It was a small playground in a park in one of the areas of Academy City that had several elementary schools. Students would walk there to eat lunch or for recess. Considering I wasn't a student at any of those schools, my appearance on the playground was suspicious to the other kids. Honestly, I'm not sure why I kept going there. I could tell when they were talking about me, they'd gather around and take turns glancing in my direction, laughing and giggling. None of them ever approached me though, so I never bothered to do anything about it.
That is until the girl with the brilliant blue hair appeared.
I was in my usual spot on the playground near the animal ride-on toys that none of the kids cared to play on anymore, looking down at the ground and drawing random things in the soft dirt. A pair of small black shoes appeared before me. I looked up to see a girl holding a bento box tied up in a towel. She was smiling at me, but not the way those little bastards that make fun of me would smile as they ridiculed me. No, this was a genuine smile. I had no idea how to react, so I just stared back at her.
"Hi, I'm Kana Hanje. I noticed you stay over here by yourself a lot, so I thought I'd come over and say hello. Did you bring your lunch today, or did you eat at school?" she asked me, apparently unaware of the fact that my 'school' wasn't nearby, nor did they bother to provide me with decent meals.
"N-no, I don't have anything. I'll just eat later," I told her quietly as I brought my focus back to the ground.
"If you're hungry now, you should eat now. Here, we can share mine if you want, I packed enough to do so. Do you mind if I sit with you?" she asked as she started to undo the knot in the towel holding her bento together.
"Uh, sure. But you don't have to do that." I told her as she sat next to me and started unpacking the bento in front of us. I took the chopsticks she offered me and grabbed some fried chicken and noodles that occupied one of the bento pockets. It tasted amazing, none of the shit they called food at the Institute could even compare. I bet it was even homemade, too. I took more food, savoring each new item as I went. I glanced at her with a mouthful of food, and she gave me this smile like she was really happy about something. I realized that she hadn't eaten any of her lunch yet, so I finished what I had already taken, and left the rest to her. As I looked away, I noticed some of the other kids pointing at the two of us, likely making fun of her now that she decided to associate herself with me.
"Thank you for the food. I apologize for taking so much of it," I said humbly as she finished what little food I had left her.
"You're welcome, I'm just glad to share it with you. It looked like you enjoyed it, so it was worth it," she replied with a short laugh, as she reassembled her bento and tied it up again. "I started school here a few weeks ago and noticed you the last few times our class has come here. I don't know many of the kids at my school yet, and it didn't look like you knew anyone either, so I figured I'd come over and meet you."
"No one knows me here. It's probably better that way. And although I appreciate what you did today, it may be wise to avoid me from now on. Your classmates spend most of their free time here making fun of me. You wouldn't want to give them a reason to do the same to you, especially if you're the new kid." I said as she stood up and brushed the dirt of the back of her uniform.
"Who cares what they say, they don't decide who I can be friends with."
I was surprised at this, no one had ever referred to me as their friend before. "Friend?" I managed to say, with surprise in my voice.
"Well, yeah. You were nice enough to let me sit with you for lunch, and even though I did most of the talking you didn't act bored or annoyed with me. I think that's what friends do. To be honest, I haven't had many friends either. My classmates have already started developing their Esper abilities, but so far I haven't been able to do that. All of them talk about what they've been able to accomplish with their powers, but since I don't have one yet they have no reason to include me in their groups."
I could tell that this bothered Kana more than she was letting on. It was a shame that she was being excluded for not having an ability, as kind and friendly as she was. Those rotten bastards, they really started to irritate me now.
"It looks like my class is assembling to leave now. Will I see you here again, err... I forgot to ask you what your name is." she said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Accel..." Her teacher interrupted and yelled for her to rejoin their group. "Accelerator."
"What an interesting name! Okay, I'll see you here again soon, Accelerator," she said with a smile as she waved goodbye and ran over to her class.
In the ten years I'd been in Academy City, no one had ever done anything remotely so nice for me without expecting something in return. I despised most of the people around me because they never bothered to ask if I was okay or what I wanted. All they wanted was to use me for their experiments. In a way, I almost envied Kana for not having an ability that people could exploit. Maybe if she knew more about what I went through on a daily basis she wouldn't feel so bad about her lack of ability.
