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III.
Needle in a haystack
Technically, he was quite used to people getting inside his head.
"Oh my God. You're a total lolicon."
But this was a whole new level of intrusion for Accelerator.
"Stop saying stupid shit,"
The albino boy snapped angrily, chewing on his rice with more force grinding on his jaw than necessary, a visible vein popping up under the pale, fraying bangs. It had only been two hours since the morning had even started, and the girl inside his head had already made him feel like pulling all his hair out, or blow a bullet into his brain again, whichever was faster to help him end this new form of torture.
But it's true. You've been fending on my smaller version ever since you sat into the table!
That 'smaller version' has a name, wench. And she's nothing like you, which is a fucking major improvement by the way.
Hey!
"Hey."
Accelerator blinked, and looked up to find Yoshikawa staring at him blankly, fingers holding the chopsticks dangling in mid-air with a piece of salmon.
"What's up with you?" she asked, her gaze flat and scrutinizing like the scientist that she was.
"What?" he shrugged, and grumpily held out his bowl for her to drop the food into it.
"I've been calling your name for the past minute, and you've been chewing your rice like you're eating rocks, kid."
"I'm fine."
He huffed, twirling his chopsticks and swallowing everything in one gulp. He was certain the two females of the house were still staring, and he quickly picked up his glass of water and downed it in one long sip, this time making sure to relax his jaw.
"'It's so rare for Accelerator to have breakfast with us these days!' MISAKA exclaims happily." The youngest of the house chirped in with a beaming smile, freckles of rice still visible on the corner of her upturned mouth.
Accelerator passed the little girl a look. There was a bandage wrapped around her head, messing up her chestnut hair cutely. She hadn't been much energetic like she'd always been since she was noted of the state of her Original Sister, so the smile was a huge improvement for the past few days.
It didn't mean the brat had to know he noticed that, of course.
"Then show your appreciation by shutting up," he muttered, pulling out a napkin and chucking it in her direction. It hit her square in the face. "And wipe your mouth. You look dirty."
"Don't worry Last Order. That's just his way of saying he's happy to eat with us today too."
The pretty scientist added in dryly, passing him a smirk. Accelerator could only retort with a glare.
"Lolicon."
The voice inside his head muttered. Accelerator just poured himself another cup of coffee and downed it in one gulp.
It was going to be a long day already.
x
x
x
"You just had coffee at home."
"Do you think it's really your business how much coffee I drink?"
There was a beat of silence, but then the voice continued.
"No, but it's finally made sense now. With all that caffeine intake no wonder why you're always so surly and rude."
Fuck me, Accelerator thought to himself, and crumpled the empty can of coffee in his grip. A few people passing him by glanced back at the strange murdering aura suddenly surrounding them, but quickly walked away at the look on his face.
"Thanks but I'll pass."
Mikoto said, and Accelerator knew he didn't need to look to see the winning smirk that would be proudly present on her face then.
"You know you're lucky you're already in a hospital right? Cause I have no problems whatsoever in sending you back there, you insolent brat."
"Oh so you're all cuddly and fuzzy with my younger self. But when it comes to me – "
"Last Order doesn't get on my nerves," …most of the time. "And at least she knows when to shut up." Most of the time.
"Riiiiiight."
"And I don't get 'cuddly and fuzzy' with anyone. Fuck, even your vocab is childish."
There was no reply then, and Accelerator took a moment to finally appreciate the blissful silence. He was almost tempted to set up a board – Accelerator 1, annoying, miserable wench 0.
"I could see that, you know."
It was final. He needed to get this girl out of his fucking head asap.
"Hey, where are we going?"
Mikoto peeked out from where she was sitting, and frowned when she felt an intense surge of power coursing through the space. Invisible and prickling in the air.
"Finding a way to get you out."
Accelerator grumbled under his breath, and switched on his choker. The nearest Sister around here was 10032, and she was in a research facility that was at least twenty blocks away from the convenient shop they were at. It could take half an hour to get there by foot, and by now Accelerator would rather do some mental exercise with his power and lose some batteries than stay with this girl and listen to her nonsense any longer.
"Finally." Mikoto said under her breath, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Let's go!"
"Now that I could see too, brat."
The girl flinched at the sound of his voice, face turning a redder color before she swiftly turned away from him. Accelerator resisted a smirk himself, quickly throwing the crushed coffee can into the nearby dumpster before breaking into a vector-enhanced run.
Amateur.
x
x
x
Meeting other clones had always been unnerving for Accelerator, especially when one of them actually survived one of his cold, ruthless tortures in the past.
And not to mention it was even worse for him this time, when the Original of them also had to be in presence.
"'Accelerator?' MISAKA says as she wonders what the First Esper is doing here," 10032 murmured, blank eyes staring at him impassively.
