Disclaimer: A Certain Magical Index and its Characters definitely belongs to Kamachi Kazuma.
The doorbell rang.
Accelerator grumbled as the irritating noise roused her from a 3 hour sleep. As she lazily opened her eyes, she realized that she had fallen to the floor, just beside the couch. Even though she had her own bed, the albino still preferred the leathery furniture for the cool comfort it provided.
She wasn't in her sleep clothes, instead wearing her favorite black shirt with white stripes resembling fangs and tight jeans. Her shoulder-length hair cast a shadow over her tired eyes. From the looks of it, she'd passed out while studying some articles she was given by her mentor and guardian, Amata Kihara.
The doorbell continued to ring.
"Ngh...What time is it...?"
She sifted through the various piles of papers covering the low table without actually looking over in order to find her phone, but eventually got irritated and stood up to properly search for it. It was under one of her files, labeled: "Experiment #54: Effects of Mixing Various Gases into the Bloodstream". She lifted the screen and the numbers "7:15" appeared at the top-right corner, beside the date "04/01/XXXX".
"So it's today, huh? First day in highschool..."
Not that she had planned to attend it. She thought it would be best to attend the next day instead. The documents she studied overnight were scattered all over the place. It looked like the coffee she brewed last night didn't work its magic and she fell flat on the floor. There were so many studies she read that she had lost track of her bookmark. That meant she would have to reread those 148 files all over again.
What a pain.
The doorbell continued to ring.
"Dammit, is that Kihara? He could just barge in like he always does. That shitty old man, playing with the doorbell!"
With those thoughts, Accelerator supported herself with the couch and dragged her feet to the entryway, preparing to blow away the man behind door number 1.
"Can't you just go in without starting a racket, you shi-!"
It was only after opening the door that she remembered that there was another person who knew where she lived.
With an unbuttoned black coat that revealed his orange undershirt, Touma Kamijou stood there about to knock the door yet again with his right hand, only to hit Accelerator's head two times. Wondering why the wooden door felt different this time, his gaze landed on the girl who started rubbing her forehead to ease the pain.
"O-ow..."
"Wah! S-sorry about that, Aki! I didn't mean to-"
She teared a little from the sudden bumps the boy inflicted upon her and paused for a while as she stared at his mug. A sigh of relief escaped her breath, knowing that it wasn't Kihara trying to harass her again.
"...It's just you, huh?"
"What's with that reaction? Are you really that disappointed to see me?"
A few minutes had passed and Accelerator was now headed to her new highschool alongside Touma Kamijou.
The pale girl yawned without even attempting to cover her mouth. At the insistence of the boy, she quickly prepared her things and changed clothes on the fly. With no coffee to completely wake her up, her crankiness levels were somewhere way above "no mercy" being irritated.
She had changed into her winter sailor uniform with a pleated skirt that covered half the length of her thighs. She carried her bag with both hands behind her head as she maintained the same pace as her spikey-haired companion, though she was a few inches ahead.
"You should start taking care of yourself more, Aki. What would you have done if I hadn't visited your place this morning? You know it's the first day of school, right?"
"Of course I knew. That's why I tried to ignore those wake up calls you did. The first day isn't that really important, you know?"
"Sorry to tell you this, little grumpy kitty, but the entrance ceremony is kind of mandatory for you, since you'll be representing the school for the three years of your stay."
"You mean the opening speech? Isn't that done by the top scorer of the entrance exams?"
"Yeah, that person becomes the representative for the first years."
"So how is that related to me then?"
"Your status as a Level 5, I guess?"
"They found out?...Figures."
She clicked her tongue after hearing that bullshit.
She had tried her best to score lower than usual in order to avoid attention, but it looked like that didn't matter. She'd even gone so far as creating a new identity such as "Akira Touko", a name she had been using for three years now, to hide the fact that she was the Accelerator. But her appearance must have given it away, which would probably mean that she was the only albino in Academy City… or at the least, the most recognizable.
Once they knew a person was one of the 7 Top Ranked Espers of Academy City, the school administration would try its best to market the student. That was why the #3 was so popular in the city, since her school, Tokiwadai Middle School, kept on selling the fact that she was one of the two Level 5s that studied there.
