Next Chapter: Miko-chan saves the day.
Timeline: 42, 43, 44, 46
"Ah… Ah… Ah…"
The future Number 3 stood rigidly. The girl spoke with a fragile seriousness that seemed poised to break at the smallest of surprises.
"My name is Misaka Mikoto! Sometimes people call me Miko-chan!
"My birthday is May 2nd! Blood type AB!
"A-And um… I like froggos! They're super cute! I drew this one here!"
She showed off a piece of paper with a badly drawn frog on it.
"A-And… My dream is to…"
Suddenly…! The volume of her voice skyrocketed!
"MY DREAM IS TO BECOME A SHAMELESS WOMAN WITH BIG BREASTS! JUST LIKE MAMA!"
"Shut up."
Accelerator shot a glare.
"…Sorry. It's a sensitive subject."
Extra: Miko-chan's Interview
Sitting on a metal bench, Accelerator hunched forward. With both hands covering his already hidden face, he recalled a certain event. The first words he heard from that child.
[ "You're a time traveler?" ]
…
This was troublesome.
Irritatingly troublesome.
It came to his attention that the younger Misaka Mikoto had witnessed the Number 1's arrival. And somehow, she was able to piece together an incomprehensible plot point. For a child, she was amazingly perceptive. Or maybe, it was because she was a child that her imagination led her in the right direction. Whatever the case, Accelerator had to face her head-on.
Speaking through his medical mask, he addressed the child directly.
"Hey, kid."
"Mm?"
The girl raised her head. She was on the floor, drawing on scraps of paper. Where she got these sheets? One can assume that they were important documents that were previously lying on someone's desk.
"I'll only say this once, so don't make me repeat myself."
To prevent a catastrophic derailment in the timeline, Accelerator had to misdirect this child. At all costs, he had to make it clear that he wasn't a time traveler and that she was simply misunderstanding his situation. Upmost care needed to be exercised. Otherwise, he may not even have a future to return to. Failure was not an option.
"I'm not a time traveler."
"I don't believe you."
FUCK.
Illusion Destroyed
The Number 1's face didn't budge despite the blunt denial of his previous statement. If he left any room for doubt, she would tear him apart and unravel the farce. Such was the nature of all children.
Accelerator continued aridly.
"No. Really. I'm not a time traveler."
"That's a lie."
"Hm? Why would I lie? Adults never lie. Especially not to children."
"That's… not true. Like at all."
"Don't be stubborn. Just do as I say and trust me.
"Or rather, if you could, just forget about everything that's happened today. Suppress it with any emotional traumas you may already have."
"I don't think I can do that…"
"I know this may be difficult for you to grasp, but you need to understand that sometimes people make mistakes. Just because events may lead you to think a certain way, that doesn't necessarily mean that the line of logic is correct. You've made an error in judgement. And if you continue to walk down this path-"
As he was speaking, the younger Misaka Mikoto pulled out a picture. It was the Christmas photo* that was supposed to be in his wallet.
( *See Chapter 9 of 'Super Seven' )
…
"-GRFF!"
[ SFX: *THUD* ]
Accelerator swiped forward to grab the damning evidence, but his strength wouldn't allow him any convenience. Instead, he comically fell forward.
And while on the ground…
The girl squatted to his level.
"Gotcha."
Illusion Destroyed II
Accelerator lied facedown with the child hovering over.
"…"
A missing puzzle piece fell into place. It happened at the very beginning. When Miko-chan found him, she had taken this photo off him and used it to make her deductions. The girl's misplaced confidence finally made sense. And now, with that picture ingrained into her memory, no amount of deception could dig him out of this hole.
Indeed, this was 'checkmate'.
"Give it back."
The 'strongest' esper spoke with his eyes locked to the floor.
"Why?"
"Because it's important to me."
"I should keep it then."
"You shitty kid…"
He resisted the urge to reach for his collar. He had to remind himself that he was still connected to Tree Diagram and there were unknowns involved with tapping into that power. Also, it wouldn't look good for his character if he went all out on a little girl.
