Hey guys Thanks for reading Certain Scientific Counter! Thank you for everyone who left a review and I'd like to thank my Beta-Reader Graeskog for helping me edit this chapter. I wrote this chapter in a different format than the others due to it being an SS. This arc is turning out to be a long one. The day is currently August 11 and the arc officially ends on August 22, so there are ways to go. Anyway, Railgun T has been slated to release January 2020 cant wait! Thank you for sticking by me and without further ado Q&A,

Oracle-of-the-Void- Thank you so much for the praise. And to answer that question you'll need to read below. Thank you for your comment and here's the newest chapter.

Aminadab Brulle- Good to be back. And yes Dark Matter is a pretty level headed guy with a determination, even in the light novel he only goes after people directly opposed to him and hates involving outsiders, unlike Meltdowner. And yes our Urban Legend expert stumbled on something she was not supposed to see. And now we'll see what our Albino boy has been doing.

Fortitude501- Yep, thanks to Measure Heart keeping the piece we didn't have to see Touma's dorm become a battlefield full of Dark Matter. And Tsuchimikado was panicking because he realized someone broke into his dorm. And Saten stumbled upon some secrets...

D. - Yes! After many Moons, I am finally here! I was planing this arc from the moment I finished the Golden Days Arc! And you'll see what he took in due time. And Kakine is the #2 Level 5 so he has a ways to go before getting out of the mindset that he is the only #2 in the world.

tsun- Yes no fighting, yet...And he stole something that will be important later.

BlueJack22- Yes he did. But this boy still hasn't gotten an allowance since the beginning of summer.

nameless- They are all falling together. And we're only at the beginning so we have a ways to go. And Misaki wanted Shirai in particular not just because of her power but for her loyalty. In Misaki's eyes, Shirai's loyalty to Mikoto is something she has only seen with Junko so far, its more like she wants Shirai's pure platinum loyalty than her actual power, though she wouldn't be opposed to Awaki working for her. For your ideas, I already have something in store for that if I do make it that far. Thank you for your comment!

Guest(Chris)- Thanks! And Dark Matter is a chill person when he's not being antagonized by others. Unlike Meltdowner he doesn't like to pick on weaker people and will only do so when they get in his way, but unlike Accelerator he doesn't show any mercy. And the thing he stole from Tsuchimikado will be important later. And from Index's perspective, he basically was, he had wings that were made from things unknown to creation, in fact, if Dark Matter went back in time with those wings litterally everyone would believe he was a legit Angel. And Measure Heart has to be when she works with the Dark Side and especially with Dark Matter. And DM based his wings off of the freedom aspect of the tale, he doesn't like to be tied down to anyone's plans but his own in fact his goal isn't to actually kill Accelerator but to have leverage against Aleister Crowley. And yeah, Touya Kamiko you airhead. And I already have a plan for this arc, Fate can't be changed but it can be altered. Thanky you for the Review.

Chris- No problems, I got it.

JeaSonDash-Nah if I was gonna stop I'd just put up the Hiatus thing. The arc itself will take a long time to write down, I already have everything planned out on a composition notebook so all that's left is to write it out. I'm hoping to finish before January though.

Im The Person- I'm glad you like it and thank you for the praise. I try to keep every character as close as to what they would be in cannon as close to possible only altering them when they face new things that help them develop. And I'm glad you like the Humor. I try to put most of the humor during the in-between chapters when something serious isn't going on. But do not worry the humor will be plentiful. I'm glad you like their friendship, it was one of the things I've always wanted to see, two people from different backgrounds but who once held the same morality. And he's not in the Tags yet...yet. But yeah I'm glad you like their dynamic and don't worry we'll be seeing a lot of them together. And I like your ideas! Though since the experiment was postponed the number ount wouldn't be that high.

And to answer your question about Touma's stats, the reason why they don't increase is due to the fact that he was changed from a regular esper to a Gemstone. Remember in the chapter where Shirai explained Gemstones to Uiharu, their stats will never increase or decrease once they were named into there specific category, it was why Shirai felt bad for him, no matter what he does, no matter how much he tries he will never raise in his ranking due to how the system for Gemstones operate by. Touma's Unknown factor shot through the roof though, but since he hasn't gotten an allowance in so long he doesn't know by how much. And Touma's much more of a Joker Tier character, he can beat any of the Level 5s with his powers but it just takes one guy with kung fu skills to take him out. None of the Level 5s would be opposed to him joining there ranks, with the exception of Meltdowner who would try to kill him if he surpassed her in the ranking, but he doesn't qualify since he doesn't have an active power that can be tracked by the SYSTEM scans without outside assistance (Left Hand).

And so far Touma has met all the Level 5s with the exception of the #4. Though she knows of him through Frenda but has never met him in person yet. Though he wouldn't be opposed to being there friends...if he can survive them that is.

Thank you for your review!

Accelerator SS

August 10

I woke up in my hospital room.

It was really bright. I hated that, but I felt pretty well-rested.

"Ahhhh!"

