Prologue – The Crater
It was him. It was her. A table in a cell. A perforated barrier in between. A honey blond girl. A white haired boy. One was a Queen of a clique and the other was the Chairman of the Board of Academy City, and the Queen had asked for an audience.
After five security checks, being led through a labyrinth of corridors, and into this tiny room it was down to him and her. Shokuhou Misaki had been cleaning up after Operation Handcuffs and her clique was stretched to breaking point. Misaka Mikoto had for good reasons gone AWOL from Tokiwadai and this hadn't help. So here she was to talk the Accelerator, the Chairman. Why? Because he was playing her game and, frankly, she was better at it. Her clique couldn't take the clean up after another mess like Handcuffs, and neither could she.
"Chairman, have you ever thought it may be better if we pool our talents?"
Misaki watched him. His expression hadn't changed since entering the room, and he didn't respond. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.
"I have quite a powerful group of espers and other resources. If you have a sensible plan we can help?"
His head finally moved. Accelerator raised it and said, "Fifth string." He stopped, and that expression annoyed her. The jerk was not taking her seriously. If that was his attitude Misaki words were not going to help here.
Time to take a more direct approach. Misaki hit pause on the remote in her hand below the table. Tree Diagram in a report related to the Level 6 Shift Project said she had between 90 and 120 seconds before Accelerator broke through Mental Out. It would have to count.
If he didn't have his calculation assistance device turned on she could take all the time she wanted, but he did. Misaki was a level five and he wasn't that stupid, and the barrier was there so she couldn't turn it off. Time to do what she always did with potential allies. She was going to dig into his head and see what made him tick.
The images and emotions raced in front of her. This was going to be quick and rather dirty, but time was not on her side.
A sea of dead Misaka clones with him in the middle. Blood. Fight after fight. Testing the girls, surely they wanted to live. The scientist asking him to go back and kill the girl. Another boy's fist. For the first time failure. Destroy your illusion. Guilt. A choice. A bullet to him or the death of a child. Defend the child at all costs. I'm a villain.
So that was the immense sin currently driving him. It was good he could feel guilty. If there had been no guilt, she could not work with him.
That explained where he was now but how did he get there? The images had made her want to vomit, but that was an option she didn't have time for. Misaki needed to go digging deeper; so much deeper.
A young boy. A building and men with guns. Their hate is overcoming their fear. They're shooting at him and this time in the memory he can see she's there standing behind him. The bullets stop in mid-air. "It isn't nice to be shot at. Shall we try another memory?"
The childhood scene fades. As a child he'd been an outsider, and maybe more so than her. People had feared her because she could 'take them over', with him that had been more palpable. It had been the fear of instant death on a boy's whim.
This one is a park and he's chasing after another boy. He wants to play with that boy. She gently pushes him to join the boy. There's a smile on his face. Momentary joy, but the scene shatters like glass before he gets to the playground.
The desire for normality. She'd spent her first year at Tokiwadai friendless, and now she had the comfort of the clique. That first year loneliness had been too much and eventually she resorted to her power. Misaki felt guilt for how she made her initial friends. Interacting, then scrolling through their impressions of her and working out how she could have done better. Erasing and starting again when she said the wrong thing or reacted the wrong way. It had taught her a lot about how to interact with people when she wanted them to be friends, and she'd learnt oh so fast. Thankfully, she didn't need that anymore.
In contrast, this boy still only had one real friend, and she was a child. Nobody to talk to on his level. Nobody he could confide in. Nobody with which he could reduce his burden. It was not a life Misaki could lead anymore, although she had once lived it. Was he as inhuman as everyone thought?
Final scene. So little time left, and he may be apoplectic by the time she's finished. Was this really such a good idea? Too late to ask that now.
It's a crater. The military helicopters are one side, the boy the other, and she is standing inside it. The helicopters are frozen; the blades are not rotating. It is a scene of devastation. Time to make the pitch.
Steps, one after the other, toward the boy. Even in this world she is cursing her lack of physical ability. It's a rough surface and she's trying not to trip. She clambers up the side of the crater and is standing in front of him.
Misaki strolls to within less than a metre. She crouches down until she has eye contact. Gently cups the side of his face in her hand. "You've never known kindness have you?" Then Misaki pulls her hand ever slowly away.
There's a reaction. Misaki can see it and Accelerator can't hide it even though he is trying. Nobody has ever done that to him. Nobody has ever been tender with him. A deep breath to calm her nerves helps but it doesn't succeed. Has she done enough to get through to him?
"You know why I am here. You may be the King but to do what you want to do you need a Queen. I know what you want to do. I like what you are trying to do. Let me help you."
The boy looked back at her and this time he finally spoke a sentence.
"I accept your offer. The deal cannot be one-sided. I will be in no person's debt."
How did he plan to help her? What did she need him to help her with anyway? He had power but was also stuck in this prison. It needed to be kept short and to the point. If Mental Out were a car it would be running on vapours.
"What do you mean?"
The boy reached into his pocket and brought out something he'd wrapped his hand around. He placed his fist in front of her and opened it. Then the boy made his intentions clear.
"If you ever need help just call me."
Misaki reached out her trembling hand and grabbed the object.
"A plastic emergency whistle…. Silly me."
Misaki clasped it in her hand and held it to her chest.
He must have somehow analysed her too, and that is why Accelerator had agreed. Surprisingly, it didn't feel as invasive as she thought it would. Not how she expected to succeed but it didn't matter to her how the victory was achieved.