And so, I made it a point to be at the playground every day. Every time she spotted me, her eyes lit up and she'd break away from the other students and join me. Some days she would bring two bento boxes and give me one, something I greatly appreciated considering most of my meals came from convenience stores, if I ate at all. She did a lot of the talking, as I figured her listening to stories of my life would just leave her depressed. It was only a short time that I'd see her each day, but it made it easier to deal with the frustration I had built up from the experiments at the Institute.
Unfortunately, Kana's classmates grew bolder in their bullying and teasing. They used to stand far enough to speak freely about me. Now they stood close enough for the two of us to hear the cruel things they would say about me or her. The girls seemed to be the most vicious with their words, but the boys weren't much better. One boy seemed to be the alpha of his group and had a really arrogant attitude like he expected people to admire him or something. He's the one that ruined everything.
One day as Kana's class arrived, I watched the kids enter, but didn't see her with them. I stood up, thinking I had just missed her. I saw some of the girls giggling and pointing in my direction, but I ignored them. The Alpha nudged his buddies and started walking in my direction. He came to a stop in front of me as his friends spread out on either side of him.
"You're that weirdo that's always hanging out here, aren't you? Hate to tell you but your little girlfriend ain't coming today. That loser went back to her remedial class since Level Zeros can't keep up with us real Espers. So if you're gonna creep around, do it somewhere else." The kid and his friends shot me their best tough guy looks and sauntered away to where their classmates were sitting.
She's not coming? Were you really expecting a happy ending? She's probably better off not associating with you anyway. I looked at her class one more time in disgust. What vile creatures passing for children these days, and turned my back while making my way to the other side of the park. I sat down with my back towards the entrance and thought about her and how dumb I was for not asking for a way to call or message her. I fell into a daydream, playing out the last day I had spent with her again. I imagined the sound of her voice, calling out to me.
"Accelerator! I'm here! Damnit, let me through!"
Wait, that's not my imagination... I turned around and saw Kana standing in front of that same group of boys that had hassled me earlier. They were keeping her from coming inside the playground. I got up and started making my way over to her.
"I told you to go back to your stupid remedial class, Hanje. A Zero has no right to learn with us! You don't even know how strong I am, do you? All the teachers and scientists think I'm one of the fastest rising Espers in our school even. Not only that, but I'm one of the star players for our sports teams! What makes you think you're on the same level as me, Zero? Huh?" He said as he pushed Kana, his friends all laughing and taunting her.
"I never did anything to bother you jerks, all I wanted was to go to school and have a normal life. My status as a Level Zero doesn't officially exclude me from this class and you know it. As much as your sorry narcissistic ass despises me, Luka, I'm not going anywhere! Now let me through, my friend has been waiting on me long enough." Kana's voice was full of anger, the first time I'd ever heard that side of her, as she once again tried to get past Luka.
"Narcissistic? Hah! Sounds like someone needs to learn their place, and I'll be happy to be your teacher!" Luka said as he pushed Kana once again, then swung his right fist and caught her just under her left eye. She hit the ground hard, the bento boxes she had been carrying scattered everywhere.
"HEY! What kind of coward are you? Haven't you heard that you're not supposed to hit girls?" I said as I ran over to where Kana was laying. As she opened her eyes and saw me, her face changed from sadness to joy, her smile was such a relief. It cooled the anger I had nearly let overflow when she was attacked.
"Accelerator! Don't worry, I'm okay... Let's just leave, please. Oh no, our lunches are ruined..." Kana said as she stood up and looked at the mess of food around her. Blood started to trickle down from her nose as the bruising around her eye grew dark and swollen. Up until this point in my life, I'd never given into my rage. I just took whatever shitty circumstances life had for me with little emotion or complaint. Seeing Kana hurt and bleeding filled me with an anger so hot that all that I felt right to do was laugh. I'd never revealed to anyone outside of the Institute just what my ability was and always made sure to avoid having it discovered while I was out in public.
But now? Now I didn't give a shit.
"What's so funny, you albino freak? Seeing your girlfriend get beat up that amusing?" Luka said as he and his buddies started to surround us again.
