"GAAAHHHHHH!"

The anguished scream that escaped Accelerator's lips shook him to his core. He couldn't stop himself from yelling, crying out for the first time in years. He stumbled back from the edge of the roof blindly, tripped and fell back. With his head in his hands he cried out once more, the pain he had tried to avoid for so long rushing over him. He stood up quickly and approached the edge of the building intent on going over the side.

"Accelerator wait!" yelled Yomikawa as she cautiously walked across the broken and weakened rooftop towards the boy. Once she got to him, she put her arms around him. The boy, emotionally and physically exhausted, didn't fight against her embrace and collapsed against her. "I'm so sorry, kid, but she's gone. If only we'd gotten here sooner."

"No, it... it's my fault," said Accelerator as he fought to get his emotions in check. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him. That's all there is to it. She'd still be here if I had enough power to beat Kihara."

"You don't know that, don't try to put this on yourself. That's not a burden for anyone to carry, least of all you. We need to get down from here to somewhere that's safe."

Accelerator pulled away from her and stood still. "Not my burden? Tch, lady you didn't see what happened up here! Not only was I not strong enough to save her I ended up causing her to... She stole Kihara's power from him to stop him from killing me. And now she's gone because of that! I don't care what you say; my weakness was her death sentence. That's going to be on my shoulders whether you try to sugar-coat this or not. This is why I never wanted to get involved with anyone else! This damn pain..." His anger had started to energize him, and he could feel his ability had gone back to normal.

"I understand your pain, Accelerator, now will you get off this building with me before it falls out from under us?" asked Yomikawa.

The boy looked down at the hand that had only moments ago held onto 37 and clenched it tightly into a fist. He walked steadily back to the edge of the building, looked back at Yomikawa and said, "Sure, but I think I'll take the faster way down. I'll see ya around, Yomikawa." He jumped off the building, using his ability to slow his descent and guide him away from the rubble that had collected on the street. As soon as he touched the ground, he used his power to take off.

Yomikawa could only see him for a moment before he was out of her sight. "I hope I will see you, kid. Be safe."

~~~~

Accelerator stopped at the safe house after leaving the SAI. He couldn't think of anything specific that he needed to take with him but felt he should look anyway. He just wanted to disappear, so much had happened in such a short time, he needed to step back and think about his next move. He entered through the giant hole that he made earlier, quickly going into his former room, throwing some extra clothes and other useful items into a backpack. He tried to avoid looking towards her room as he left, but couldn't help it.

"One more look, then I'm gone," he said to himself as he stepped back into her room. The mess was still the same as before. Apparently, no one stayed long once they figured out where Kihara was. His eyes scanned the room, stopping once again at her desk. That box that had been ripped open was there, and that bear...

Why does that bear look familiar... He remembered that there had been an envelope with Kihara's message written on the front. But in his haste he didn't look to see if it was empty. He pulled it out of his pocket and opened the envelope to find a birthday card inside. It was to him from her. He picked up the overturned desk chair and sat down as he started to read the card.

"Happy Birthday Seiji! You probably don't remember, but when we went back to the SAI a while back, I went to my room and found this bear. You gave it to me the day I found out I was moved into seclusion. I had been crying, you noticed and gave me this bear to cheer me up. And it did! I knew that this bear had been one of the very few belongings you had when you arrived at the Institute. But you wanted to make me happy, so you gave up something you loved to do so. You still have that selfless quality in you Seiji. I had told Yomikawa once a while ago that I believed there are people in this world that break and those that fix. Sometimes people need to change with their situation, but never lose sight of the fact that we're all capable of fixing what's broken around us. I think I rambled a bit too much for a birthday note, so I'll just stop here and wish you a happy 10th birthday, I'm sure it'll be a day to remember :) 37"

"I'm sorry! It wasn't supposed to end like this... I was supposed to fix you! I refuse to break you, Seiji!"

"Th-This is what she meant by that? What about me was she trying to fix?!" Tears began to well up in his eyes again. "I was only trying to get stronger, was that so terrible a thing to achieve? Breaking and fixing, I don't see sense in that philosophy 37, your reasoning must've been flawed somehow. I wasn't broken to start with! And even if I was, it wasn't your responsibility to fix me." He wiped the tears out of his eyes and stood up. He picked up the tattered old bear that he'd given to her and stared at it for a while.

"Building upon my power is the only way I can be sure to avoid having this happen again. If I'm so strong that no one will dare to mess with me, I won't have to go through this pain again. I don't need anyone else to get in the way of my goals and suffer for them. She died because she refused to hurt me and steal my ability. I know that, but wouldn't that mean she considered me weak without it? Whatever the case may be, that's going to change 37. I swear I'll prove to you that I wasn't broken. I won't let your death be in vain 37..." His eyes widened as he realized that she hadn't even had the chance to choose a real name before she died.

He slammed his fist against the wall closest to the doorway, effectively blowing out the middle section of the wall up to at least five feet away.

"Shit! No, I won't let you die as a number." He marched out to the living room and sat down at the computer desk. The computer was no longer working thanks to his outburst of destruction earlier in the day, so he grabbed a notepad and pen and started to write frantically.

...

An Anti-Skill officer approached Yomikawa cautiously. "Miss Yomikawa, our team hasn't been able to find anything or anyone in the rubble so far. Are you sure there isn't anywhere else that we need to-"

"I'm quite sure the girl that fell from this building landed in this area, so get your team back together and keep searching!"

"But ma'am, it's been several hours now. We've gone through this area numerous times. I'm sorry but there just isn't anything here. Should we call it in as a missing person report?"

She thought about it for a moment, "No, if you're certain this area is clear then we'll just have to widen our search area." The officer nodded and ran off to inform his team of the new orders.

Yomikawa wasn't sure how to handle this new circumstance. If she's not here, is it possible that she's still...? No, I won't get my hopes up and report this just yet, not until we've cleared the entire scene. I should hold off on informing Accelerator as well. He needs time to himself right now. She continued to patrol and observe the scene, remaining hopeful but realistic as they continued to search for 37.

...

He tried to imagine what she'd say with each name. He was sure he'd picked a name that would've made her happy. He stayed in the safe house longer than he planned, specifically to wait for Anti-Skill to finish their business at the SAI and leave the premises. Once they were gone, he went back to the building. The debris that had fallen from the rooftop had been cleared away for the most part, with some scattered piles pushed away from the main walkways. The steps leading up to the front doors were still in good condition, and here is where he stopped. He pulled the homemade sign out of his backpack and set it down against the side of the wall beneath the railing. He stepped back to look at the sign. "Rest in Peace, Sumire Yuuki" is what it said in clear, black lettering on the cardboard sign.

"I'm sure you would have preferred to have been involved in the name choosing process, but I'm sure you'd be happy with this one. You're more than just a number now, Sumire Yuuki. I know you had found out your family's name in your file, but screw them for not doing more to protect you from ending up at this place. I spent more time than I'd like to admit on this name thing, but I think it's an accurate one. 'Violet Courage' is the meaning, simple yet fitting for someone like you." He thought back to when he had first met her and how she had told him his real name.

"Seiji Roisin, eh? 'Pure Intention' isn't exactly where I'm headed right now. I'll stick with Accelerator. A one-way road to becoming Academy City's most powerful Esper is where I'm headed, and I haven't seen anything pure about this journey yet. Except you..."