"Yeah yeah," he nodded, casting a quick look around the office they were in. Last time he checked, 10032 was working as a personal assistant for the facility's most authoritative scientist. It would be extremely troublesome if whoever that was found out about he and the Railgun's little dilemma. "Look, we need to talk. Where's your boss?"
"'In her office' MISAKA explains, 'I am picking up a file for her here.'"
"Good. Stay."
The sister blinked, but before she could reply the pale boy had already swiveled around and promptly shut the door close.
"Don't forget the security camera."
The voice inside his head chided, and Accelerator clicked his tongue, before fusing his power into the camera hung in the corner. The lens fizzled before dropping down.
"'Is this about Onee-sama?' MISAKA asks, 'What do you want with her this time?'"
"Ha. Even they know!"
"Shut up."
Accelerator sighed, shooting the clone an impassive glare. "I don't want shit to do with that wench. What I want is to get that insufferable brat out of my head, and I need your help."
"'I don't understand' MISAKA says in confusion, 'Onee-sama is in a coma at Academy City's hospital. How could she be 'in your head''?"
"That's what I'm here to find out," he sighed, rubbing at his temples. "Look, just try infiltrating into my mind through the MISAKA Network, then you'll see."
"'I do not understand the point of th…'"
The clone murmured, then frowned as Accelerator felt a tweak in his head, and before he knew it there was another thought registering inside his mind. He could practically feel the Railgun scrambling up from where she was sitting to face the other girl, and settled back into keeping himself silent as the two sisters had their little reunion.
"10032."
"'Onee-sama', MISAKA says in wonder, 'You are here. You are really inside Accelerator's mind.'"
There was a long sigh on the other end. "Yes. Unfortunately."
"Can we just get to the damn point already?" Accelerator snapped. "How do I get her out?"
There was a pause, and then, "'I don't know,' MISAKA says."
"The hell you mean you don't know? She's literally in my head, like how all of you guys have been doing. How can you not know how to retract someone the same as yourself?"
10032 had always been an interesting character out of the bunch, but to have that bland, know-it-all look directed at him in times like these, Accelerator just wished she could just be none of those. It was already bad enough his mind was reciting all the horrid physical pain he'd given her just by staring at that face.
"'Because', MISAKA replies slowly in explanation," the Sister stated, as if she was talking to a ten-year-old. "'This is not the real Onee-sama. She is not physically fit to be registered in the Network, only mentally. It is the same as you so this subconscious of her in your mind is not a part of us. We can see and understand her only because she is in yours.'"
"I am not a fault in the system."
Mikoto muttered, and Accelerator watched in resignation as the electromaster just slowly backed away from the both of them.
"I'm not just a 'subconscious'", she repeated, and stared, hard. "I am me as much mentally as I am physically. I did not ask for any of this. And I just want to come back."
The clone just stared at them, millions of calculations running in her wired brain. Accelerator could hear the chatter of more voices, and could only hope the impassive girl was trying to contact the other Sisters for assistance. His body was still recovering from the vector enhanced run he made earlier, and he was not looking forward to another long walk to the exit so soon with barely any improvement on their part.
"'I am not sure what I can do,' MISAKA says in apology. 'But I have just contacted our other Sisters. I think they will be able to help.' MISAKA adds."
"But for now?" Accelerator muttered, although he already got a pretty good idea about what they were supposed to do then.
"'For now, I believe Accelerator and Onee-sama's subconscious should wait,' MISAKA advises honestly." The girl replied, and if Accelerator was to entertain himself, she even sounded almost apologetic.
But on the other hand, "waiting" was one thing Accelerator was certain he and the Railgun could never actually do together. It has only been a day and he already felt like strangling himself, if this had to go on any longer, it would be a completely new level of despair he would be feeling every single day with that wretched brat resided inside his head.
"The feeling is very much mutual, you jerk."
"Can I at least shut her out of my head sometimes? No?" Accelerator looked pointedly at the other girl for confirmation, and felt himself deflate some more at the soft shake of head he got as a reply.
For a moment, the three presences just stared at the each other. There was a mix of reactions inside his head, and it was not a pleasant sensation. Eventually, they had nothing left to do besides leaving, as even 10032 started to chide as she was running late on her delivering mission to her boss.
The sky was still bright and sunny when Accelerator stepped out of the gate just less than half an hour later. The Railgun had been a quiet, taciturn figure inside his mind, and for once her silence was a disturbing feeling inside.
"All I want is to wake up."
She did say a few moments later, in a small whisper that he probably wasn't supposed to hear but he did either way. Accelerator just walked down the street, and for once in his life he finally found himself wanting the same thing as the other Level 5.
x
x
x
As sad as it sounded, between GROUP missions and taking care of Last Order, and besides the occasional death or fighting threats that happened a lot more than they fucking should, there was not much going on in his life. So by that afternoon, when they already checked with 10032, came back to the hospital for a quick-runover of the Railgun's body, Accelerator was pretty much free. And there was only one thing he would always do when he was unoccupied, and by this time no amount of bullshit could stop him from doing it either way.
