Accelerator rubbed his eyes, finally allowing the exhaustion to set in now that the war was over. His whole body hurt. But Last Order was safe, they were alive, and they were going home. He never thought he would ever actually be glad to go back to that shitty place called Academy City. But he had a plan to make it not so shitty, and…
Celeste was there.
Not that he would ever admit it, of course. And now that he actually thought about it, didn't he admit a lot of things that he swore never to admit? Ah, whatever. It was not like it mattered all that much, since he could just kill or maim anybody who dared to make fun of him.
The plane's engines hummed, and the sound system crackled, but the pilot of the Academy City retrieval unit seemed to decide against disturbing the espers, particularly Accelerator, and the crackling seized before the pilot even said a word. Accelerator glanced out the window to see Academy City approaching quickly. Finally.
Strange, how luck always turned his way. He survived all the time, managed to save the people he wanted to, and managed to destroy his enemies. And then he always got away with the things he did, and ended up with minimal consequences to pay for his misdeeds.
Only thing was he seemed to have more and more females stuck to him, kind of like Kamijou Touma.
He glanced down at Last Order sleeping in his lap, and Misaka Worst napping on her seat in the row behind him. Well, he supposed he didn't really mind having a bunch of brats to take care of, no matter how annoying they were. And he didn't really mind having an annoying idiot teenage girl taking care of him either.
At that thought, he shifted impatiently. The plane ride that had seemed to pass by so quickly all of a sudden seemed to drag out forever. He wanted to get home. Where a certain annoying blonde idiot should be, if she didn't get dragged into things. And where he could get a new phone to call her if she wasn't where she should be.
"We are now landing. Please put on your seatbelts," the pilot said.
Accelerator glared up at the speakers. Finally. And at the same time, he couldn't help but feel the announcement was a little late, considering that barely five seconds after the voice faded, the plane started bouncing on the runway.
Last Order sat up with a surprised yelp, eyes wide with surprise, before she realized they weren't in any danger. Accelerator scowled, gritting his teeth. How the hell did the pilot get his license if he couldn't even land the plane correctly?!
But the plane kept bouncing, the wheels touching the runway for brief seconds before floating in the air for a few seconds, and the pattern repeated. Finally, with a low rumble, the plane touched down properly. Accelerator shot an arm out to keep Last Order from flying forwards at the momentum as the plane braked hard. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Misaka Worst hit her head on the seat in front of her, and he fought the urge to laugh.
Apparently she could sense when somebody wanted to laugh at her, because she glanced around, and catching sight of Accelerator's lips twitching, she focused a glare at him. He deliberately refrained from looking in her direction, because he was quite sure that if he did, he would laugh.
The plane rolled to a stop, and with Last Order gripping his sleeve and Misaka Worst
sulking behind him, the trio started walking down the familiar streets of Academy City. Accelerator's eyes narrowed. The city, usually so familiar and irritatingly cheerful, seemed almost strange, cold. Unconsciously his eyes shot to the Windowless Building. Had something happened while he was gone?
Celeste, his mind whispered, but he shook the thought off. She wasn't that weak, to get killed so easily. And even if she got hurt, Heaven Canceller could do something about it.
Unless she wasn't in Academy City…
But that couldn't be, right? All espers who went to Russia and joined the Third World War were brought back by the retrieval units, and the casualties and missing people listed did not include a Celeste Crowley. That could only mean she did not go to Russia. She did not die, or get hurt, or disappear.
So why did her voice sound weird when he last called her?
So why didn't the strange feeling disappear?
Glaring out at nothing in general, Accelerator walked faster, forcing Last Order into a half jog to keep up with him. He had to get home, had to check if Celeste was there. She had to be there. She had to. If she dared disappear on him again…
Accelerator stormed down the hall of their apartment building and jammed the key into his lock, all the while listening for noise next door. He practically threw the door opened and glared inside and… And—
What the hell happened to his apartment?!
His jaw dropped open as he surveyed the damage. It was like an earthquake hit before a typhoon of fire slammed through, and then starving wild animals tore through everything to search for food. His furniture were in pieces, and deep gouges sat innocently in the walls, as if they were supposed to be there, and the door between his apartment and Celeste's was missing. No. That wasn't quite accurate. It was in splinters all over his floor, with the brass knob forlornly staring up at him.
Last Order released his sleeve, allowing him to enter and sift through everything. She and Misaka Worst stood outside, uncharacteristically silent as they watched. Accelerator walked slowly through the rooms, eyes drinking in the extent of the damage.
It was good that he didn't have any valuables, or many belongings. He moved all the time because idiots tried to ambush him, only to trash his home when they found nobody in the apartment. Only this time he had hoped he could stay, since Celeste had coincidentally moved in next to him.
Even if he suspected it wasn't quite a coincidence.
He finally moved to the apartment next door. The damage was just as bad, but unlike his place, it was obviously void of anything belonging to her. The apartment felt cold, strange, and the scent of carnations was missing. It no longer felt lived in, even if he ignored the destruction. His heart dropped. She had moved out long before he returned. Perhaps she had already left when he called.
Accelerator leaned back against the wall, eyes closing. He should get a new cell phone. Call her. He had memorized the number long ago. He would call her, and hope she hadn't crushed her phone and thrown it away like he had.
He loosened the fists he had unconsciously clenched, and walked out, never to return again. Last Order and Misaka Worst shared a look, but followed him silently. They sensed that it wasn't the time to speak to him, or to annoy him.
The trio walked to a new apartment complex, one Last Order recognized but Misaka Worst didn't. The entire way, everybody walking down the streets had either crossed to the other side or given the white haired esper a wide berth. Everybody sensed the danger radiating from him.
Accelerator pounded on the door.
"Okay, okay, jan. Jeez. What is it, ja—Accelerator?" Yomikawa asked, surprised at seeing the level five in front of the door.
"My apartment's trashed," Accelerator replied curtly.
Yomikawa sighed, moving aside. "Come in. You can stay here, jan. All… three of you. Why is there one more?"
"Picked her up," Accelerator said, and walked in, kicking his shoes off. "I'm borrowing your phone."
"Ah, sure, jan," Yomikawa muttered, even though he was already dialling, and he hadn't exactly asked for permission. "You two can come in. And close the door behind you, jan."
The two girls obeyed. Misaka Worst raised an eyebrow at Last Order as she pointed at Yomikawa in a silent question. Last Order shook her head, pointing at Accelerator. Misaka Worst nodded. Questions later, when Accelerator wouldn't rip their heads off. Got it.