The door slammed open and I could hear the cries of the guy who put me in here in the first place, Kamijou Touma. Except he wasn't alone, he was with that ringlet haired girl we met before and was he shirtless?

Let's take a minute to review what's happened.

I'm the first ranked Level 5 'esper' in all of Academy City, Accelerator, although these days after some dumb bet some people call me Yuki…

For whatever reason, I decided to step in when two so-called magicians tried to cripple the guy in front of me who is currently sobbing to himself muttering something under his breath.

Normally when dealing with those types of people I could just flick my wrist the wrong way at them and be done with it since I can reflect all vectors around me with my ability Vector transformation, but that wasn't the case this time.

For whatever reason, it seemed that those two could produce something 'different' and because of that, I couldn't reflect any of their attacks.

To make a long story short, the redhead 'magician' who could manipulate fire basically fucked up my organs and if it wasn't for that mess of a guy in front of me, I probably would've died on the spot.

Ironic since the entire reason I even got involved was to put him in the hospital myself, but you know…

Because of that little incident, I got myself stuck at the hospital for a week since having your organs go out on you wasn't fun enough to deal with.

Ever since then, I've been getting myself involved in even weirder stuff than I had been before.

Turns out that the hot mess in front of me is a 'Gemstone'. Someone who was innately born with powers from birth, unlike me an 'Esper' who was given these powers by the Power Curriculum Program here in Academy City.

It seemed that the two who I fought before were also Gemstones, at least going off what Kamijou was saying.

And might I say that Gemstones are the definition of Bullshit.

The girl who was one of the people responsible for putting me here in the first place was a self-proclaimed Saint and was carrying a 2 meters long Katana, she could manipulate exotic energies. Something that could bypass my Reflection. And do you know what she was...

A Gemstone…

That's not even mentioning the guy from yesterday who could bend reality with his words.

Honestly, what kind of bullshit Deus Ex Machina crap is that! I knew something was off with Gemstones when I found out that they had an entire sports arena themed research facility built for them but still.

So now I find myself here.

In front of a guy who is shirtless by the way, trying to explain why he was sleeping with someone to a ringlet haired girl who looked way too old to be into some frog.

What the hell has my life become…

In the beginning, I thought I'd just hang around the guy to see how he was able to get past my Reflection. But soon enough I found myself in the middle of a fight with the so-called magicians. During the fight, Kamijou saved me from one of their attacks knowing full well that he would be sacrificing his safety for mine. Well, there were other things too, but in the end, we became 'friends'.

Honestly, for the longest time, I couldn't have cared less if everyone in the world just dropped dead. But now, I sort of feel like I want to help out.

"Ah..."

Kamijou woke up from his daze and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry about that. Can I stay here for a bit?"

I could explain why having someone barge in your hospital room unannounced was already a good way to get rejected but I let it pass.

Besides, it's always amusing watching the universe mess up that guys day.

I finished eating my breakfast and made my way to the examination room.

I entered the room and sat down at the examination table.

This was my morning routine for the past week or so since this was the first time I've ever been to a real hospital before and they were giving me every kind of test you could think of.

Normally people would go have a check-up every year to make sure they didn't catch any sickness but not me. With my reflection, I'd always been able to reflect any viruses or bacteria that I might come in contact so the only real check-up I would get was the bare minimum to see if I was healthy enough to preform more experiments.

So, it's only natural that people would freak out that I was sent to the hospital for organ failure.

Though I could only assume that they were only worried about me since they would lose their prized #1 if I did kick the bucket.

"Well, well, aren't you early?"

"Hmph."

He looked over at me and sighed.

He was the same frog-faced doctor who somehow managed to revive my near-dead organs back to a normal state. While he was well aware of my reputation and my past he was one of the few people who didn't treat me any differently than any of his other patients.

He was an older man, plump, wearing the average attire of a doctor his most distinct feature was that of his face that had the distinct look of Gekota. Something that the runt was kind enough to point out.

The examination went on as it always did, with me lying on the table waiting for the results to come back.

"Ohh…"

"Huh?"

This was new. Usually, he would just give me a clean bill of health and let me go.

Was there a problem?

"I thought you would have grown an inch or two, my bad."

"Gwah?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I almost blew up at him but managed to control myself.

I didn't want to ruin our relationship. Who knows when I might need his services in the future?

"In any case, you seem to be doing alright for yourself. Let me just get that cast off your arm."

I showed him the arm in question without any resistance.

The faster he got it off of me the better.

Honestly, how do people put up with these for months? After a few hours it was already starting to get irritating, I couldn't imagine the discomfort people who had these on for years had to deal with.

Once it was off of me, I tried clenching my fist and other basic hand exercises.

As I thought, it was as good as new.

The doctor really was as good as he claimed. After getting my arm snapped like a twig by that reality warper a few days prior I thought for sure that there would be in that thing for at least a year.

"Can I go now?"

The doctor nodded.

"Just be sure you don't do any more strenuous activities like what got you sent here before."

I could only groan as I walked out of the room.

