Musutafu, August 26th, 2011

"Did you see that guy that just walked past us? He had a... a bird's head! They weren't kidding when they were talking about all the different types of Quirks!" said Touma as the two Espers approached the grounds of UA High. He hoped to find Accelerator's friend quickly. He didn't like the thought of leaving Index on her own for any length of time, but it couldn't be helped in this instance. Bringing her here while the Church was still looking for her would have been ridiculous. He just hoped that she wasn't causing his teacher Miss Komoe any trouble while she was staying at her apartment. He kept walking towards the back of the school with these thoughts going through his mind and completely missed seeing Accelerator split off and continue on to the front of the school.

"It's bad enough I had to ride with that loser all the way here, I'm not going to be led around like a damn pet. I can find her on my own." He continued down the main street that the high school faced and stood at its large gate. Looking around, he noticed it wasn't as crowded here as it was in Academy City, although there were just as many buildings. He wouldn't exactly call it peaceful, but Musutafu lacked the tension that seemed to hang in the air of Academy City. He started walking towards the far side of the building when several students exited the gate behind him.

Todoroki stepped through first, followed by Midoriya and 37. They continued on their way to the local store.

"Thanks for stopping by to get me on your way to do some shopping, it's such a nice day to get outside and walk!"

Todoroki enjoyed seeing 37 when she was this cheerful. A few months ago, she had been depressed and withdrawn, but you'd never believe it now. "It's nothing. Just thought you'd like to get out of the school for a while. Especially with all the extra work you've been doing."

"Yeah, exactly! And I know you were only in class a short time before our summer break began, but I think you're doing great, 37. Do you feel like you're getting a better grasp on your Quirk?" asked Midoriya.

"I feel like I have more of an understanding of it. During the summer break, I've been training how to suppress it. It still takes a lot of energy to do, but I can fully control it for a short time if necessary. It makes me wonder though if my ability wasn't an Esper one..." Her words left her as she looked ahead of the group. Was she only seeing things? The white-haired person in front of them couldn't be who she'd been worried about since she woke up from her five-year slumber. Her expression reflected the surprise and confusion she felt, and the boys caught on quickly.

Todoroki spoke up first, "What's wrong? Is it something about your past?" He looked in the direction she was staring, suspicious of the guy wearing a black shirt with sharp white lines.

"It... It can't be him!" was all 37 could manage to say. Todoroki could only assume that he had something to do with her past. He stood in front of her and called out to him. "Hey, you over there! Just what do you think you're doing here?"

Accelerator stopped and turned to see if the voice that had just yelled out was referring to him. A young guy around his age faced him by the entrance of the school along with a couple of other students. Not a very intimidating presence, but he still managed to get his attention.

"Just stopping in for a visit. What, are you the welcoming committee or something? I don't have time to meet your student council or whatever you punks are." The girl that had been hidden behind the red and white kid revealed herself slowly. Accelerator fell silent as he saw the long purple hair cascading down her back and over her shoulder. The clothes she wore were much more colorful than the drab gray bodysuit he'd last seen her wearing. Five years had seen her grow slightly taller. Her body had gained more curves as well. She even still laced her fingers together back and forth. There was no doubt that it was 37.

"37! But how... How did you survive it? Are these bastards the ones that took you away from Academy City?" yelled Accelerator. He watched as the two boys that were accompanying her get in defensive poses in front of her. "Oh, what's this? You think you can take me on kids? Fine then, I've been curious to see what happens when an Esper faces off against a Quirk!"

Todoroki observed the albino kid carefully. He heard him ask how she survived, so he must have been involved with that Institute. He looked back at 37, who was shaking as tears started to collect in her eyes. This is the guy. He's the one that's responsible for her scars. There's no way she'd react that way to anyone but her abuser.

"Midoriya, take 37 and stand back. I'm not going easy on this guy, and I don't want either of you caught within my ice attacks."

"Right, let's go 37!" said Midoriya as he grabbed her gloved hand and led her away from the two that were facing off.

"Wait, just wait!" 37 sobbed as she went. "You don't have to do this, he... he's..." She couldn't get the words that she needed to say out. Her throat felt like it was closing up. Only tears managed to find their way through.

"I'm not sure what you think you're going to accomplish here, punk. But if you're brave enough to stand up to me, I'll gladly oblige," said Accelerator as he started to focus on the Quirk user in front of him. Identifying his Quirk was impossible, nothing about his appearance gave any clues to what this kid could do. He'd just have to wait until he made a move and defend against it on the fly.

"If preventing you from hurting her again is all I accomplish from this, then it'll be worth it. I've seen the scars you left on her, you sick bastard! I'll kill you before you even step one foot closer to her!" Todoroki said as he unleashed a giant ice wall in Accelerator's direction.

"Ah, so you have an ice manipulation ability!" said Accelerator, staying still as the glacier approached. Just as the ice was about to hit him, he held out his hand, and shattered the ice as it made contact with him. Chunks of ice were sent back towards Todoroki, who created a thick wall of ice in a semi-circle in front of him to shield himself from the counter-attack.