"You really need to stop drinking so much coffee."
Mikoto commented, as Accelerator finished another can of caffeine. The older boy just scoffed at her inside his mind, and chucked the can into the nearby trashcan.
The girl sighed. "Where are you going now?"
"Home. I'm taking a nap. So shove it for a while."
"Don't you have, oh I don't know, what normal people do. School? Work?"
Now that was an unsettling idea, even he had to make a face. "First of all, I'd eat nails before I actually step into a school. And yes, just to get your nosy ass out and away from me, I do have work, which is why I need to get some sleep now because they can call me in later."
"What kind of work?"
"Oh trust me kid –" Accelerator muttered, and stuck the key into the apartment's door.
"You don't wanna know."
There was no reply then, and Accelerator almost rejoiced at the welcoming silence. But only until he pushed the door open, and a pair of wide, familiar dark eyes immediately zoomed in on him as soon as he looked up.
"'Accelerator?' MISAKA asks in wonder," Last Order said, and jumped down from the chair she was seated on.
"Well this is bad."
Mikoto said, wincing inside his head. Accelerator could only agree in silence, and quickly shut the door close. By the time he turned back, Last Order was already standing in front of him. And the big, doe eyes staring up at him then were a straight punch to his gut.
"'Accelerator' MISAKA says as MISAKA looks for an honest answer, 'Why do you have Onee-sama's consciousness in your head?'"
x
x
x
"Wow, that's so odd, ne."
Last Order said, wordlessly swinging back and forward on her chair in deep thoughts. They were sitting at the dining table, as even Mikoto decided the little girl was going to find out either way, and how both of them totally should have seen this coming when 10032 contacted the other Sisters through the Network. Accelerator just simply sat down and gave the Sister a brief summary of what had been going on so far, mostly just to avoid thinking about the Railgun thinking, her thoughts always a rush, incoherent trail in his mind.
"Look, how she got into my head is not the point anymore," he stated, matter-of-factly, "What's important right now is how to get her the hell out."
"'Of course' MISAKA says as MISAKA tries to console Accelerator," the little girl chirped, bouncing on her seat. Last Order hadn't looked that lively ever since she found out about the comatose state her Onee-sama was in, and at least that was something good came out today for Accelerator. "'But as 10032 said, this has never happened before. So the Sisters and MISAKA must take time to study how to do that!'"
"Well make it quick." He sighed, and stood up from his seat. All these repetitions of the past few days were really starting to grate on his already thinning patience. "I need to get some sleep. So go do your thing or whatever, and call me as soon as you have a lead or anything."
"Are you two going out tonight?"
Inside his head, Misaka Mikoto choked on her breath. Accelerator just swiveled around on his heels, and shot the ten-year-old his nastiest glare. The younger Sister just stared at him, an ever knowing grin playing on her lips. She'd totally meant to drive that comment into a different direction.
"Is this a genetic thing for you chicks, huh?" he said, and simply regarded the child with his most unamused face. "Saying stupid shit and getting on people's nerves all the time?"
Hey!
"'Only when MISAKA feels like it,' MISAKA says cheerfully."
"Well drop it. Or else you'll be wearing a new cast on your head pretty soon."
"'Uh uh. Accelerator would never do that to MISAKA,' MISAKA says in complete assurance."
"Jerk."
The voice in his head scowled. Accelerator just rolled his eyes, swiftly turned around, and made way back into his room, slamming his door shut with a resounding bang around the house just to make a point. The Original also seemed to realize his intention, and quickly retracted herself away, for once quiet and unyielding.
But the blissful silence did not last long for any of them, because just half an hour later, after just fixing himself in bed, his phone rang. Accelerator just stared at the caller's number, and felt his body tightening in focus. He quickly eased himself out of bed, and made way to the closet for a thin, black hoodie jacket good enough to wear for the rest of the night, the Railgun's curiosity ringing in his mind.
"You wanted to know, didn't you?" he told her, just for the heck of it. "What I do for my work?"
"Well, yeah. But – "
"Then this is your chance, brat. And trust me."
He said, and pulled up his hoodie as he reached for a case of portable charger under his pillow.
"You're not gonna like it."
(TBC)
Note: Again, I somehow managed to cram going to classes, going to work, and writing this all in the same day. Someone needs to put a record on me cause I am on a roll ayyy.
As always, thanks for all your reading, following, favorites and reviews. You guys sure know what to do to keep me going :))
Note (reedited): So it's only been a day this got updated, but the reviews already blew up. This was what you got when you tried writing a chapter after 17 hours of non-stop studying and working.
But anyways, everything was fixed, updated and redid. Thanks for all the reminders guys. And yes, I will be sticking with the time set of after the Level 6 Shift Experiment, so no Worst. That was awfully wrong of me and I am sorry y'all had to read through that haha. Feel free to notify for anymore fault!
27/04/2017.