Now that her new school knew her identity, they might do the same thing, which irritated her as she was the type of person who preferred to stay behind the stage curtains.
There went her chance for a quiet and peaceful school year. She just hated how, every time some thug Espers find out about her identity, they'd try to fight her head-on to steal the title of the "Strongest", even though it really didn't matter to her anymore.
"Well, I can't really say for certain, but that's just a possibility I thought of while having this conversation."
"...Are you telling me you pulled me out of my apartment just because you want me to attend today of all days, out of pure speculation?"
"...Yes?" Accelerator paused and glared at the boy for his uncertain response, only to sigh as she realized she would be wasting her breath if she retorted.
"We're already way too far from the apartment, so I might as well finish this. It's only a half-day if I remember correctly?"
Joining the flow of people, the two continued their conversation once they crossed the street, Touma raising a question.
"So they're still permitting you to attend classes in a regular school, just like what you did back in middle school, huh?"
"At least this way, I wouldn't have to be at the receiving end of those Kihara-branded experiments. All thanks to you by the way."
"Hehe, no problem!" The smile accompanied by a thumb up reminded her of that day they met for the first time, the illusion of a younger Touma appearing beside the present one.
Before she entered middle school three to four years ago, she attended a special class specifically designed to her by the researchers. Of course, she was the only student taking it, but she grew to hate it as days passed, since it only involved experiments after experiments. It was at a certain breaking point that she ran away and met Touma.
It could be said that the reason she started attending school properly was because of that boy who always considered himself to be a normal teenager of the same age.
"Who else is attending?" She was referring to their classmates back in Shishunki Middle School who chose to enter the same school.
"Let's see… I know I took the entrance exams with Aogami since he was in the same examination room, though I'm not sure if he passed." Touma raised both hands to signify his ignorance regarding his other friend's fate. "He hasn't told me anything since March, but I'm guessing he's just playing with us."
"I really don't care if he got in or not, I just don't want him to be anywhere near me."
Accelerator shivered from the thought of having the blue-haired pervert being in the same class...again. Being open about his deviant nature was one thing, but trying to harass her had put both of them in danger of different levels: Her almost ripping him to pieces and him going way beyond physical contact with her even if they were friends. That was on her first year of middle school alone.
As for the rest? Better to not revive those awful memories. Wait, did she just think of that guy as HER friend? That felt seriously wrong.
"If that's the case, then Fukiyose entering the same school should be good news for you then!"
"I knew that already." Touma looked a bit shocked from what she said so she elaborated. "We kept in contact since she's one of the few people I could hold a proper conversation with, to say the least."
She couldn't really tell if they were close, but Seiri Fukiyose was someone she can partly relate to, thanks to Aogami being an idiot. She was one of those people who had a rather strong personality, dubbed "The Iron Wall" for a good reason. It was thanks to her that she could tolerate being around the so-called "Fetish King", the girl doling out punishments in her place. At least with her around, the lion could be tamed.
"Really? Well at least you have a friend that is a girl." the boy snickered as he said this.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Accelerator paused and turned to Touma, giving him a confused stare. Seeing this, the normal teenage boy paused for a moment before he continued with his reasoning.
"Hm? Well, it's rare for you to make friends, considering your abrasive personality. You could say I'm a proud mother now that you've actually made friends all on your own, Aki-chan!"
Out of pure instinct the boy held out his right hand to hold the head of a charging Aki-chan, stopping her dash in full motion, though she continued to flail her arms in futility. Kamijou laughed at this cute (?) gesture, with her trying to hide her embarrassment through physical means. The fact that she was a few centimeters short made the scene even cuter (?).
He knew full well what her abilities could do, which was why he always prepared his right hand to use Imagine Breaker to negate her abilities, preventing whatever kind of destruction the girl might cause.
"Now, now, Aki, I didn't mean to mock you. I'm just saying you're making progress!"
Touma ruffled Accelerator's ashen hair, making her even more irritated. Even then, she wasn't harsh when she took the boy's right hand and calmly assessed it with her eyes.
"You know, with an ability like this, you could usurp my #1 spot easily, yet they branded you as a Level 0? This is some sick joke if you ask me."