With my arm now out of the cast, I decided to go get some fresh air, or at least as fresh as you can get in a city of science.

I didn't really have anything better to do today since Kamijou was off trying to make up for his lack of funds.

How he would accomplish that was anybody's guess. The guy only had 200 yen left in his account and from the witch's lifestyle coupled with the runts eating habits, I wouldn't be surprised if he would be in debt before the weeks' end.

From the sounds of it, he was planning on selling his stuff for some quick cash which wasn't a bad idea except to do that you had to have things of value, not things bought at a value price.

The moment I made it outside I couldn't help but sigh.

It really was boring not having that guy around. At least when he was around things would turn out to be interesting.

"Yuuukiii!"

That voice rang out as loud as a microphone even on the semi desolate streets.

I turned my head sideways to catch a glance at the runt before she decided to grab ahold of my new shirt.

I usually had one that was custom made but all the ones I had with me were stained with my blood, so I made do with the plain light gray shirt that was provided to me at the hospital.

The little runt who was currently grabbing ahold of my shirt was named Index.

She had white skin, a short build, long silver hair that reached her waist, and green eyes. She also wore a showy white nun's habit with gold embroidery that was reminiscent of a nouveau riche teacup. She would have stood out anywhere.

She was a foreigner that Kamijou had taken upon himself to protect from the so-called magicians. Inadvertently, I ended up helping him save her by taking out the magicians so now I was stuck with a similar treatment as him.

She wasn't a bad kid, it was more that she lacked any form of common sense when it came to the real world.

It's not surprising since up until a few months ago the so-called magicians were erasing her memories over and over again in some idiotic attempt to save her.

Idiots.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?" She pouted her face at me while looking annoyed, "Are you even supposed to be out of the hospital yet?"

I rolled my eyes at her question.

It was so dumb that I didn't even bother responding and just made my way past her.

While physically I wasn't the strongest person by any stretch of the imagination, I was sure as hell stronger than a 4'10 kid with no upper body strength whatsoever.

So that's why she was currently being dragged by me while trying her hardest to tug on my shirt.

Under normal circumstances, I could've just reflected her hand off my body with my ability but that would be too much force.

It was like calling an airstrike on a kid for staying out past curfew, not a proportional response to use on a kid who didn't know any better.

"Ahh, Index! What're you doing!?"

The voice coming to my left was also familiar.

It was the girl who was currently this kid's babysitter, I think her name was Saten Ruiko?

Whatever her name was she helped pry Index off of me, much to the silver-haired girl's chagrin.

"Hmph!"

She turned her head in a huff at me like the situation was somehow my fault.

After receiving an apology from Saten. I shrugged.

It wasn't like it was anything new, and from the way she treats Kamijou, it was a lot better than getting bitten.

Although if she did even try that I already knew a good doctor to take her to.

Not that it would ever actually happen, she was smart enough to know not to pull anything like that on me.

Unlike the idiot, I repay absurdity in kind.

"Come on Ruiko, let's go see Touma!"

With Saten in hand, she marched towards the entrance of the hospital.

"He already left."

"!"

That seemed to stop her in her tracks.

"Eh!? Touma already left!? We have to go find him!"

She grabbed my hand and started dragging me with her towards the city.

I was wondering how we could find the guy but I quickly realized that she really didn't have an interest in finding him.

How did I come up with this conclusion you may ask?

Well, it might have to do with the fact that we ended up in an outdoor restaurant for brunch!

"I want this..and this, oh I also want that and-"

Her order seemed to go on forever as I just sat at my seat taking sips of the water I was lucky enough to order before her.

After what seemed to be an eternity, she finished her order.

Though the server didn't bother to take our orders as he left in a rush to get to the kitchen.

I really couldn't blame him, from his perspective one would assume that she was ordering for everyone at the table and not just herself.

My day was turning out to be less boring than I originally planned.

However, out of the corner of my eye, I could see Saten trying her hardest to not look like she's looking over my shoulder while looking over my shoulder.

Not wanting to be left out in whatever she's looking at, I turned around.

It was just some dumb kids that were playing with what looked like an envelope.

"Gimme! That's mine!"

"Nuh-uh! I found it first, you just ran there and grabbed it before I could!"

The kids looked like they were fighting over it as the one-child pounced onto the other in an attempt to take it out of their hands.

I turn my head back towards her and she turns her head away.

I went to say something, but she cuts me off.

'S-Say Yuki-san, what level are you?"

"Stop bothering me with dumb questions."

She seemed to shrink after I gave her my response.

It wasn't as though I was opposed to giving her my Level it was more that she only asked that question to avoid the subject at hand.

"Do you know what those brats over there are doing?"

She averted her eyes as she mumbled something.

"Money cards?"

"What?"

I've heard about them before, they were as their name implied, cards that hold money, but that didn't explain anything for me.

"..There's a rumor going around that someone's been hiding money cards in out of the way places around the city, I didn't think it was true until I saw those kids over there…"

There was a look of envy on her face as she said this.

"...If you want, I could watch the runt until I find someone to drop her off with."