"Kana, get behind me!" I yelled to her as I spread out my arms in a defensive pose.
"Aww, how cute, he thinks he can protect the two of them. Get him!" Luka ordered as his friends closed in around me, throwing their fists towards my face as hard as they could.
The sound of shattered bones followed by the screams of the three boys was oddly satisfying. Seeing them fall to the ground, cradling their broken arms and wrists in pain made me laugh once again. The look on Luka's face as he watched the whole scene take place was priceless!
"WHAT THE HELL?! How did you do that? Some barrier ability or something?" He looked around and found a large rock, roughly the size of a baseball. "Let's see how well that barrier holds up after I'm done!" He held the rock like a baseball and lobbed it as fast as he could at me. Of course with my Reflection ability, it didn't matter how fast he threw it. Once it touched my skin it would bounce right back in the direction it came from, and just as fast. The rock hit him directly in the face, blood splattering in several directions as the momentum of the rock flung him to the ground.
"YOU BASTARD! AHH!" Luka screamed as he staggered to his feet, blood dripping from the gash that the rock had opened across his face. He charged towards me, raising his right fist as he prepared to slug me. All I did was smile at him as his arm broke in the same manner as his buddies.
"All this pain just for trying to teach us a lesson about how superior you are? Ha ha! You're the one who just got schooled, Luka. You and those vermin you call classmates ever so much as sneer at Kana again and I'll make this little event look like a day at the amusement park in comparison." I said as I backed away from the group of crying children. Kana took my hand as she walked with me, her left eye had completely swollen shut now, but her nose had stopped bleeding. In spite of this, she smiled at me once again with tears threatening to fall down her face.
"No one has ever stood up for me the way you just did, Accelerator. Thank you!" She said as she put her arms out and hugged me. "I'll never forget this. I don't care if I don't have friends at that stupid school. All I need is you!" She let me go and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"HEY WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE!" yelled one of the teachers that had brought Kana's class out to the playground. Suddenly, several teachers, as well as some uniformed guards representing Anti-Skill, appeared at the entrance of the park.
"Kana, I think you should go now. I really should have been more careful than this..."
"NO! I don't want to leave you! I'm sure once we tell them what happened, they'll understand and it'll be okay. We didn't do anything wrong!" Kana said as she grabbed my hand once more.
The teachers were talking to Luka, who kept pointing in our direction with his good arm. The teacher then rushed over to the other group of adults to fill them in on what that little bastard said. They started coming our way, spreading out to surround us.
"He's holding her hostage!" yelled one adult as they moved closer.
"YOU'RE WRONG! HE'S NOT THE BAD GUY HERE! HE DEFENDED ME FROM THEM!" Kana yelled at the grown-ups, pleading with them to listen to her. None of them even acknowledged her as they focused on me, their biggest threat.
"His power is out of control, he must be stopped before he begins another rampage!" another teacher said as they continued to approach. They completely surrounded us now. I tried to keep an eye on them all, but as they got closer one of the Anti-Skill officers grabbed Kana and ripped her away from me. She screamed out as the remaining teachers closed in to subdue me. My ability kept them from touching me, but all I could do was watch as Kana was carried away, kicking and screaming. All I heard until she was gone were her desperate pleas defending me. She swore to them that I was a good person, that I only did it to save her. I tried to follow where they had taken her, but by that point, the military had been alerted to the situation and had dispatched several tactical teams to deal with me.
Once she was gone, nothing mattered to me once again. I had a feeling that after my very public display of power, my chances of being allowed outside on my own again had just been brought to zero. My chances of seeing Kana again were even less than that. That bastard Luka told them that I had attacked them unprovoked and that I had also injured Kana. His lackeys all backed up his story as well. Once they realized where I was from and who I was, tanks and other large scale weaponry were brought in to take me out.
At that point, I didn't bother fighting back anymore. I faced down the most powerful forces Academy City could assemble against me. It would have been nothing for me to destroy them all, but what would have been the point? It would have only led to a larger assault, and another after that, until the whole world was against me and wishing for my demise. No point in any of that, so I gave up and allowed them to take me back to the Institute. Just as expected, I was prohibited from leaving the Institute.
And just as expected, I never heard from Kana again. Until now.