Exactly 144 hours had passed since his first meeting with Kakine. Nothing has changed out of the ordinary. In fact, there has yet to be any changes at all. It hasn't changed at all in…
...
How long was it now, really? He can't say for sure. But it's somewhere in the hundreds. No more than 150, he thought.
Meeting Kakine has been worth it. It has been so long since he truly felt threatened. He was the very first to make him bleed. The ray of lights had been unexpected, pumping him with adrenaline as the thrill of battle and anticipation made him feel more alive than ever.
Of course, he wasn't satisfied with just a single battle. He wanted more. And the more he fought, the more he learned of his weaknesses. The experiences armed him with battle knowledge. His next moves, his tricks, his tendencies and what his thought patterns were like. He has them all now. Even the formula for his Dark Matter.
He hadn't had such good fights in ages. Truly, he was the only worthy third string to earn the title of a Level 5, the others aren't even close to them in terms of power at all. They were only Level 5s in the titles.
But the more they fight the easier it is for him to win them. Unlike Accelerator, Kakine doesn't actually attain anything. To Kakine, today marked the first time they go on a real fight after years of rivalries. While for Accelerator, this was the 21th time he'd defeated him.
The more they fought, the easier it got. And the easier it gets, the more it feels like a one-sided beatdown rather than stimulating fights. Suddenly, the fight felt more useless as the days went on by.
No more than 2 minutes had passed, and already, he lay on the ground. A broken man he'd made him, both body and soul were abused to a degree of no return. His pierced clothings, ripped from his own attack being used against him, skins torn as blood flows through it freely.
He'd stared at him with such hatred. Even when toyed around like this, he still had the ability to pull out such heated glares. The albino can only stare back with glazed eyes in response.
"Why… you…" the man spat out, doing his best to get up, limbs quivering, no longer able to support his own weight after such force had hit him. There was no doubt, his spirit were cracking.
The kneeling figure doesn't look like level 5 anymore. He remembered when it was the two of them who were profusely bleeding. Accelerator was grinning from ear to ear, he'd never felt so much fun before, not even the early days of him experimenting with his power felt so fun.
Kakine too was grinning, for having shattered the image of an untouchable Accelerator. He'd congratulate him for being the first to inflict damage against him, no matter how little it is.
That day was that much closer, but yet why does it feel so distant? It was a testament on how much his power had grown in such a short amount of time. He from yesterday would've been pleased with it. Yet, he felt none of that. Had having too much power no longer enticed him as much?
His train of thoughts was broken by a massive vortex of energy. He was hit with a force far stronger than a thousand blue whales, coupled with the speed of the 3rd's infamous railgun.
It surprises him that the 2nd manages to calculate all that even when his body has been overworked beyond belief. "I guess I should kill you now. No use keeping you alive." He murmured to himself. There were no emotions in them.
The man's blood flow was reversed. Whatever's left of his blood flowing in his veins went straight for the heart, causing it to inflate and burst. He hadn't done that in forever. "Well, whatever."
'So… what to do?' He asked himself.
What's there to do that has nothing to do with his power? Something that doesn't involve fighting. Yes, there's a lot of enjoyable stuff that he can do with that. Something like…
'Like…'
…
What's there to do besides play around with his power? For so long the only way he could entertain himself is by testing those around him how useless they'd fare against his power. And now that it's out of the question, he has no idea on what to do.
He can try reading perhaps? Wait no, he'd done that before and it really fucking sucks. He'll have to leave it at the very last option. But it being on a list that is really narrow doesn't seem very reassuring. Maybe it will grow the more he spends time in this time loop. Hopefully.
What about games though? It had been the ultimate activity to do to escape reality done by many. There was even a cult called 'gamers', where only people who would dedicate their lives to such weird notions are labeled as such. It could also be called an addiction.
…
Yeah, He can try playing games.
…
The shopping district is loud. That's his first impression of it. Even though it's already nearing 5 pm it's still loud. Well, that's probably what's gonna happen when you put every shopping commodity into a single district.
His face disgruntled when he noticed the arcade to be fully packed with people. The smell of cigarettes and sour-y pear wafting in the air, it infuriates him so much. He can't help but just start reflecting the smells away.
With an unwilling heart but with feet that have a mind of its own, he began walking in, anticipating for the worst. And it really is the worst that he can imagine.
It's loud. Louder than it is outside. He had these please manage to put up with this much noise? In such a small place nevertheless. He's surprised that they haven't gone deaf yet.