I offered, though I don't understand why I did.

"R-Really?"

She had this look in her eyes that was mixed with relief and gratitude.

"Yeah."

Without wasting another second, she got up from her chair and handed me what looked like a small book bag that I recognized.

Apparently, it was a limited edition run from a famous bookbag company that was worth well over 150,000 yen. I know this since I was there when she picked it out. I was worried that she might lose it on her first day but soon realized that it was more Saten's bag to carry Index's things around in style than anything.

It was like her Index kit.

"Be good Index, bye!"

She shouted this as she ran out of the restaurant faster than I've seen most pro track stars run.

"Huh? Where's Ruiko going? I wanted her to share some of her meal with me."

"Isn't gluttony unbecoming of a nun?"

Index wheeled around towards me with the same expression a child might make if their mother suddenly told her she couldn't have her dessert after dinner.

A look of hurt and despair which only caused me to sigh again.

"I'll never get used to this…"

Right as I muttered this a pair of tiny hands punched at my legs

"Alright! So where are we going to look first!"

I shrugged.

To be honest I never really expected we'd make it out of that restaurant in the first place.

The banquet that she called brunch took a full hour to prepare and another for her to scarf down.

To be honest I was having a hard time believing that she was so petite since what I saw her just eat could've fed an entire class.

"I guess we should just call him."

It was the simplest way to find the guy and it beats having to scour the entire city just to find him.

"I erm...my phone? It doesn't seem to work anymore…"

She averted her eyes to her feet as she handed me her phone.

How was it that she managed to break a brand-new phone in just a day?

I examined it for a good 10 seconds before realizing the problem.

"It's dead."

She coupled her hands on her face with a look of shock.

"I-I didn't mean it!"

I couldn't help but groan at her response.

"Not literally! The battery, it's out of power. You did charge it, right?"

"...Charge it?"

Why'd I even ask?

"Look just give it to that urban legends freak the next time you see her, she should be able to revive it. Hey why are in a rush to find him anyway?"

"That's because we need to plan the-GAH!"

She covered her mouth as though she was just about to release a state secret.

Right as I was about to question her about that I heard it.

Meow

Was that a cat?

"Did you bring your cat with you?"

She nodded.

"How?"

Index smiled as the cat she named Sphinx poked its head out of a hole in her shirt.

It seemed as though she domesticated the thing in the short time she had it as a pet.

I didn't know whether to admonish her for bringing it with her like this or to be impressed that she trained it so well, so I just ignored it altogether and pulled out my phone.

I quickly dialed his number and called.

.

.

.

"Yuki…"

.

.

.

"Yuki...I don't think he's picking up his phone.

.

.

.

.

"Yuki...it's been 10 minutes…."

.

.

.

.

That son of a bitch.

The one time I actually try to find him and he decided to ghost me!

"Index? Is that you?"

"Etsu! What're you doing here?"

Approaching was none other than the hikikomori herself, the #6.

Like me, she was a Level 5 but unlike me she was Gemstone.

She was some sort of a psychokinetic who was strong enough to manipulate gravity at will. To the average esper, she would seem invincible, in fact she even boasted about being able to fend off a thermal bomb, but to me, she was just some shut-in who was only a bit stronger than the average third rates of this city.

"I was just seeing if I could find Kamijou-san. How about you?"

"Same, me and Yuki aren't having any luck either."

For some reason or another, it seemed that the two of them had hit it off and become friends.

Suddenly an idea hit me.

"Oi shut-in catch!"

"Eh? What's this, a backpack? Hey, where are you going!?"

"Make sure to drop her off at the Urban legends freak's place when you're done."

I waved her off as I made my way down the street.

She was trustworthy enough to leave in charge of the runt. Coupled with the fact that she was a Level 5 and I didn't have to worry that some cultist would try to take her again.

Honestly, if I left the runt to her own devices who know where she'd end up. I've seen enough of this city to know that if you dropped off some innocent kid like her in the middle of it someone would no doubt try to take advantage.

It seemed that the two of them weren't planning on following me any further so I made my way to somewhere else I had in mind.

After walking for what seemed like forever, I finally made it to my destination.

An alley.

In just one day this would be where the next experiment would take place.

I felt my blood rising hot up my neck. What the hell was going on? What the hell? What the hell?

It wasn't as though it would be any different than it has been before.

I already talked to Index about these so-called perfect golems and she said that they were only hypothetical.

Considering the dolls as actual people would be an actual stretch than anything.

It's the same as when people consider characters in video games as real. Sure, they had personality but that's only because it was programmed into them. While you might have some sort of emotional attachment to them that doesn't make them any more real than the pixels on the screen that they were presented on.

But even knowing all of this, I could still feel my blood boil.

"Hey shrimp! Gimme your money."

I couldn't even be bothered to turn around.

Whoever it was, was probably some no named loser out to make a quick buck.

I've seen my fair share of those types though that was only at night when I…

What the hell was in his hands….

"Where did you get that?"

My eyes were immediately fixated on what one of the goons had in his hands.

