August 31st, 2011

Stepping off of the bus, Accelerator took a deep breath after the long ride. The air filling his lungs felt heavy, almost dirty compared to the atmosphere in Musutafu. But that's why he had returned to this rancid city, to clean up the mess he had left behind.

It seemed that the rumor mill had continued on even in his absence, the local punks all hearing the news of his loss against that Level Zero and thinking they could improve their status by challenging him. Dropping his assailants like flies, Accelerator left them lying on the ground, clutching their broken wrists and ankles. His desire to destroy them completely pulled and tugged at him, but he'd done well to restrain it.

"This isn't gonna get me anywhere with taking care of my past," he said to himself. Realizing he needed some coffee, he stepped into the convenience store near his apartment. He grabbed several black cans. The clerk eyed him suspiciously but said nothing as he finished their transaction.

Walking along the sidewalk, grocery bag hanging in his hand, Accelerator tried to think of where he should begin. The Level 6 Shift project was obviously his most damning sin, but after realizing that the Sisters were more than just dolls, he'd already decided against harming any others. What more could he do to make amends to them?

"I doubt any of them would want to see my ugly mug again anyway." The noise of the city made it difficult for him to concentrate, so he used his ability to deflect any sound waves from reaching his ears. Now in comfortable silence, he continued to brainstorm.

He had no idea that the little bundle of blanket walking behind him, trying desperately to get his attention would be the catalyst for his newest goal.

…

Panicked, Accelerator looked over the unconscious Last Order, moments away from succumbing to the virus implanted into her by Ao Amai. He was running out of time and his only help wasn't going to make it to their location in time. The little girl was feverish, mumbling incoherently.

The last clone to be created, Last Order was capable of sending out orders to the remaining Misaka clones. Amai's intent was for them to turn on the people of Academy City in retaliation for his clone project's failure. Accelerator couldn't let that happen. He'd already slaughtered nearly 10,000 clones before his fight with Touma brought that to an end. He refused to let any more of the remaining Sisters be put in danger again, especially the smallest one laying before him.

"Think… Think… Wait, I think I got it! Her brain is like a computer, so if I can control the vector of the electricity within her brain, I can delete that damn virus!" Touching his fingers to Last Order's forehead, he focused his vector control on the bioelectrical pathways inside her mind. He had memorized the code for the virus from the file that Yoshikawa had sent him.

He knew what to look for, all he had to do was locate it and get rid of it. Watching the display of the computer attached to Last Order, Accelerator watched as the virus code was slowly deleted from her network.

"You can't do this, all my work went to hell because of you!" Amai yelled as he stood from the spot where he had been knocked out by Accelerator earlier. Raising his gun and leveling it to Accelerator's head, Amai laughed.

Shit, I won't be able to finish deleting the virus if I divert any of my ability to defend against this prick. Come on, I'm so close, just a little bit more!

The virus counter was nearly at zero when Amai pulled the trigger.

Musutafu, September 2nd, 2011

Todoroki's phone vibrated in his pocket as he sat in class. Tempted to look, he knew that Aizawa had already been keeping his eye on him since Sumire's kidnapping. Once their class had ended, he pulled it out and saw a missed call from an unfamiliar number. Never one to return calls from unknown people, he dismissed it and had started swiping through his email when the same number called again.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Oh good, I got a hold of you this time! This is Touma, from Academy City."

Todoroki nodded his head, "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was in class when you tried calling the first time. Is there a problem there?"

"You could say that. I got into a bit of trouble and ended up at A Certain Hospital. I'm fine now, but it's what I saw while I was there that has me calling."

"Go on," Todoroki said, his nerves now on edge as he paced in the hallway.

Touma took a deep breath, "Well, I was trying to get back to my room and got lost. While I was wandering the halls, I accidentally entered the high-security ward. That was where I saw him. Accelerator."

Todoroki came to a halt at the mention of the name. "Accelerator? What is he doing in the hospital? I thought that guy was practically invincible."

"That's the thing, he should be. But the guy was lying in a hospital bed with his head covered in bandages. His chart was on the door, so I took a peek. He was shot in the head two days ago."

Unable to think of a response, Todoroki only listened as Touma continued.

"It also said he was in critical but stable condition. I know I shouldn't have looked through his records like that, but after seeing him in that condition, I just thought that you should know. I don't know if telling Sumire is good right now, but I figure you're in the best position to judge whether or not she can handle that kind of news. Are you still there, Todoroki?"

Breaking free of his silence at the sound of his name, Todoroki responded, "Y-Yeah, I'm here. This is just… Unexpected. I'll admit I'm a little worried about how she'll take the news, but I know she'll be even more upset if I don't tell her. Is this your number? I'll save your contact information if it is, that way I can get in touch with you if necessary."

"Yeah, this is my phone. I'll try to keep you guys updated however I can. I've already been discharged so there isn't much I can do from inside the hospital, but call if you need anything."

"Thank you for letting us know, Touma. I'll let you know if anything comes up, goodbye." Hanging up, Todoroki suddenly found himself leaning against the wall, unsure of how to relay such sad news to Sumire. She'd only just started getting back to her normal classes and training sessions.

"Hey Todoroki, we're heading back to the dorms now, did you want to walk back with us?" asked Midoriya, a smile on his face that dropped as soon as he saw Todoroki's expression. "What is it? What happened?" He broke away from the group and placed a hand on Todoroki's shoulder.

"I just got a call from Academy City. Accelerator is in the hospital, he was shot in the head. I have no idea how I'm going to tell her, Midoriya."

"Tell her what, Todoroki?" said Sumire as she suddenly appeared at his side, looking at him then turned to face Midoriya. "I thought we were heading over to the dorm?"

Glancing at each other, Midoriya nodded to Todoroki, who took in a deep breath and answered her. "There's something I need to tell you, Sumire." His legs felt weighed down with sandbags as he walked back to the classroom door and opened it. "You may want to have a seat."

It wasn't her reaction that scared Todoroki, but the lack of one when he relayed the news of Accelerator's condition. She sat quietly, letting him finish what he had to say. He was thankful that Midoriya was there with them, ready to help console her if needed.

"I have to go back," Sumire said, her tone low and even.

"What?! I know you're worried about him, but going there… It's just too dangerous!"

"Todoroki, I'm going to see him. I know the danger, but there is no way I can sit here while he's all alone in some hospital fighting for his life!" Her tears finally started to flow as she stood up abruptly from the student desk.

She had made it to the doorway before Todoroki cried out, "Wait! Just, please… At least let me go with you. If not just for your safety, let me do so for my own peace of mind?"

"Me too, Sumire," Midoriya chimed in. "We just want to be sure you're safe. We don't want you to be alone any more than you want him to be."

Turning around, wiping away the wetness from her eyes, Sumire nodded. "Alright, thank you both. I'll go get ready." She quickly fled the room, leaving the two boys alone.

"Will we even be able to get to Academy City, Todoroki?"

"It's the weekend, no one will think it's odd if we were to leave the dorms. We just have to let them know we're visiting our families, that's all. We should probably get ready as well, she'll want to leave as soon as possible, I'm sure."