And then there's the people themselves. He'd always thought that the target audiences for these games would be boys from the age of 11 - 15. But most of the people he's seeing are girls. He could even spot a few Tokiwadai uniforms from here! What the fuck are they doing here anyways? This place is unfitting for people from such prestigious institutions!
Rolling his eyes, he looked for a more empty corner of the place. It didn't take long for him to find the exact place he wanted to be in. It's a fighting game of some sort, and there's less than 5 people around it, all positioned far away from it too.
From here the loud retro beepings and sound effects are barely inaudible. He'd gotten himself plenty of coins to use earlier. Mostly from Kakine's now mashed corpse. But hey, it's not stealing if it's already dead.
It was a good thing that the machine has a tutorial, he has no idea how to operate these machines. From the visuals alone, he could tell the game is gonna be gory as shit. The characters are generic, but the girls were wearing tight and skimpy type shit as well. He chuckled. "This might be something."
And 10 minutes into the game tutorial, he knew that he wasn't built for it. The game mechanics aren't hard, you can't even call it complicated! But the fucking combos! What the fuck is that?! He can't hit it in time to pull it off before getting hit!
But surely this doesn't translate to a poorly done matchmaking that puts the beginners against a seasoned player so that there is no bad blood between people here that makes them wanna crucify each other, right?
Wrong. It's exactly that.
His opponent is really testing his fucking patience. He could hear him from here, screaming "GG, Ez no RE." He knows it's him because he'd scream exactly that whenever he lost. He has no idea what those words could possibly mean, but he knows it's nothing good.
Not even 30 minutes in and he's already felt like leveling the whole building to the ground. With a click of his tongue, he made a move to get the fuck out of the place. He can't keep holding himself like this.
With a slam of his hand and a bubbling necessity to sigh, he got up and left the place, he sought to never come back. Ever.
8
He came back.
He can't help but have this nagging feeling behind his mind. If he gives up for such a trivial reason while not knowing how much more time he will have to spend in this loop, he will end up suffering fate far worse than death. That is losing his mind.
He's seen what it does to people, and it was never pretty. Never good. Never nice. He doesn't want that to happen to him. Like hell he'd allow it to happen to himself.
With the motivation set, he walked back. It was still early in the morning, so he was expecting the place to be pretty quiet as most of the people would have to be attending school by this hour.
What he didn't expect however was that most of the people who come to this place truly don't have a life. The majority of them are the same people from the last loop. Except they have bags under their eyes.
A new sight that he's yet to see is like a breath of fresh air for the albino. He has something else to do for later, he thought with a slight satisfaction.
He navigates through the place, checking out every machine he his eyes landed on and trying them out. Not many of them are really that interesting. Claw machine for example. For someone who literally calculated vectors in real time in a split second, moving them manually felt just like his power except it's more bland and boring.
Oh, and did I mention? That shit grabs things how he'd imagine if your hands were made up of only pinkies.
The only ones so far he'd find remotely even enjoyable are the fighting and racing games. They were competitive and required actual skills to excel in. Unlike rhythm games. That game sucks. You need to have good reaction times, something the likes of him truly lacks in.
Slowly he learns the movesets, taking his time memorizing each and every one of them. His supercomputer-like brain leaves no flaws in his execution, but his muscle memory is rusty. His fingers are rigid as he moves the controller, occasionally messing up but manages to pull through.
It was when he achieved his first win that he finally truly understands what victory means. A hard-earned, blood soaked win that took every ounce of his ability to achieve, it made him feel proud, sweat running down his forehead as he eyes the shining golden font in front of his eyes. It's delighting, fulfilling and satisfying, that's what victory felt like.
More and more he played. Winning and losing both felt exhilarating. He was unknown to them and he knew nothing of them. They have the experience and he has the talent. An adrenaline rush filled game that is balanced and not one-sided.
He'd fought so many opponents, playing for so many hours, he didn't even realize it's already 9 pm, nor did he realize the crows surrounding him. They were watching him with content, cheering him on. He was confused, but it made him feel nice about himself. He'd never received support for doing something he enjoys before.
Behind Accelerator is a pair of brown eyes. Watching him with slight unease. She blinked, shook her head and left the place.
The game rages on until midnight.
8
Twice he spent an entire day there, sitting still on a single chair for a questionable duration. And the fact that his back had only been hurting because of the loop instead of the amount of hours spent sitting both relieved and pissed him off.
Today marked his 3rd loop playing that game for constantly non-stop. This time, he came prepared. Besides him were two packets of coffee. All black, no sugar.