It was a vanilla colored backpack, the same one that belonged to Index.

There was no way these third-rate shits could've possibly beaten the #6 so all that's left was that they stole it from her when she wasn't looking.

Those bastards

They were disgusting.

They were probably thinking they could make a quick buck stealing from a naive girl, while in reality, all that was in there was her cell phone and some random junk she collected over the day.

Could they be any worse?

"Huh!? Who the hell do you think you are mouthin off to, you little punk!"

I was glaring at these rats as if I could kill them with my eyes.

They were lower than trash.

"I said where did you get the bag!?"

"So you're going to resist, eh!?"

One of the rats hit me.

It made a good sound, his fist. But it didn't hurt. It didn't even irritate me. The rat, rather, seemed to have hurt his fist. He was cradling it like a baby bird as he stepped away from me while sobbing.

"Wha-Wha?!"

The other two seemed to get the message as they all immediately started to back up.

I swung my arms to get the blood flowing again.

"T-This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

The one rat who was carrying the bag threw it at the ground in front of me.

The pure vanilla-colored bag was now covered in all the grime and filth that covered the alley's ground.

Seeing that only made me more pissed.

*Clink…*

Ah, yes. I remembered the stash I had hidden in my pocket.

"Check it out! This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

I removed it from its spot. It was the last 80 yen I had. I threw one coin forcefully at a nearby dumpster.

*Boom!*

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

They started screaming and rolling around on the floor.

I went up and grabbed the now filthy bookbag and put it over my shoulder.

There was no reason to get it dirty with the blood of these rats.

Leaving the scene, I could feel myself calm down if only just a little.

Checking if they had taken anything I was slightly relieved to find that nothing was missing.

They probably saw it was all junk and planned on selling the backpack itself for a profit.

I've been walking for what seemed to be an hour as I made my way down the streets.

Saten should be able to clean off what those damned rats did and if not I'd probably just get her a new one.

The shut-in probably handed the bag to the runt in the first place thinking that she was responsible enough to watch over it herself.

As if.

*whoosh!*

As I made my way down the street I could only describe what I saw as a blizzard of envelopes all flying away from what looked to be another alley.

How great, not like I didn't have enough of those in my life.

I cracked my neck and made my way towards the alley.

It was near enough for me to not have to run towards it before the hailstorm of envelopes finished flying overhead.

It's a small back alley. Even though it's past noon the sunlight has yet to reach this area, the dimly lit dark alleys formed a complex maze as if to deter people from entering.

Once I finally reached the entrance and made my way inside, I was greeted by some girl who looked like she was having a bad day.

She was wearing a lab coat but it wasn't buttoned properly so I could see the school uniform she wore underneath.

Nagatenjouki Academy, I went there for the briefest of times before the experiments went underway but as always, they seemed to not want me around the general populace and kept me cooped up in some room by myself.

In the end, I dropped out. What was the point in going to school if I already knew everything there was in the curriculum?

Still, that didn't take away the fact that they were one of the top-ranked schools in Academy City.

So what was this student doing here?

"Oi."

She seemed to jump as she heard my voice echoed through the alley.

When she turned around to see me a look of horror washed over her face.

It was the same look a child would make at its parent when they were caught red-handed.

Seeing her face clearly for the first time I couldn't help but feel as though I've seen it before.

"Hey, do I know you?"

"N-No."

Liar.

She was currently backing up from me slowly as I walked towards her.

I know I've seen her before, and it wasn't like she had one of those faces either.

"Now I know I've seen you before."

There was no reason for her to back up from me unless she knows who I am. From the outset, I look like some scrawny teenager in need of a tan. Plus she seemed the type smart enough to leverage the fact that she went Nagatenjouki to scare off any potential attackers.

"..."

She went silent as she started to freeze up.

Since I started becoming independent, I'd learned a thing or two about how to get your way.

The first of which were threats. If you had the power you could use it to force people to agree to things they normally wouldn't. For me, that wasn't a problem, a quick flex of my power would usually get the job done This strategy worked best on haughty individuals.

But looking at the way this girl was acting, she was already a push away from passing out on me if I did show her my abilities.

The next was a negotiation. We form our relationships with people based on the ebb and flow of conversation. It works best on people who aren't antagonistic. This girl wasn't exactly antagonistic. She was scared.

If neither of these methods would work on her, it must mean that…

"You know exactly who I am."

She didn't say a word as she started shaking.

Seeing how she was reacting, she was probably someone involved in the experiments.

Things were starting to make sense.

She was already well aware of who I am and what I'm capable of so any type of threat would have her completely shutting down on me and any negotiation would just end in her lying to me in fear for her life.

If I wanted her to budge, I could make her, but in doing so I would have to do some unsavory things and I just wasn't in the mood for that anymore.

"Whatever I guess I got you mixed up with someone else. Sorry for wasting your time."

When I said this, she looked slightly disappointed.

When I finally walked past her I could hear her mumble something to herself.

"Sorry…."

I didn't reply, I just kept walking forward irritated.

