And if you embarrass me in front of the others… expect no mercy!"

"Sounds fair." Bayloupe agreed, clearly somewhat surprising him. "What, I told you I wasn't expecting you to change just because we're dating? I know what you like… and more important, I know what you DON'T like, from seeing what Worst does to you all the time. For that matter, I would prefer to keep things professional seeming between us in public too, except on actual dates, and even then I'm fine with just walking together and the like. We don't need to make a song and dance out of this… what I do and feel with my boyfriend is between me and you, not for other people to weigh in on."

"Hn." Accelerated grunted acknowledgement, still clearly a bit suspicious about how reasonable she was being. The poor boy really had been traumatized by the actions and drama of his friends in Academy City.

"Well with that out of the way, lets cover the next issue likely to crop up… what degree of physical intimacy are you comfortable with, in private?" Bayloupe asked him, and this certainly put his hackles up a bit, but that was expected. "When we get hot and bothered… and we will, I promise you, to test it out if nothing else… how far do you feel like going? Kissing? Fondling? Blowjobs? Sex?"

"Oh, fuck you." Accelerator was pale and a little shaky looking.

"Yes, that's what I'm asking. Do you want to fuck me?" Bayloupe was once more not about to let him deflect, as this was a serious and important issue, one many people neglected until it was too late. Of course, underage couples could defer it a bit until the time was right. But they were mature people, at least in terms of life experience… they could have this conversation fairly, she felt. Though his embarrassment was pretty cute. "Oh… are you a virgin then? I… didn't expect that, actually…"

"FUCK! YOU!" Accelerator leaned towards her, his eyes burning with outrage at her words, moving towards where she sat on the edge of the couch.

"You can, if you want, that's what I'm saying." Bayloupe answered with a smile that obviously disarmed him somewhat. "Right here, right now, on this very couch, if that tickles your fancy. As you might imagine, I'm not shy about sex, and I don't think you should be either. Its perfectly natural and normal to desire it with someone you like. I'm not going to force you, of course, never that. But… the offer is open, ok?" Bayloupe broadened her grin a little, unable to resist going on. "I can pop the number 1 cherry in the world right here on this couch. All you have to say is "I want to"."

"You are asking for it, Bayloupe…" Accelerator warned her in threatening tones, his jaw clenched as he moved to sit right beside her. "Teasing me is not going to serve you well!"

I think otherwise, actually. Bayloupe thought smugly to herself. "No, I'm explaining the realities of our dating life to you. Trust me, Accelerator… when I ask you to fuck me, you WILL know it. But I won't do that unless I know you're comfortable with the idea. It has to be your choice." She paused and swallowed a moment to conceal a waver in her tone. "Please. It MUST be your choice, ok?"

"Whatever." Accelerator looked away from the intensity in her eyes, casting his eyes downwards instead. He understood what she was saying, what she meant about the importance of choice, with the fervor only someone who hadn't had such a choice could muster. Unfortunately, his gaze downward only revealed her chest and stomach and thighs to him, and he realized how close he had crawled in his angry confrontation. His body was sending him all sorts of confusing signals, and it was really getting frustrating trying to figure out what to do or say.

Bayloupe reached out with her hands and took him by the chin, forcing him to look up at her eyes again, not harshly, but gently. She smiled at him, and his anger and anxiety drained out of him, against his will, but not unpleasantly. She leaned in, her lips parting slightly, and before he knew what was happening, they were kissing again. Her lips soft and warm against his, her tongue playful as her fingers caressed his cheek and jaw. No one had ever touched him like this before. Most people didn't like to touch him in general, and he usually preferred it that way. Other people could be gross, not to mention those actually trying to do him harm.

But this was not the usual. He had always been comfortable with Bayloupe in ways he wasn't with most people, and now that they were officially dating, even though nothing really seemed to have changed about either of them, he felt more comfortable still. He wasn't normally the sort of guy who just went with the flow, but right now… Eh, fuck it all, maybe world class villains deserve a little reward sometimes. He thought as he allowed himself to relax into the kiss. Bayloupe moved towards him even more upon feeling his wordless acceptance, slowly straddling him and pressing against him again, as their lips remained locked, and for a time there was no past for either of them…. Just a rosy present.

xxxx