He has some barrier ability. He had to touch the ice to get it to activate though. Todoroki knew he needed to come up with a way to get past this person's power. He decided to coat the ground beneath him in ice to make the guy lose his balance. But just as the ice got close to him, the guy with the white hair and menacing look tapped his toe against the ground and vaulted up into the air, completely avoiding his attack. Damn it! What am I missing here? Long-ranged attacks are useless, but close-quarters fighting seems just as foolish. Should I switch to my left side?

"I have to say, although the sheer force of your power is impressive, you're nothing more than a glorified ice machine. I'm not here to play around or build a snowman with you. I'm taking her back, and no one here is going to keep me from doing so." At that, Accelerator touched the rails on the nearby fence, and each iron rod twisted free of the frame and lined up in front of him. "Time to say goodbye," he said as he sent the rods slicing through the air and towards Todoroki.

"Argh!" yelled Todoroki as he swiftly dodged the bulk of the projectiles, creating blocks of ice to slow the remainder down. One of the rods got through his defenses and struck him in his left side, knocking the air from his lungs and bringing him down to one knee. Holding his injured side with his left hand, he looked back at Accelerator. "Is that all you've got? I have to say I'm rather underwhelmed here."

As the two boys traded attacks, 37 and Midoriya watched from the protected area near the school's gate. 37 was trying to calm herself enough to speak openly. She couldn't stand seeing those two fighting each other. "Midoriya, you have to listen! That boy isn't a bad person! He's the one that I've wanted to find, the one that I've been worried about since I first woke up here! You have to stop this, please!"

"So he didn't have anything to do with what happened to you? He's just the guy that you were trying to help back then?" asked Midoriya.

"Yes! Please, I know it looks bad, but he's only fighting like this because he thinks I'm in danger. I know he wouldn't act like this otherwise," 37 said as she held Midoriya's hand between her gloved ones. "Please stop them! I can't stand to watch them hurt each other anymore!"

"Okay. You stay here where it's safe, I'll do my best!" said Midoriya as he rushed towards the other two boys.

Accelerator was setting up another volley of projectiles, while Todoroki was amassing an enormous amount of ice. The frostbite had already begun to collect against the exposed skin on his face, and his hands shook from the cold. Midoriya stopped next to him and placed his pointer finger into a flicking position against his thumb. "Midoriya, what do you think you... you're doing?" asked Todoroki, weary from the pain in his side.

"You both have to stop, this guy isn't our enemy! He's not the one that hurt 37!" Midoriya answered as he saw the projectiles start moving towards them. He braced himself as best he could and flicked his finger towards the approaching weapons. The force of the wind that came off of his attack stopped the rods and threw them out of everyone's way. Accelerator could only stand there and watch as his offense was deflected so easily.

"What the hell?! How did he stop my attack?" said Accelerator. Midoriya's face seemed pained as he held his hand against his chest and walked closer to him.

"37 just told me who you are; I apologize for all of this. We were wrong to assume you were a danger to her. She asked me to stop you from fighting, so if she is someone important to you, please do as she asks," said Midoriya as he bowed to show his sincerity.

"She asked us to stop? Well, if you guys know that I'm not the bad guy here, for once, then I've got no problem calling it a day. But I want to talk to her, now."

"Sure... sure thing. Uhm, I didn't catch your name though, I'm Midoriya Izuku, and he's Todoroki Shoto. We're all students at UA High over here," he said as he gestured back towards the main school building.

Accelerator just looked at the kid with the messy green hair, "The name's Accelerator. What is that ability of yours? Some type of air disruption or something?"

"Uh, something like that I guess. Here, let me go get 37 for you!" said Midoriya awkwardly as he ran off to the school gate.

Todoroki stared at Accelerator as Midoriya escorted 37 back to the group. He wasn't sure just what to make of the albino guy that had so effortlessly deflected some of his strongest attacks. If he wasn't an enemy, just who was he?

37 approached Accelerator slowly, unsure of just where to begin or if she should even begin at all. She stood in front of him and finally met his eyes. She gave a weak smile as she spoke, "Uhm, hello Seij- I mean, Accelerator. It's been a while, you've certainly grown since I last saw you."

Before he could reply to her, several students turned around the corner of the grounds and headed in their direction.

"What the hell's going on over here?! We could hear the noise from the back of the school, even the ground trembled!" said Kirishima.

"See, I told you I wasn't trespassing! That guy over there and I came here to find that girl with the purple hair!" said Touma, who had been caught wandering the perimeter of the campus by several students. As the two groups gathered, they were treated to a very stylish and heroic entrance by All Might.

"Hello, children. I see there's been some disturbance here," he spotted the two strangers and guessing why they were here, continued. "Well, looks like we have a couple of guests from out of town. Why don't we move whatever conversation you all were having to a safer location. How about you two join us in the school? It seems we have a lot to discuss."