"Aniki, can you explain this photo?"
"…"
At this point…
Did his answer even matter? If this were a proper time travel story, then this event would mark a major screw up that would require a universal-scale wipe to fix. What exactly were his options? Give up? Sulk? Sleep? Why contain a leak if the contents had already spilt out? It was only a matter of time before this girl pieced together the entire story.
After all, this small child would eventually grow up to become the third most valuable asset to Academy City. Even if she sometimes acted like an idiot, she wasn't a typical dumbass.
…
Slowly, Accelerator pushed himself up.
In front of him, Miko-chan held a picture containing himself, Yomikawa Aiho, Yoshikawa Kikyou, Misaka Worst, and Last Order. The latter two were the hardest to explain but the most critical to disclose.
Eyes drifting away, he listlessly answered.
"…They're clones."
"Don't make stuff up."
Swing and Miss
The girl's voice showed signs of annoyance. Looking down on him, she frowned.
"Look here. This one is clearly me."
"…Huh?"
"This one. The one with the boobs."
Miko-chan pointed at Misaka Worst. And technically, she was right. But also very wrong.
"And this one here… a baby sister? Does this mean I'm going to be a big sister soon?"
Again, technically right. But wrong.
The Number 1 made a snap judgement. To either correct her on the spot or let her believe what she wanted-
"Are you a genius?"
"Ehe~ Hehe~ It's nothing really~!"
Flustered, the little girl scratched the back of her head with a nervous smile.
And immediately dodged Accelerator's second attempt at snatching the photo.
Swing and Miss II
"Aniki, are you alright?"
"…"
Well… Nothing was 'alright'.
Even though the younger Misaka Mikoto made a misconception, the situation still hadn't changed.
( Accelerator: I'm not feeling well. )
( Miko-chan: Muh-scoo-lah dis-tro-fee? )
( Accelerator: …Sure. Let's go with that. )
It wasn't enough.
Leaving this as it was… Obviously, it wasn't enough.
Something else needed to be done to resolve the situation.
"Do you need help standing?"
She offered her hand.
"…"
Even so…
Just deviating a little bit…
That wouldn't be so bad, would it?
Sweetness and Lightning
"I want to know the future!"
The small girl raised both hands to the air. Seated back on the bench, Accelerator attempted to brush off the girl's enthusiasm.
"Don't we all."
"If you tell me about it, I'll give you back the photo."
"…"
The arrangement was promising, however…
"I don't negotiate with terrorists."
"How American."
The younger Misaka Mikoto took a seat next to him.
"What about a hint system? If I guess something right, you can say 'ding!' And if I guess something wrong, you can say 'bzzt!'"
"I'm not interested in playing games."
"Okay~! So in the future…"
Regardless of whether Accelerator accepted the terms, she started the game anyway.
"In the future… I'm the protagonist of my own manga!"
The girl greedily studied the Number 1's expression.
"…"
"And it gets an anime! With three seasons!"
He could feel her intense gaze spread over him like a stick of butter.
"…nn."
"And it has the best animation studi-!"
"BZZT."
"Eh?"
He gave this answer for free.
Sweetness and Lightning II
Accelerator rubbed his temple.
"Putting aside whether I'm a time traveler or not…
"If such a person were to exist, it'd be understandable why they would want to avoid talking about the future to someone from the past, right? You've seen time travel movies before, haven't you?"
Miko-chan looked up.
"I have. But…
"But it's not easy from my side, ya' know!"
The small girl wrapped herself up in her own feelings. So much so, she stood up with realizing it.
"I'm curious!
"I'm curious! I'm curious! I'm curious!"
An uncontrollable grin formed.
"I want to know things like… Umm…
"Will ice cream still taste the same?
"What about aliens? Did we find life in outer space?
"Did Half Life 3 get a release date?"
Surprisingly, a real possibility now.