By now, he'd fought every player in the building and came out the victor. On the 2nd day, he'd learned their every move and how to respond properly. And the 3rd makes him the strongest player in the city.
People began dubbing him as the undefeatable newbie. So much time wasted and so many sweats poured, he'd mastered the game in a matter of days. He'd been hoping for it to be longer, but it appears that his gift was a curse in disguise.
On the 4th day he began spending his time on something else. The racing game he'd yet to touch since the 1st day. The machine made sure that you already knew how to drive prior to playing, because the way you operate it is the same way you operate a motorized vehicle.
The car slides too much, the POV is too far out, and the music is bloody horrendous. He hated it. Not because of any of the three aforementioned points, but rather how easy it is to learn.
By 3 hours he'd learned how to drive from a game. "Fuck." The albino muttered in a low, venom filled tone.
By day 10th, he'd played and mastered every game in the entire place. It's just as bland as the fights against Kakine now. Boring. The reactions are the exact same. And the envy he's beginning to notice is becoming more and more palpable to him. He doesn't like it.
By just 10 days he'd gone bored of a place where hundreds of machines are located, each made for entertainment purposes only with a great variety of choices. This scares him a little and has him worrying over how long he can keep this up.
With one down, he still has plenty more to go. Exploration. He doesn't know whether to leave Academy City or not yet. He'd been here for all his life, he doesn't remember ever being out of the city at all. Maybe he did at some point? Eh, who cares.
Even though he'd been living here for a decade and a half, he has yet to explore every nook and cranny. So out of curiosity, he might as well.
He decided to make his way from bottom to the top by starting out with the southern part of the city, so district 2, 11 and 10 it is.
2 and 10 have nothing interesting in them even after hours of checking out both. He'd count cars moving in and out of the 10th and walked around the cemetery in the 2nd, looking for any remnants of the past Level 5s.
He did find one from a generation before him. A girl from Tokiwadai, whom he supposedly shared a rank back then as the strongest. He didn't remember much about her, information was scarce in the facility, and her death was still a mystery to this day. Some witnesses claim that a person, with a silver hair reaching down towards their leg hair did it.
The description reminded the albino of something, but couldn't recall what and who exactly it was. Even with a near perfect memory, capable of memorizing hundred digits of Pi by reciting it only once, he still has trouble trying to recall events before Academy City.
He eventually gave up and went on with the walking.
District 11 was the more interesting one of the three. It is a place where the city's law enforcers are trained and recruited. Watching them do the impossible was actually entertaining. He'd never thought that watching people do burpees would be fun.
The Anti-Skills training is harsh, but the mental beat down is worse than he'd ever imagined.
"You are emotionally crippled, your soul is dogshit, every single fucking thing about you is ugly! Your life means nothing, you serve zero purpose! You should kill yourself. NOW!" He heard one of the instructors scream that shit directly onto a poor man's face.
"You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humour, and you smell like doo-doo!" Another shouts on top of their lungs at a girl who looks like she is on the edge of crying.
Ah, yes, true equality. Equal rights, equal fights.
The longer he stays here, the more colourful his dictionary has gotten.
He loves it.
…
He came back the next loop, heading for Judgement's portion of the training facility next.
He was held off at the entrance. The guard was asking for his business, on what exactly he was doing on the training ground. He was here to just watch, he said like a matter of fact.
Apparently they no longer allow visitors. He insisted. They ended up asking for his ID and then letting him in after a few paling skins and nervous stares.
He was later given a few forms and offered to join the Judgement department. Of course, he refused.
This one isn't as eventful nor fun like the Anti-Skill's portion. It's mostly filled with ESP ability measurements of written tests.
He ventured deep into the place. The rear part of the building shows mostly just the view of the city. He stood on the balcony of the gymnastic, the scenery would be a spectacular sight during the night and the city being a little bit more livelier like it is in Tokyo or something.
He was growing more and more bored, and just when he's about to go back inside, heard a door open. "Ah, there you are!" A familiar voice exclaims. "What're you doing? I've been looking for you everywhere!"
The voice seems to be coming from below. He caught sight of a familiar blue hair. "Yomikawa-sensei." A faint voice spoke, sounding rather surprised.
"You have me worried y'know? Come, the test is about to begin."
"... About that." The voice sounds hesitant. She looked away, rubbing her hands together.
The smile on the older woman's face was wiped, leaving behind it a concerned frown. "Is something the matter?" Her voice is motherly, warm and soothing. "You can tell me about it."