She was probably some genius who was recruited to work on the project. It probably wasn't even me who she was apologizing too.

Curfew was drawing near as I finally made my way towards Saten's dorm.

The street lights were on so I'd assume she'd be home by now.

I knocked on the door to her dorm only to hear a small scuffle in the background and then the door swung open.

"Yuki!"

I was greeted by that same bright and cheery face from the silver-haired runt.

"You lost this."

She had a look of shock on her face as she frantically turned around to look at her bed only to realize that this was her bag.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She was apologizing so furiously it was starting to get annoying.

I guess she thought I would be mad.

But how could I be when she didn't even realize it wasn't her fault that it got stolen anyway.

I walked over to her. I reached out my hand, but she curled away from it.

"Oh come on..."

I set my hand on her shaking shoulder.

"Just don't lose it next time."

She looked at me confused.

"Uhh...aren't you mad?"

"What's the point of being mad at a repentant person. Don't worry about it, just don't let it happen again."

In any case, the backpack was still in working condition but was still filthy. I wondered if Saten could get out the stains.

I went over to her and explained the situation, she was surprisingly understanding of the situation and got out of bed and started to try to clean the bag as best she could in her washing machine.

Index kept walking beside me like she was the worst thing in the world. It was getting on my nerves.

"I told you not to worry about it!"

"... Okay."

... She was an honest kid. But if I told her how she really lost her bag it might cause more problems for me down the road.

"Ah..."

Her stomach was growling again.

Her face flushed red from embarrassment.

Saten's face smiled.

"Do you want a snack?"

"Uh..yeah."

I raised my eyebrow.

"Okay, here's your punishment, no late-night snacks."

"Eh!?"

I could see her start to sweat already.

She looked downtrodden at first, but her thinking it was punishment, she nodded and went to her bed.

"So why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Eh? W-What'd you mean?"

"You're quieter than I've ever seen you before, what happened?"

Seeing that lying to me wasn't an option, she told me what happened.

"Hmmm."

"D-Don't look at me like that? I-I know what I saw was crazy, but it really did happen ...I think."

I sighed as I got up from the chair I was sitting on.

"Look just forget about whatever you saw. It was probably just your imagination."

I headed out the door without another word.

I headed towards the alley she was talking about. Though I didn't hold out much hope that whoever was there was still there.

Coming towards the opening I could already see why someone like her would get scared.

The entrance to the alley was barely lit and the walls were narrower than usual due to one of the building's odd designs. Seeing this in the pitch-black night would make most people think twice about entering here.

But not me.

After making my way towards the center of the alley I could hear it.

Shuffling.

"You can stop hiding now!"

"...Misaka wasn't hiding, reports Misaka as Misaka comes out from her hiding spot."

Appearing in the flickering lights of the alley was one of the dolls.

It had shoulder-length light-brown hair, a white short-sleeved blouse, a summer sweater, and a pleated skirt.

"I take it you're the next doll to be targeted in the experiments?"

It held the same emotionless doll-like face that it always did.

"Yes, Misaka is Serial Number 9865, responds Misaka. However, shouldn't you check using the passcode to ensure that Misaka is part of the experiment? suggests Misaka."

I clicked my tongue.

"What are you doing here? The experiments aren't supposed to start up until tomorrow or are you eager to start again?"

"Negative, replies Misaka, Misaka is just trying to get situated with the new environment, answers Misaka, after 17 days without combat Misaka feels as though she needs to get acclimated to get herself combat-ready, responds Misaka."

It's been 16 days so far, huh.

With everything that's happened to me so far, I guess I just lost track of time.

"Is that so? I didn't know that harassing the general populace was a part of your training."

"...Are you referring to the girl that spotted Misaka here earlier, asks Misaka looking for confirmation."

"Yeah, you know there's a reason why they give you a schedule, right? I mean I know your brain was just made 14 days ago, but I thought they drilled that fact into your skull by now."

Honestly was this doll defective or something? I know trying to get the lay of the land is a basic strategy but doing it in the middle of the night would only arouse more suspicion.

"...Misaka will take that under advisement, responds Misaka."

Hearing that monotone response pissed me off. I felt like smacking that thing across the street would make me feel better.

Instead of doing that, I opted to leave. I started to walk off.

But as I did, I heard the doll's voice speak up.

"...Misaka would like to inquire on how you came to know about Misaka's meeting with that unfortunate girl, asks Misaka."

She still held that same blank expression as it looked at me.

"Because I was stuck cleaning up your mess."

If it wasn't for me Saten would probably start singing her encounter with the doll from the rooftop.

"Oh…."

I swear all I wanted to do was get out of there. How long did I have to stand around talking to this doll?

"Misaka apologizes for having you work during your recovery period, says Misaka."

…

Did it just…

"Forget about it. I don't need to be talked down to, from some doll,"

"That wasn't Misaka's intention, clarifies Misaka. Misaka was just informed that the Test Subject Accelerator was undergoing a recovery period hence the 17-day postponement to the experiments, explains Misaka."

