A/N: A subdued chapter with a bit of plot. This pretty much sets up future events.
Mikoto and Accelerator
On the wall of the clubroom, the second hand of a clock moved ever so slowly.
Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic.
Misaka Mikoto had her head down on the table. She watched from the corner of her eye.
Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic.
The sun's rays were gradually turning orange. A warm color flooded in.
Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic.
Club activities had already ended, but…
At that time, when no one should have remained, two members stayed behind.
History
One hour earlier…
Misaka Mikoto arrived at the testing facility right on time. She would not allow herself to be late, but she would not allow herself to be early either. The girl was only there out of contractual obligation. There was no way she'd be eager about participating in an experiment that dealt with such troublesome people.
"…?"
She stopped upon seeing a white-haired boy standing in the hall. He was up against the wall, his cane beside him, and he was staring at his phone.
"…"
It didn't seem like he noticed her, but… Perhaps he was waiting for her?
The girl shook the thought.
She assertively walked past him without so much as a greeting.
"Hey."
And then she stopped again.
Parity Anomaly
Misaka Mikoto became tense. During the experiment, Accelerator hadn't interacted much with her, and this was much to her relief. But now, the two were alone. And he was initiating an exchange.
"Hey."
He repeated.
"…"
The girl turned her head to acknowledge his presence.
"Afternoon."
She said this calmly, but her head was rushing with thoughts of doubt. The one thing she knew for certain was that there was no such thing as interactions between boys and girls without ulterior motives. Most definitely, he was going to ask her to do something for him.
"I need you to do something for me."
Blunt!
Tempered Glass and Copernicus
[ "If you don't have any plans this evening, stay awhile longer. I'll explain the details then." ]
Misaka Mikoto recalled what Accelerator said. There was a certain distaste in following his orders, but the girl's interest was somewhat piqued.
And so, after everyone else left, she continued sitting idly in her chair.
"…"
Her gaze briefly shifted over to the other person. In the absence of the other members, he had pulled out a clipboard and began scratching it with a pen.
Notes?
The scratching persisted until he looked up and met the girl's glance.
"…"
…
Accelerator reached into his pocket and tossed a rubberized wristband at her.
"Eh? Ah!"
The girl managed to catch it.
"We're heading out. For now, wear this and follow me."
Fool's Wonderland
"This is…"
Arriving at their destination, Misaka Mikoto made a twitchy smile.
"A supermarket?"
Accelerator spoke in monotone.
"What? Never been to one before?"
"Of course I've been to one. I'm human. I buy things."
Accelerator let out a silent breath. He seemed somewhat relieved.
"Good. It would've been troublesome if you only knew how to buy things online or made scapegoats out of others to buy things for you."
"I doubt there's anyone out there like that."
Somewhere out there, Shokuhou Misaki felt a speculative sting.
"So the reason we're here is because…"
Misaka Mikoto searched for an answer and Accelerator responded by giving her a list.
"We'll meet back here in one hour."
Accelerator hobbled inside while the girl processed the situation.
…
We're running errands? What…?
Spider Thread Tribology
Making a groan-like sigh, Misaka Mikoto hung her head while driving a shopping cart. She muttered to herself.
"I don't want to do this. Why am I doing this? I don't want to do this. Why am I doing this?"
She continued the chant as she grabbed ingredients off the store shelves. Her basket slowly began to fill.
Eggs. Milk. Flour. Butter. Sugar. Vanilla extract. Baking powder.
"Huh? Aren't these ingredients for a cake?"
She quickly brushed off the image of Accelerator baking.
"No. That's definitely not it. It has to be someone else…"
Another image appeared. This one was of a naked-apron Worst holding a carrot erotically.
( Worst: The texture is hard and smooth. But it's a little small! Nyahahaha! )
"Probably not her…"
Antikythera Mechanism
Another image: Yomikawa Aiho opened a rice cooker.
( Aiho: I can't believe it! A cake popped out! )
"Don't think it's her."
Misaka Mikoto rubbed her head.
