A Fateful Reunion

Academy City, a city home to many espers, some exceptionally weak, and some exceptionally strong. It had a student population of around 80%, was about 30 years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of science, and underneath it all, it was a hub for human experimentation, both legal and illegal.

There had been many attacks on the city, from both scientific and magical origins. Terrible things happened within the city walls: summoning angels, mass comas, and Project Radio Noise and Level 6 Shift. And yet, many espers were happy to call this place home.

Night had fallen, and a chilling wind blew through Academy city. Somewhere inside the city's walls, a certain Level 5 was being staring at the moon, thinking about all these things, before kicking back off into a sprint. She had been chasing a certain Level 0 across a bridge. At first glance, it looked like the Level 5 was trying to kill the Level 0, but if you looked again, you would see them smiling.

Eventually, the Level 0 doubled over, and held out a hand. "Biri Biri, just give me, a moment, please."

Biri Biri looked at the Level 0 with a smug expression on her face. "Come on, can't you handle a little jog? It's not been that bad!" Electricity sparked off her bangs and danced between her fingers. "And I've been telling you for the past 5 years now, Idiot, my name is Mikoto Misaka!"

The Idiot picked himself back up. "And my name's still Touma Kamijou. I'll stop calling you Biri Biri when you stop calling me an idiot." His face twisted into a smirk of his own. "Besides, you're far more tired than I am. You're struggling to even stay standing!"

Mikoto began to jump around. "Is that so? How do you suppose I'm doing this then?"

"You and I both know that you're using your ability to force your muscles to move, like zapping a dissected frog." Touma waved around his right hand, Imagine Breaker. "One touch from me, and you'll collapse."

The Level 5 leaned against the side of the bridge, glancing at the water beneath her, sparks flying from the metal railing as the electricity ran through it. "It's that obvious, huh?"

He nodded, moving toward the same railing, about 5 metres away from her. "You of all people should know that I pick up on stuff like that." He reached out his hand and poked the railing, negating Mikoto's ability, causing her to stumble and prop herself up against the railing as to not fall over "Still, this place sure brings back memories."

"Yeah..." Mikoto stared into the distance. "We had our first fight on this bridge. And it was on this bridge that you talked me out of killing myself..." she turned to the Level 0 with a smile. "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't stopped me. Kamijou, I... I wasn't in a good place back then..."

"Don't worry about it, Misaka. Besides, I did it for me, not for you. I just felt like helping you out. I don't need any thanks."

She pushed herself off the railing, shaking her head, muttering under her breath, "Why do you have to be so likeable..." Electricity began to arc around her again as she got into a fighting stance. "Whatever, I'm ready to beat you this time!"

Touma smirked, barely even moving. "I wonder about that. You haven't beaten me before."

Mikoto sent out stray blast of lightning, trying to catch Touma off guard, but he already had his right hand up. "You're right about that, but it's been a few months since we last fought. I have every opportunity to beat you tonight!"

She shot arcs of electricity at him, changing the angles constantly, trying to break past Imagine Breaker, but Touma just started sprinting at her, holding out his right hand like a lightning rod. She ran towards the railing, firing shot after shot, until he got too close. She bunched up her fist, going for a swing, and Touma reached out to block with his right hand, and-

"Got you." Electricity shot out from the railing to her left, heading straight for the Level 0's. Touma immediately twisted to block the electricity, and Mikoto's fist connected with his chest, throwing him back as the electricity coursing through her shocked the boy, and he slammed into the railing on the other side. She pumped her fist "Yeah, take that!" Touma slowly got up, clutching his ribs, Mikoto's expression quickly changed to one of concern. "A-are you okay?"

"I-I think?" He coughed, wincing in pain. "You hit real hard when your electricity's powering your body. I guess you're forcing it to work at maximum output." He closed his right hand into a fist. "Guess I'm gonna have to go all out!"

He immediately started sprinting, keeping his body low, running much faster than before, taking Mikoto by surprise. She impulsively let out a powerful shock while backing off, but Touma batted it aside, and she backed into the railing, and the Level 0 slammed into her, taking them both over the railing into the water below.

The cold water was a shock to them both. As Touma surfaced, he had to gasp for air. "You alright, Biri Biri?"

There was no response.

Alarmed, Touma looked around. "Misaka? Where are you?" And then, he realised something as he put it together in his mind. Something that scared him: Misaka could barely move without her electricity right now. And they were in water, which conducted electricity. And Touma was in this water. He was cancelling out her ability to move just by being in the river. "I'm on my way!"

The moment he dived under, he saw her. She was moving her arms, trying to swim up, but her legs were completely still. She just couldn't quite break the surface of the water.

He swam down to meet her, and took hold of one of her arms, pulling her up along with him, pulling her to shore.

The moment she was able, she lay down on the ground, coughing and spluttering, with Touma still holding onto her, with no idea what to do.

After a moment, she reached up to him, looking at him dead in the eye.

Touma smiled at her. "What do you need me to do? Do you need chest compressions or any air?"

She closed her eyes. And pushed him with all her might. The Level 0 flew backwards with a rather hurt look on his face.

That pained frown turned into awe mere moments later as what appeared to be a huge lightning bolt struck the Level 5, sending dirt, dust and grass everywhere. It was strong enough that not even Imagine Breaker would've been able to negate it fully.

Once the ringing in his ears stopped and the dust settled, Touma could see Misaka gasping for air, steam coming off her. What looked like white scales had formed on her fingers. "You... almost killed me... Idiot..." She slowly sat up, shaking her head.

Touma simply prostrated himself on the ground. "I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid of me." He raised his head. "Oh, one more thing, before I forget." He reached out, tapping her head with his right fist, making the scales on her hands disintegrate, and smirked. "I win."