Just standing here was making me sick.

Hearing the doll's monotone voice was starting to wear on my nerves. I continued to walk past the doll.

"...If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell out of my way."

"?...It's difficult to understand what you mean by that, replies Misaka. The next experiment will start in 19 hours 8 minutes and 45 seconds."

I didn't reply.

I just kept walking.

I was back at the hospital.

I was lying in my bed just thinking about the experiments.

Up until this point in my life as an esper, I never actually experienced pain.

Sure, there were times that I was irritated but never had I felt pain like I did that first time I touched that black fire.

It was right around that same time that I started to think that I would lose to her.

Strange, up until that point I would've been relieved if someone managed to dethrone me if that were the case then I wouldn't have the whole world gunning for me.

But it was also around that time that I realized that I didn't want to lose either if I did lose then I would've died alongside Kamijou that day.

It was that fear, that emotion that made me want to get stronger.

Now compare that to the Level 6 Shift Project and I was left disappointed.

I went through nearly 10,000 dolls and never once did I have that sensation that 'drive' to get stronger.

I could effortlessly swat down 10 to 20 dolls at a time without even breaking a sweat, they could bring assault rifles, anti-tank rifles hell they could've even hijacked a fighter jet and I still wouldn't have worried for my life.

They told me that as the experiments went along the fights would get to be more difficult, but I wasn't seeing it.

They were all supposed to have a collective consciousness or something that would make the next one smarter than the last but thinking about it, what difference would that make?

You could be smart enough to find the millionth digit to pie, but that wouldn't make taking a bullet to the face any easier. So, how would knowing that my power can kill you in a touch help you defeat me?

Sure, they could run away, but that didn't mean they could get faster.

They were all programmed and premade with the same body so getting stronger wasn't an option.

Sure, you could arm them with state of the art weaponry, but that won't make them have any better of a shot of getting passed my reflection than any of the other people who already used that weapon against me.

Up until this point, I was going off of what the Tree Diagram reported in its calculations.

It said that if The Level 5 known as Accelerator were to fight the Railgun 128 times, he would achieve Level 6.

However, due to manufacturing defaults, they couldn't replicate the real Railgun's power and could only make subpar clones of her that at best reached Level 3.

Due to this Tree Diagram concluded that if I battled 20,000 of the Railgun's clones in 20,000 different battlefields that I would achieve what I wanted, Level 6.

"Those who are not deities that reach the sense of the heavens"

The ultimate goal of Academy City.

It was what that hack of a villain Therristina tried to accomplish with the coma kids.

Something so strong that no one would even dare to try to challenge you.

However, after seeing how these past couple of days turned out, can I really say that with a straight face anymore?

….It was the whole reason why I even started the experiments in the first place.

To become a Level 6….

….Why?

I can't seem to remember why that was my dream in the first place anymore…

It's like whenever I try to, my head gets fuzzy….

I can't seem to stay awake anymore…

August 11

I woke up in the same room that I was calling home for 17 days now.

My vacation time was up.

The doctor told me I could stay if I didn't feel well, but I knew I couldn't.

I already knew that this was going to end one way or another. Better to be the one to do it.

Without another word, I packed my things and headed out the door.

It was still early so the sun was barely up yet.

That's good, I wouldn't have to be hassled by traffic as I made my way back to my dorm.

I took one last look at what I called home and sighed.

It wasn't anything special, but for some reason, I felt heavy after looking back.

I continued walking forward.

"Yuuukii! Waiiiiit!"

My eardrums rang.

That familiar whine.

"Oi runt! What the hell are you doing here!?"

Without another word, she came rushing towards me with some envelope in her hands.

"Wai…..Wai ...Wai ...Wait….."

It seemed as though she was running for quite a while to be that out of breath.

"Here."

She shoved the envelope in my hands."

"What's this?"

With bright green eyes, she nudged towards the letter.

"Open it."

I complied and read the details.

You've been invited to Yuki's Surprise Welcome Back Party! ( ͡ ͜ ʖ ͡ )

雪- Pure as the driven snow

Help us celebrate Yuki's return! (ﾉ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

The food will be provided by Touma because he promised!

Where: Touma's House!

Time: 6:00 PM!

It's a Surprise Party so show up early! ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖) ~~

"Heh heh heh heh!"

I couldn't help but laugh at this!

It was a surprise party!

She messed the most basic thing!

From the look of confusion, she was giving me, it seems that she didn't know what she did wrong.

After reading the invitation one more time I could tell that someone probably wrote these by hand, most likely her due to how crappy the drawing on it was.

"What's so funny?"

She had a serious look on her face.

"Nothing…"

She glanced over at the invitation then to me and came to a realization.

"Ohh…"

Did she get it?

"You don't have to show up early."

So close.

"You are coming, right?"

I glanced over at the time on the envelope and see that the party would start at 6:00 PM, right around the same time as the experiment.

"Probably not..."

I don't like to make promises that I can't keep.

She looked disappointed at that answer.

"...Oh…"

"...But if I did, I'd probably be late."