…
"And also…"
She softened her voice and held back from making too girly of an expression.
"…Do I have a boyfriend?"
"…"
Glancing at Accelerator, she was a bit embarrassed.
"When I get older, I want to fall in love."
Sweetness and Lightning III
…
Accelerator hadn't expected this. Though, maybe he should have.
The picture supplied the fuel. And a spark of imagination set her world ablaze. Accelerator could see it in her eyes, that this child had already built a narrative that fit her preconceptions. And in that narrative, she decided that he was someone she could confide in.
"In the future, we know each other, yeah? So you would know! Definitely!"
The girl gleamed. Following that, her ideas continued to compound.
"Ah! Wait! Could it be that-! The two of us in the future are-!"
"We're not that close."
He cut her off abruptly, stopping her in her tracks. He may had given her another free answer, but it beat having to deal with an even worse misunderstanding.
"Ah… I see. That's good then…"
The small girl breathed a sigh of relief. Though…
"Huh?"
Picking up on the meaning of his words…
"Not close?"
"…"
"Are we not friends?"
…
A heavy pause.
And then-
"Of course we're friends! C'mon 'ere, you shitty kid!"
"Yay~!"
The two clasped hands and began skipping around each other in a circle.
…which is something that obviously didn't happen. But if you want a development like that, go back and read the 'nth Child Displacement' Arc.
Sweetness and Lightning IV
Once again, taking a moment to break the pace…
If you haven't guessed it by now, 'Reverie Reversal' is meant to mirror the developments in 'nth Child Displacement'. Instead of Misaka Mikoto meeting the child version of Accelerator, we have Accelerator meeting the child version of Misaka Mikoto. While these arcs are similar, 'Reverie Reversal' will unfold differently due to the nature of everyone's personalities. And on a more meta-level, this arc is a continued interaction between the Number 1 and Number 3 without actually having them interact face-to-face.
'Super Seven', I suppose, is based around these 'non-interactions'.
Level 5's with self-interested goals gather together. Jokes are made, usually at someone else's expense. And when it's over, it is indeed over. Like co-workers in an office setting, or students hustled together to perform a group project, or any scenario that necessitates people to work toward a common goal, real relationships do not mature in these such settings. It's foolish to think that any distance could close in these artificial environments. Since… Well…
Outside of these closed situations…
Relationships already exist.
And the relationship between Railgun and Accelerator had been established since the third volume of Toaru Majutsu no Index.
No matter how many jokes are exchanged here, none of it bleeds through.
Shallow interactions cannot and will not change history.
It's best to keep that in mind.
…
"Are we not friends?"
A heavy pause.
And then…
An oppressive atmosphere.
Accelerator was as cold and blunt as ever.
"Of course not, dumbass."
Set in Stone
"You want to know the future?
"You really want to know how fucked up things get?"
Accelerator stared straight through her.
"Why should I tell you anything?
"Counter to what you think, I'm not here to help anyone out.
"In fact, it's in my best interests to make sure that you live through all your shitty decisions."
A familiar darkness swelled. It was the role he was used to.
"Friend? No. Far from it.
"I'm the monster who's going to make sure you suffer at every step. Because ensuring that is the only way for me to reach my goal.
"Even if this world allowed for second chances, I won't let you have that chance. That would ruin everything that I've striven for."
Once again, Accelerator would play the villain.
"But, if you really want me to say something, I'll say this.
"Stay ignorant. You're better living in your own world."
Set in Stone II
"…"
The small girl was at a loss. Her smile disappeared, and in its place was an expression of incomprehension. Perhaps the rosy future she envisioned had crumbled.
However, in the face of an obstacle…
"Monster…? Where? I don't see a monster…
"All I see a lame-looking chuunibyou."
If a force were to oppose her or her ideals, Misaka Mikoto would stand against it with equal or greater strength. This was the naïve bravery that only a child who didn't know anything could muster.