Her fingers continue to fidget, her gaze deviates from her. Her mouth opened but no words were coming out of it. He could hear her breath from here.
"A-" she yelped. The older woman's hand patted the girl's shoulder. There was a smile on her face. One that tells you right away that you can vent it all right then and there. The albino is almost touched. He'd never seen a face so genuine. Is this really the woman he'd killed?
The look seemed to have reassured the girl. She steeled her resolve and balled her fists. "What… do you do… when there's nothing you could do? Because right now I know I can't do anything... and… and I'm starting to lose hope…" She struggled to voice out her inner misery as she stared down at the ground, unable to pick herself up again. She creaked for a second and then again.
The woman just smiled. "You do what you can to keep yourself together for the end. Think carefully about what you're striving for, if it could be so… meaningful, that your dreams will justify your sacrifices."
'What kind of answer is that?' The albino thought wonderingly. He didn't understand it, but there was something in his chest, like an ache. This is new.
The two left quickly after. With them goes along his sense of peace, his mind left in a haze, a full blown state of disarray.
So far he'd spend roughly 3 hours wandering around this place. And it seems to be a never ending maze of empty rooms. It's just plain. So he might as well leave now, back to the refuge of his own.
8
The red plastic cart he carries made a thud when he placed it atop the cashier's desk. It is filled with only one thing, and many of that one thing. "Is this really all you have?" The albino says disappointingly.
"Uh, yes…?" The pressure from the albino's glare made the cashier feel small. "B-but there's supposed to be a new shipment coming tomorrow morning, soooo…" He says reassuringly. But instead the worst he thought of came to life.
His face darkened considerably. He pulls out his wallet and slams it onto the desk. He didn't pull out any of the bills, merely taking the entire basket and leaving with it. Oh wow, I'm really bad at this, aren't I? Thought the cashier.
The door opened and he left. He nearly bumped onto someone on the way out. On his arm was his school bag. He donned a casual school uniform. His hair is dark and spiky, it reeks like gatsby or whatever it is.
"Sorry." The guy apologizes, his right hand patting his shoulder before going straight into the store.
He didn't pay it much mind but stopped for a split second.
Then he blinked.
"What…" he blurted out. "Did he just…" His hand reached to his shoulder, he could still distinctly feel the ghost of his hands leaving its mark there.
Had he accidentally left his barrier down? No, that's not possible. He was capable of reflecting even during the state of unconsciousness. Then had he accidentally allowed it to pass? Also no. Then better yet, how the fuck did they bump into each other?!
He looked back into the store. He spotted the guy looking for something in the refrigerators but seemed to be out of luck, gingerly he walked towards the cashier and asked for the stuff he was looking for. The cashier shook his head. He seemed to be exasperated by it and just immediately went out of the building.
"Man, my luck really has gone down the drain these past few days…" He murmurs out loud, body bent with his eyes stuck to the floor. He let out a fat sigh and went on his way.
"Oi," he shouts. The harshness of his voice causes him to flinch.
He turned, slightly intimidated by his looks. "Ah, you again." This guy really should keep his thoughts to himself, lest he wants to get beaten up by some thugs. The way he addresses him alone is enough to warrant a castration. But he isn't feeling like fighting right now, fortunately for him.
"You better have some good explana-" he didn't get to finish his sentence, he got cut off by the guy.
"Man, all we did was just bump. You don't have to be a dick about it." He straightens his back and fully turns towards him. He looked slightly annoyed. A complete opposite of his earlier, burned out attitude. But the slight fear in his eyes remained as they stared off. "And look, I already… apologized… alright…" his voice trails when he notices the basket to his side. Not to mention the contents of it.
He seemed to have lightened up just by looking at it. So that's what he's looking for, the albino thought. "You ain't getting shit." With how shitty his days are getting, these aren't even enough to have him relax. Giving some, or worse, sharing, would simply piss him off more cause he won't get the taste of bitterness as much as he'd paid for.
His thoughts must've been easily read because the guy pulled out a wallet. "Tch, I don't need your money."
"Oh come on! Help a brother out here, Tuesday's been rough on me man."
That seemed to have perked the albino. "What do you mean?" There was hope in his voice. Even in his eyes, lights seemed rekindled after so long of being out.
He mentioned Tuesday specifically. What does he mean by that? Does it mean what he thinks it is? No, that's impossible. If it is then he'd know who he was, after all those catastrophic events he caused back then. But still, he still can't help but ask.