"Well, the scanners couldn't detect it, so they just dismissed it. Besides, it's only dormant in my right hand, so it's kind of useless in a normal fist fight."
"Look who's talking nonchalantly here..."
Accelerator found it weird for Touma to not acknowledge the usefulness of his power in Esper fights. Considering that they were living in Academy City, as long as he waved around that right hand of his, no Esper could touch him. Hell, she was one of the most powerful Ability Users yet she couldn't lay a hand on this bastard who looks down on himself so much!
Touma heard loud beeps similar to those of an alarm clock coming from the blimps floating in the skies. It had monitors on both sides and it showed the weather forecast for the next three days. Apparently, it will be clear skies for the following days, but that wasn't what he found to be more important.
Rather, the loud beeps signified the change in hour.
"Ah! We're going to be late! Let's gun for it, Aki."
"Sure...Hm?"
They were about to leave when Accelerator felt movements from behind them. Three, four, eight...Sixteen people. They were suddenly surrounded by a group of thugs, each individual carried a weapon varying from knives to nailed bats. She looked at each and every one of them that stood in her way, the leader of the pack bravely moving forward to address himself.
"Yep, the features match alright! So...Nice day for us to take your title of the Strongest Eh, Accelerator?"
Great, they must have gathered intel so they could attack her. Even then, she didn't feel threatened at all. Were they actually underestimating her?
"Fools, you really thought you could stand a chance against me?"
It would be easy for her to take on all of these idiots with her powers alone.
She could just stand there and let her ability do all the work.
She could also just blow them all away with just a flick of her finger.
Yet for some reason, Touma wouldn't release his right hand's grasp on her left wrist.
"..."
"Uh...Do you mind? I kinda need to teach these bozos a lesson here." She raised the constricted left hand to show the boy that held it. Realizing that, Touma lightly apologized to her and released his grasp.
She then heard mocking laughter from the surrounding assailants. Out of nowhere they were laughing as if they just watched a video of a failed stunt attempt.
"What's so funny?"
"It's just that we didn't think you had a boyfriend! Did we disturb your alone time? And also, holding hands in public? Gahahahahahahaha!"
Accelerator's expression darkened, as if some kind of grim emotion tried to burst out of her whole being. They obviously misunderstood something and she wanted to clear out that misunderstanding.
It pissed her off so much she felt like blowing this guy off to Tokyo Bay.
"Ooh boy, what a treat! Now, where-"
The leader of the thugs wasn't given the time to finish what he was saying, as Touma Kamijou's right uppercut broke through his chin faster than he had anticipated. It was an instant knockout that completely stunned the remaining 15 members of the gang as they surrounded their fallen comrade. They had expected for the girl to attack, but his sudden interference completely caught them off-guard. Even Accelerator was truly surprised as well.
"""EH?! ANIKIIIIIIII!"""
"...Huh?"
"What? You thought I'd let you beat these guys senseless with your overpowered ability? Well, not on my watch."
She was truly surprised. The boy's following actions surprised her even more that the expression lasted for quite a while.
"Wha-"
Before she realized it, she was looking backwards, with the scenery getting smaller.
"Sorry for what happened to your friend over there, but we're kind of busy right now! Later!"
She heard the boy say this to their distant assailants, greatly perturbed by what they were seeing.
After all, she was being carried on her idiotic friend's left shoulder like a sack of rice as he made a mad dash to escape the other idiots.
"...Eh?"
"""GET HIM!"""
Accelerator's mind went to reboot and loaded for a few seconds to understand her current situation. A flushed face of embarrassment enveloped her entire being once she realized what was going on.
"WHAT THE HELL?! THAT WAS MY PREY, YOU IDIOT!"
"That's what you're worried about?! I can't take those guys all at once, that's why we're running!"
"IDIOT, I'M THE FUCKING ACCELERATOR! I CAN KICK THEIR SHIT SO HARD THAT THEY'LL BE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND NEVER LEAVE!"
"No, you're not using your powers in public like that! If you go all out, you'll get innocent people get caught up in the devastation! I don't want to pick you up in one of Anti-Skill's cells! Besides, we're late already so we might as well try to catch up to the opening ceremony!"