( Accelerator: Where did you learn that word? )
( Miko-chan: The Internet! )
The white-haired boy sighed. And then gradually rose from his seat.
Without giving her notice, he paced away while holding onto the wall for balance.
"A-Ah… Where are you going?"
"I'm getting my crutch. I've wasted enough time."
"I… I still have your picture! It's important to you, isn't it?"
"It is."
He continued to pace slowly.
Chisel
The younger Misaka Mikoto's questions were met with stubborn indifference. She wouldn't be receiving answers, even with leverage.
…
It made her angry. Uncharacteristic for such a cute girl.
She swallowed.
"You…
"You call yourself a monster, but you're all talk!
"Monsters are bigger, stronger, scarier…!
"They don't need a crutch to walk!
"If you're a monster, then you give monsters a bad name!"
Accelerator felt resistance from his sleeve. The girl had grabbed onto him.
"You need help, right?-!
"You're all alone with no where to go, right?-!
"Well, I can help you!
"I actually want to help you!
"So stop trying to push me away!"
"…"
It was hard to tell whether she understood too little or understood too much. Either way, Accelerator couldn't shake her off easily.
Anchor
Accelerator was back on the bench. And for some reason, it felt like he had been defeated.
( Miko-chan: I'll get your crutch. I know where it is. )
( Accelerator: Oi. )
( Miko-chan: You stay here. You walk too slow. )
( Accelerator: Oi. )
The small girl had run off.
It was possible for him to catch up to her if he switched on his collar; however, the looming threat of Tree Diagram remained. She would be out of his sight for now. Though, it wasn't like she was in his care.
…
He made an unfortunate association. It didn't help that the person he thought of was in fact a clone that looked the same age.
"They're too similar…"
Slouching forward, he held his head with both hands.
But before he could get lost in his thoughts-
[ SFX: *SCRAPE-SCRAPE* ]
A sound drew his attention away.
[ SFX: *SCRAPE-SCRAPE* ]
It came from close by. It was a low metallic screech that repeated in short bursts.
"…"
The Number 1 had only planned on going to key areas of the facility to search for his possessions, as he had no reason to explore elsewhere. But, there was a reason to investigate. A missing detail began to surface in his mind.
Partition
"The fuck?"
Steady on his feet, he approached one of the rooms of the lab.
Reaching the closed door…
[ SFX: *SCRAPE-SCRAPE* ]
He opened it to expose the source of the noise.
"MMMM! MNNNNNN! MFFFFFFFFFFF-!"
Yoshikawa Kikyou was tied to a chair. Duct tape covered her mouth, preventing her from saying much. And further away, he could spot several researchers lying on the ground.
…
At the end of Accelerator's interviews, the younger Misaka Mikoto had notified him that there were people walking about in the halls. But by the time the two went outside, everyone had apparently gone missing. These two had an entire conversation out in the open, and not a single person appeared.
The reason for that was because…
Everyone had been quickly dispatched by an unknown assailant.
Knocked out or worse, lab members were carried off in such a surgical way that no one could realize what was happening when it was happening.
And that leads us here.
Partition II
"Oi, oi, oi."
Accelerator stumbled forward without grace but managed to get to the researcher quickly.
"The hell is this?"
He painfully ripped the tape off Yoshikawa Kikyou's mouth. Though, the need for air superseded the discomfort. She gasped and let out a single word.
"…behind-!"
Time between the spoken word and action was negligent. A bat struck his backside, knocking him to the floor.
"-NGH!"
Accelerator was surprised.
But not by the ambush.
"Don't move."
Even though there was a motorcycle helmet over her head, the white-haired boy immediately recognized her.
But the situation didn't make sense.
All Accelerator could do was stare up.
Roots
A/N: I've probably rewritten this chapter too many times. There are a lot of things I want to explore as well as things I want to callback on, so it was difficult settling in on which interactions and end results to go for. In the end, I'm satisfied with the route I'm taking, even if it treads lightly.