"Like… y'know… shitty?" He pauses on each word, struggling to put it all into sentences. Accelerator's eyes were slightly wide. "I forgot my homework that I spent 3 days on, my chair broke a leg, splashed hot coffee on my arm, stubbed my pinky on the door, and got chased by 3 dogs. Oh, and I got slapped 13 times in a row."
"Are you sure that's everything?"
"Yes." He replied without missing a beat. The lights in his eyes vanished, back to how it once were. "Oh, no, wait, I think it was 11 times."
"Shut it." Disappointment clear as day.
And that's exactly what he did. He put his hands up when he barked, a gesture that he knew meant to convey for him to calm down.
The silence was loud for nearly 20 seconds when it was broken again by the guy. "By the way, are you having a party or what?" Looking at the stacks upon stacks of coffee. "I don't think they'd be happy at all with those things. Anybody that isn't me, of course!" He joked to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
"Hn, you're somehow even more irritating than that guy back at the arcade." He blurted out loudly, his thoughts spilling out of his mouth. And it seems to be giving the guy an idea.
"How about this," he cleared his throat, his balled fist right to the front of his mouth. "You and me. Arcade. A single can."
Accelerator finds the offer annoying but rather amusing. He eyes the spiky haired up from down. The guy is clean, unlike that bastard back there. Their only similarities is that they're both stiff. But their skills, would they also be similar? Unlikely. This guy doesn't have that hardcore gamer look. That being dark rings under the eyes.
He's easy meat. He hides a smirk. "And what're you putting up then? I can't be the only one that has something to offer."
That has him thinking, but soon enough reached into his pocket, pulling out a rainbow pin with a frog face on it. A Gekota, the albino thought confusingly. "Some kids gave this to me for strawberry milk." He shrugged. "They said it was an SSR or something, so I was planning to give this to someone, but I don't think she'll like it; it's a little too childish."
He rolled his eyes. Whatever, he scratched the back of his head. It's gonna be an easy win anyways. "I'll take it." The guy pumps his hand and places it back into his pocket. "Let's go." They headed for the mall.
…
Easy as it is said, easier it is a win.
Touma, whose name he'd been told a few minutes into the walk when he finally decided to introduce himself, seemed to have bad luck, a degree of inconvenience to everyday life.
This fucking guy lost when he was literally at a health so small that when he gets hit while blocking, it'll deal enough damage for him to immediately die.
And that's just undermining everything that has happened! The basketball blows up for some fucking reason, prompting the manager to demand compensation from him. His controller occasionally stopped working when the albino pulled out his special moves. The bloody transmission lever snapped when they played a racing game.
Guy is the epitome of bad luck.
His reactions were loud, sometimes he can be heard musing his own misfortune. Maybe that's where he got his habits of saying his thoughts out loud came from? Could be.
But there's something about this guy that he'd noticed after playing with him for an entire day. Just like that blue haired woman from this morning. He is genuine in everything he does. That's something that was rarely ever encountered on a person.
Seeing this taught him that there's more than just vile animosity between us humans. The hatred, jealousy, all of it, it was all there. But not everyone has it. Some have it in such a small quantity that it's overwhelmed by the goodness of their heart. Why can't everyone be like that, he thought bitterly.
"Ah, fuck!" Touma screams, eyeing his phone with his eyes wide. His face contorted in fear. "Index is gonna kill me!" He shouts. Soon enough, he bids his goodbye hastily, grabbing his bag and rushes out of the building.
He watches as the running figure slowly diminishes from the sight before looking at the wall on the clock. It's 11 pm. "That late already?" He didn't notice that time had passed that much. It's only 12 am when they came here.
"Time passes slowly when you're having fun, don't you think?" The manager approached him, her hands crossed. He hummed. Was he having fun? He probably did. He should probably get this guy for the next loop. "Oh, and he hasn't paid, so…" she smiled softly, the palm of her right hand coming up towards him.
The nerve of this woman. To smile like that when asking him for money. With an annoyed look he fished through his pockets. But none came. He blinked. Then he remembers where it went. "Ohh… you fucking piece of shit." His face palmed, his tone low enough to be barely heard in a place so loud even after curfew.
He'd left it at the convenience store since he had no need for it. Because, y'know, everything loops? "How about this?" She lowered her hand, slightly leaning in. "You can pay another way."
"Ok." He says without missing a second.
He didn't know what he was expecting, but she made him wash the dishes in the employee's lounge.
8
New Chapter Next Week!