"YOU'RE MORE WORRIED ABOUT SCHOOL AFTER ALL THIS?!"
"I'm worried for both school AND my life, thank you very much! Ah! Make sure to hold on tightly!"
"HUH?"
Touma grabbed a pedestrian signal pole and used the momentum so that he could make a sharp turn to the right. Accelerator realized one thing when the chilly, sudden winds went through her clothes.
Even though it was a fact that she was a really light person due to her androgynous physique, she questioned Touma's decision-making process and the reasoning as to how carrying her as she was now would make him run faster. The worst part was that a particular piece of her clothing was being blown upwards while the boy made a mad dash, exposing what was not supposed to be exposed, especially in public.
"MY SKIRT, DAMMIT!"
Quickly realizing what Accelerator meant, Touma quickly motioned his right hand as he tried to hold her skirt down so as to not shame her any further.
"I got you!"
Something far more unfortunate happened.
His right hand had missed its target and went to a far more delicate and surprisingly soft area. From that sudden touch, the girl also known as Akira Touko slightly squealed and started to flail around her limbs in protest.
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TOUCHING ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! PUT ME DOWN! I COULD RUN JUST FINE! HECK, NOW THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I CAN JUST USE MY POWERS TO FLY US THERE FASTER!"
"IN THAT CASE, COULD YOU PROMISE NOT TO ATTACK ME WITH YOUR POWERS ONCE I LET GO OF MY RIGHT HAND?!"
"IS THAT WHY YOU'RE NOT LETTING GO, YOU PERVERTED BASTARD?! YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT I'D RIP YOU IN HALF ALL THIS TIME?! IN THAT CASE, I AM SOOOOOOOO GONNA ENJOY BEATING YOU UP LATER ONCE WE REACH SCHOOL, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"WAIT, YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO FORGIVE ME?! FUCK, I'M SO SOOOOOOORRY! DAMN, MY ROTTEN LUCK!"
"YOU FLEXED YOUR FUCKING FINGERS JUST NOW, DID YOU?!"
"That way! Those two took a right on that corner!"
"Hurry, before they can get away!"
"That dude with the ugly spiky-hair will pay for what he did to aniki!"
"Your mohawk doesn't suit you though..."
"What was that?!"
The thugs that were chasing the albino and her companion hastily turned to the corner their targets went into. Unknowingly, the one in the lead bumped into someone who was in front of a high-end clothing store.
The thug felt like he had crashed into the wall, his advance completely suspended. He stumbled onto the concrete sidewalk and faced the complete stranger that he accidentally bumped into with a puzzled look.
The boy stood there with dirty blonde hair and wore the same uniform as the couple that passed by him earlier. He didn't even look at the thug's way, as if the earlier crash didn't happen at all.
"That was...I see." His suspicious voice reached the group of delinquents as he stared into the empty space...No, he was staring at the two who were running away as they slowly but surely lost his sight on them.
"The hell is wrong with you?! Get out of our way!" He heard one of the delinquents shout at him, but he continued to ignore them. The blonde didn't turn to their direction, which forced one of them to charge at him, trying to grab his shirt in hopes of getting his attention directly.
A few seconds later, the guy who crumpled his shirt was found sprawled flat on the wall across the street, destruction visible from the path he was thrown on.
"W-who the fuck are you?!" Alarmed by the sudden threat, all the thugs pulled out their weapons in the vain hope they could protect themselves.
The blonde teen finally faced them, his deadly stare told the story of someone who couldn't care less about their minuscule existence. The next thing they knew was that white covered their whole surrounding.
Obviously, they were late for the opening ceremony, but the two childhood friends managed to arrive in time for the first year representative's speech. The school administration did find out about her identity as "Accelerator", but told her that they would keep it a secret, which she was glad to know and accepted. That meant she could continue studying under the guise of Akira Touko.
She still became the first year's representative though, since she still actually got the top score for the entrance exams.
She also found out that she would be in the same class as Touma and Seiri.
...Along with the infamous Aogami Pierce.
All in all, let's just say that the opening ceremony ended with her giving a rather short speech that only consisted of three lines, ending it in a mad chase out to the open fields with the bastard who had copped a feel for her ass for so many times. Obviously, she couldn't let him get away with his earlier sexual harassment.