"Damn it!" She pouted. "I was hoping that if kicked up enough of a fuss that you'd forgotten about our game!" She clicked her tongue. "Guess I'm cooking tomorrow..."

"It was you who decided to make this week's competition into a fight, though."

"Well that's because I thought I'd be able to win! It's been so long since we last fought each other that I thought you might've grown rusty!"

Touma laughed. "Of course not! We still fight mages and runaway espers all the time, so I'm up to date on my combat." His expression suddenly shifted to a serious one. "But, I really am sorry that I almost drowned you, Mikoto." He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "I don't know what I would've done if you had died there, I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself. I really do..." he trailed off, looking toward the bridge. He couldn't see anyone, but he could hear something. It was a familiar noise, that unsettled the Level 0.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"I head out for my walk, trying to enjoy my evening in peace, just to have it interrupted by two asshats playfighting in the middle of the road." Touma paled as he recognised the figure that peered over the edge.

White hair and skin, just dirty enough to show a horrific impurity. A black shirt, with what looked like white spider legs crawling round the sides, accentuating his corruption. Red eyes, a deeper shade of crimson than the fires of hell itself.

The image of the boy shook Mikoto to her very core as she began to back away, practically hiding behind Touma. Just the image of him was enough to trigger a panic attack, as images of 9982 filled her mind.

And then, another voice rang out. "What are you looking at?" A slim, petite, pale girl in her mid teens looked over the rail. She had short chestnut hair, and wore a lab-coat that was slightly too large for her, a black shirt with thin diagonal white lines all over it, and grey denim shorts with belts on the legs. A noticeable cowlick stood to attention at the top of her head. Something about her dressing similarly to Accelerator gave off an uncomfortable feeling, almost as if she'd been tainted by him. She tilted her head. "Big sister, are you alright, says Misaka as Misaka looks intrigued."

A wave of nausea washed over the electromaster. She doubled over, covering her mouth with her hand, about to vomit, as images of the girls she got killed washed over her. A sea of blood, with thousands of corpses all reaching up to her, climbing over each other, all muttering the same words: Big Sister. Touma immediately turned around, taking hold of her other hand. "Come on Sparky, let's set you down. There we go..." He kneeled down next to her, patting her head. "There there, everything's okay now."

The girl clicked her tongue, muttering "Misaka as Misaka," and launched into the air over the rail, reaching up as she fell, using electricity like a grappling hook on the bridge to slow her fall, landing lightly on her feet. "What are you doing?"

Accelerator narrowed his eyes. "Last Order, back away from the Original." He reached up to his choker, and fell backwards over the railing, landing on his feet with no trouble at all. "She's dangerous right now, I can feel telesma around her." Last Order skipped back over to Accelerator, gripping his hand.

While this was going on, Touma had sat behind her, wrapping his other arm around her into a one-handed hug, still ruffling her hair, as her panic slowly began to subside. Eventually, she slumped over forward slightly, trying to catch her breath.

Accelerator looked over her, clicking his tongue. Some people had gathered around to watch from a distance, and it agitated him slightly. "Are you done now, Original?"

Mikoto glared at the albino. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He clicked his tongue. "You were being so loud that I couldn't ignore it."

The electromaster's eyes burned with rage. "I hate you."

Accelerator looked like he was going to retort, but Last Order stepped in front of him. She didn't shout or act violently, but her glare was enough to make Mikoto flinch. "Don't say nasty things about him, says Misaka as Misaka glares at you."

"But he killed over 10000 Sisters!" Mikoto took a step forward. White scales were forming all over her body. "He killed you so many times, so why are you sticking up for him?!"

"And he's saved us time and time again, says Misaka as Misaka tries to defend him!" Sparks began to fly from the clone's messy hair. "I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him!"

"And does that leave him innocent for what he's done? If he really wants to atone for what he's done, then he should just kill himself!"

Last Order's face went ice cold, and she stepped forward and slapped Mikoto across the face. "Never, ever say that again." The Original had white scales covering her body, and white horns had grown from her head; she was significantly more powerful than her clone. And yet, the look in the clone's eyes terrified her. Beneath the rage and sadness in her eyes was a deep-rooted insanity that she hadn't noticed. Something that had been festering for a long time. "Death. Hurts." She looked away. "I know that more than anyone, says Misaka as Misaka..."

Mikoto took a step back. "What the hell happened to you...?"

Last Order took out a can of coffee from her small bag, cracked it open, and took a sip. "It's quite simple, says Misaka as Misaka explains." Accelerator hobbled towards the girl, and she took hold of his hand. "I can only trust Accelerator." She let out a long sigh. "He's the only person worth trusting anymore..."

Accelerator's expression softened, and he gently brought her in to a hug. "Come on, let's head back. We can get some food on the way." Last Order nodded, quietly sobbing into his shirt.

Mikoto felt like her entire world had been shaken. What she saw on the murderer's face was a smile. Not a smile that made her want to scream, not one that showed his insanity. It was a genuine smile, a smile of happiness. In all honesty, the fact that he could smile like that after what he'd done made her feel sick.

Accelerator looked at Touma, and his smile went away. "Oi, third string. This arrived at my door. It's for you." He tossed an envelope, and turned around. "Oh, one more thing, Original." Black wings exploded out of his back, and Last Order grabbed his hand again. "Don't let your anger control you, or that form of yours. It'll end up badly." He flew into the air, landing on the bridge above. The clone happily walked beside him, sipping her coffee. She could hear them bantering about different types of coffee, and something about lumpy pomegranates. She could hear Accelerator laughing.

As Touma tapped her, and her horns shattered, she simply couldn't understand it. It simply didn't make sense to her. "How can they be so happy together?"