Another image: Yoshikawa Kikyou opened a microwave/phone with a burst of electricity.
( Kikyou: IT HAPPENED! THE CAKE TRAVELED THROUGH TIME! )
"Wait… Was she like that? Her personality seems a little strange."
Misaka Mikoto felt that something was off there.
Pure-Hearted Spectrum
"Mmmmh… I guess it would have to be…"
Image: Last Order held up a page from a cooking magazine.
( LO: Misaka Misaka wants to try this. )
"That makes sense! What a good girl! I guess she's at that age where she's interested in making that sort of stuff, huh?"
The girl lifted her head and acknowledged something important.
"Oh, I guess I should say that, canonically, I don't know much about any of these people and can't make judgments about their personalities, so this segment technically doesn't make any sense. Outside of that, it's actually kind of weird how often the author throws me in with this group*."
(*see To Aru Super SS Chapters 3, 10, and the entirety of Super Collider)
As she says all this aloud, a mother and child pass by.
"Okaa-san! Who is that girl talking to?"
"Shh! Don't look!"
Coward's Breakthrough
"But still. I don't really get this. If it's just groceries, couldn't he have done this by himself? Why ask me for help?"
Misaka Mikoto tilted her head to and fro as she attempted to come up with an answer.
"…"
She let out a breath.
"I guess I'll ask him about this later. For now I'll-"
As the girl studied the rest of the shopping list, she found the reason.
"Oh. So that's why."
She turned her cart around and headed towards a different section of the supermarket. In the direction she was headed, there was a notable sign up above:
Feminine Care Products.
10^24 Prince
Outside of the supermarket…
"You sure took your time."
Misaka Mikoto blinked.
"Something is very wrong here."
The girl stood carrying close to 6-7 stuffed plastic bags full of groceries. The white-haired boy: a single bag with what looked like canned coffee inside.
"Yeah. My condition is pretty bad. Can't overexert myself, you know?"
Accelerator briefly held up his cane.
"What the-! I've seen you walk around without that cane! You can't fool me!"
As if anticipating that small outburst, he had plugged one of his ears with his pinky.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. If you still got time to spare, take those groceries to Yomikawa's apartment."
He turned aside and started hobbling away.
"Huh?-! What?-! Where are you going?-!"
"Work."
As he left, he made another comment.
"Right, I should say thanks. I owe you one, Railgun."
Misaka Mikoto puffed her cheeks.
"Hey, hey, hey! You're just taking advantage of me, aren't you?-! I had to pay for these groceries with my own money, you know?-! You better pay me back, dang it! Plus some! And canonically, I'm not even supposed to know where that apartment is!"
…
As soon as Accelerator came out of view. She lifted her head to the darkened sky.
"AHHHG! I REALLY HATE YOU DAMN IT!"
Cat Out of the Box
After dropping off groceries at the Yomikawa residence...
The Number 3 sighed as she walked back to her dorm. He feet felt heavy for some reason.
"That was a wasted an evening..."
...
...
It took her by surprise.
[ SFX: Buzz. Buzz.]
"...!"
Her phone vibrated. And as she attempted to pull it out, she almost dropped it.
Without looking at the number, she frantically answered the call.
"E-Eh?-! Err…! Hello?"
A familiar metallic voice came from the other end.
[ "Hey. You still have that wristband? I need you to return that to the testing facility tomorrow." ]
"Ah? Oh... yeah. I still have it. Come to think of it, you never told me what the wristband was for…"
And then… a revelation.
…
"How did you get this number? No, scratch that… why do you have my number?"
[ "I have it because you sent me your contact information." ]
"Why would I- No. That's not possible."
[ "You did. As did the rest of the Level 5s from the social experiment. I'm the project leader of that experiment. So naturally, I would have it." ]
"Project… Leader?"
[ "Project Leader." ]
As this was happening, Accelerator was scanning through video footage of the Number 2 through 7 from the days before.
"Eh?"
Timeline: 1, 2, 4, 8, x, 3, x, 5, 6, 7
Next Chapter: Misaka Mikoto wants to forget.