The whole student body could only spectate in awe, thinking it was a demonstration of powers and not realizing that they were actually watching an unfortunate molester about to get mauled by an angelic-looking beast, magnificently escaping her every lunges that she does at him.
The faculty could only land their faces to their palms, realizing it was going to be that time of the year where troublemakers became more active. They couldn't really do much since this was the most powerful Level 5 they were talking about. Even then, a particular pink-haired teacher thought that those two were a nice addition to the class she will handle.
Indeed, it was truly a memorable first day of highschool. But...
"I shoulda just stayed home."
Akira Touko had her whole body slumped over the table, face flat on its surface. As she had predicted, aside from the Opening Ceremony, nothing else important happened while attending today's classes. She was so damn sleepy and tired, after all.
"Hm? Aki-yan, you sound depressed. You didn't have coffee this morning, did you?" That energetic voice came from her seat mate to the left and the person she didn't want to interact with the most, Aogami Pierce.
"I shouldn't have picked you up." Touma (kind of) understood where she was coming from, as his body was also collapsed on the table, his seat to her right.
"You too, Kami-yan? Seriously, you two, what's with the lover's quarrel this morning? You even had the whole school involved. It was a good thing nothing of importance was destroyed this time."
True, nothing physical was destroyed, but her dignity as a maiden broke into pieces.
"As if I'd be in a lover's spat with that Ass Molester over there. Just leave me alone, will ya? I just want this day to end already." She grumbled silent insults to her neighbor so as to make her feel happy about something, but it just made her mood dampen.
"A-ass Molester?!" The term perked interest in Aogami's curious mind and looked at good 'ol Kamijou for more information.
The target of interest sensed the queer gaze of his blue-haired friend but ignored it, placing his attention more on Akira.
"And I told you so many times that I'm sorry for that."
"You're an idiot. You are a big idiot. And a pervert too. Like Aogami. You're a really big, stupid, horny pile of shit that popped a boner just from feeling my ass."
"It's no use...She's not listening to me at all..." Touma could hear his heart breaking into little pieces from those cold, thorny whispers, groaning as if the words could painfully stab him physically.
"It's only the first day of classes, but you're already at odds with each other?" It (kind of) pained Aogami to see these two people who considered each other siblings enact the American-Russian Cold War right in front of him, though the other side already lost the will to fight back.
"It would be best to not interfere, Aogami. They should sort this out themselves, just like they did back in Shishunki Middle School." Seiri Fukiyose's seat was in front of Akira's and listened in on their conversation. From what she understood, Touma's idiotic actions led to his friend's sulky mood, but the girl wouldn't accept his cries of apologies. As much as she wanted to help, letting them solve their own problems had always been the most effective solution. The two teenagers in question knew each other the longest after all.
Akira then stood up from her seat and carried her bag, approaching the tiny homeroom teacher who introduced herself as Komoe Tsukuyomi.
"Miss Komoe, where can I find the nurse's office?"
"Hm? Is there something wrong, Touko-chan?" The pink haired individual who had the height of 135 cm turned to her direction after conversing with another student from the class.
"I kind of feel dizzy. Actually, can I go home instead?" She wasn't really sick, but Akira thought that it would be best to finish up on those paperwork. After all, real classes start the next day anyway.
"It's that bad? Hmm..." Komoe hugged her arms as she contemplated on the things to tell her next. "Well, considering what happened earlier, you must be really tired."
"So is that a yes?"
"Not exactly." She raised a brow from hearing that. "Even though it's technically Homeroom for the whole morning period, it's still my responsibility to look after all of you until dismissal. That's why I'm permitting you to stay at the nurse's office. But no sneaking out, got it?"
Akira thought that was better than nothing, so long as she could get some form of breather. She couldn't promise the sneaking out part though, even if the teacher was a cute little girl. Seriously, when did Academy City permit girls her age to teach highschoolers? It didn't really matter so after giving out directions, she thanked Komoe and stepped out of the classroom.
Aogami and Fukiyose both had the same sentiments as to why Akira would head to the nurse's office, with them staring at the root of her actions.
'She's totally avoiding Kamijou.'
'She's staying away from Kami-yan, huh?'
Although worried, Touma decided to leave her alone for now. He was sure of one thing, that he couldn't be there for her all the time.
Akira went behind the school building, all the while avoiding detection from the patrolling faculty. It was a piece of cake, so to speak.
Right now, all she needed to do was to jump over the school walls and she would get away scot-free.
As she was about to do so, another figure leaped over from the other side of the wall. It was a student wearing the same uniform as her male classmates, meaning a student of this school. He had dirty blonde hair with killer looks that could woo many girls and looked a bit older, possibly an upperclassman.
For some reason, even though this was her first time meeting him, Akira thought she had seen his face somewhere before.
"Hm? A girl? Wait..."
With an intrigued look, the older student walked around her as he observed the smaller details of her body. It obviously disturbed her to a high degree, much like how Aogami's eyes were closed the whole time, people having no idea how he was truly looking at people and stuff.
"Thin, androgynous figure, radish-like skin color, white strands of hair, and dark, crimson eyes...Yes, no doubt about it."
"..."
"Only Academy City officials and a select few knew about the real identity of the 'Accelerator'." Her eyes widened from this person's declaration. "Information does get leaked from time to time, but that doesn't really matter, you know? People will eventually find out in the long run, so why not just reveal your true self to the public as early as possible?"
It was then that Akira remembered where she had seen this person's smug face.
In the pile of papers given to her by Amata Kihara, there was a report that focused on the observation of the Level 5's Abilities. She saw the attached pictures of the Level 5s in that report.
This person's face belonged to the person that was on the #2 spot. Their titles signify the name of their ability. For Akira Touko, it was 'Accelerator', her ability also known as Vector Manipulation.
"Teikoku Kakine, also known as Dark Matter, I presume?"
"Ah! So you do know me! I'm really flattered. To be honest, I'm more surprised to find out that you're attending this school as my underclassman. MY SCHOOL, to be more precise."
He sounded rather possessive there for a second.
"State your business. I need to be someplace else other than here."
"What's the rush, #1? Don't you want to have a little chat with me?"
It was too late for her to realize that she was stuck in place, some kind of white substance surrounded both her legs. Akira didn't feel anything crawling up her skin until she saw it with her own eyes. She couldn't identify the components of the unknown material, making it difficult for her to acquire the proper calculations to remove the mysterious bindings. She tried to reach for Kakine's neck, but her arm was quickly coated with the so-called 'Dark Matter' that he could produce in multitude faster than she had anticipated.
In a matter of seconds, she was completely bound in place, frozen as a statue barring her head.
Kakine grinned as he leaned closer to her, pulling her face in a sudden lip-to-lip contact.
A/N: Welp! 2nd Chapter is here!
In this chapter, we find out that Accelerator had assimilated another identity, for the purpose of hiding in public. As the Strongest Esper of Academy City, she would be challenged by many Ability Users of any Designated Level, whether 0 or 4, to take the title. As explained in the narrative and conversations, nobody really knew the nature of her ability and what she looked like, meaning the only way a person could know about her identity was through her appearance. She does want people to leave her alone, that's why she created another persona known as Akira Touko. Sadly, the violent personality was still attached to Akira...
Why Akira Touko: It's supposed to be some kind of word play with A-cce-ra (Akira) and "Tou" from Tor with the addition of "Ko" for the Kanji Kun reading of "Girl" (Onnanoko). Don't ask what happened to "le". Just to be clear, I'm no expert in the Japanese writing system.
And with that, Akira finally had her encounter with Senpai...What? You thought it's going to be Touma? Too bad, cause he's the childhood friend of three years here! Is it romantic? We'll just have to see!
It was such a memorable first day of highschool for our main heroine indeed. But that doesn't end there! The following chapters will be like a stairway to stardom as we reach the status she received from the first chapter. I hope you guys continue to tune in as she develops into the person we know three months later, Yuriko Suzushina the Idol!
As always, R&R and I hope to see you again in the next update!
P.S. I really need to write the next update for False Reality, but my mind tells me to write more Esper Idol-Magical Cosplayer!