Why did I say that?

"Really!?"

"...Yeah."

I put the invitation in my back pocket and kept walking back to my old dorm.

"I'll be waiting for you, Yuki!"

I didn't say anything as I continued on my way.

Afterward, I realized how rude I was. But at the time it was all I was really capable of.

When I finally got back to my room I had to air out all the dust that had accumulated over the days I was gone.

Everything was still in one piece and the door was still locked so I assumed no one broke in.

Once inside I could see just how dark everything around me was. The curtains were drawn in so no light could seep in making the atmosphere all the more dreary.

It was a stark contrast to the white room I had in the hospital.

They say the bright colors help boost vitality so my guess was that was what they were going for there.

It was also a lot quieter.

My neighbors were never the rowdy type. Though I was only guessing that since I never actually seen any of them.

Pulling out my phone and setting my alarm, I started to lay down on my bed.

Closing my eyes I could feel the seconds turn into minutes.

In just a few more hours.

My old life was going to start up again.

They weren't real.

They all kept telling me they weren't real!

All they do is keep marching towards me in some meaningless way! They never once acted like a person!

They weren't real!

Real people annoy the hell out of you, real people eat enormous portions of food and act like it was nothing, real people have emotions and don't talk like a fucking robot!

They were all fake!

Even thinking about those things now was enough to make my hatred boil over.

.

.

.

.

'Pleased to meet you, Misaka answers'

I woke up in a pure white enclosed environment with one of the dolls.

What? Why does it have a gun? No how did I even get here?

Looking around I recognize the layout, it was where the experiment took place before we moved to the outside.

Sparing another glance at the clone I could see it was on the floor, twitching trying its best to get back up, most likely as a result of me flinging it across the room.

I remember this.

"The first experiment isn't finished until you dispose of the experiment subjects behind you."

"Eh?"

Why? Wouldn't I achieve the same results by just beating it? Why did I have to kill it?

"Please continue the battle."

What's the point? It's not like it's going to make a difference?

"Acknowledged… continuing the experiments...as Misaka obeys orders."

It was struggling to breathe.

Why? Why are you doing this, don't you want to live?

"Disposal? What are you ..."

*Pop!*

I could hear the shot as it echoed through the room.

It wasn't real

It wasn't…

"Yuki…"

"!?"

"What the hell are you doing here!"

There, lying in a puddle of her own blood was the same runt as before.

Her white Nun's habit was now soaked red and her glowing complexion was becoming paler by the second.

Her eyes that were once so full of life were growing dimmer as she struggled to speak.

"Dark... Deep... Like sinking to the bottom of the ocean... So this is death..."

It wasn't my fault!

She shot at me! I was just defending myself!

It wasn't my fault!

"Yes, well Done!"

What the hell was he saying!

"With this, the first experiment has been concluded!"

She's...she's dead…

"There's no need to hold back, They've all been made from Drugs and Protein,-"

What the hell is he saying! She was just trying to live the best life she could! After everything, she's been through. She didn't deserve this! She didn't deserve to be turned into fodder like this!

Hate!

Hate!

It's all this damn world's fault!

If people didn't try to attack me every other minute I would've never even considered this!

It's not my fault!

"They're just like Dolls, Afterall."

.

.

.

.

Dolls?

Looking at the corpse again I could see that it was the clone.

The...doll.

They're dolls, aren't they?

That's what they said.

That's what they all said...

*Beep!*

I woke up in my darkroom.

I remembered why I started this in the first place.

Power.

No, not just power…

Absolute Power.

Power so no one would even dare to challenge me again.

That's why I started this…

That's why I started piling up a bigger body count than most communities.

Why should I care if I kill them, they don't.

They just keep marching towards me like toy soldiers. Waiting for me to rip them apart piece by piece.

Looking at the time I saw that it was about to be 6:00 PM.

Getting up, I got dressed and left.

Stepping into the alley I could smell the air get mustier with each step I took.

While the sun was still out, the alley was dimly lit as only small rays of light leaked in enough for me to see my surroundings.

After walking what felt like an eternity I finally made it.

"So it's 5:55... I take it you're the next doll to be targeted in the experiment?"

She had the shoulder-length brown hair and the military goggles on her forehead. She wore the short-sleeved white blouse, summer sweater, and pleated skirt.

"Yes, Misaka is Serial Number 9865, responds Misaka. Are you ready to recommence the experiments, asks Misaka."

I took a deep breath.

"...Yeah."

There was no point in trying to go against it now.

Even while facing death in the face, the clone still had that same blank expression on its face.

Nothing was going to change from me backing out now.

I was nearly halfway there.

Just a little longer.

"Recognized, responds Misaka."

Staring at the clone I count as the minutes go by…

1

.

2

.

3

.

4

Just one more minute.

The clone puts on her military headgear in preparation for its death.

.

.

.

'****'

.

.

This was it….

*Sniffle*

What was that?

I look up to the clone and I can see that she was shaking.

"Hey what's the.."

I reached out my hand towards her, but she curled away.

"No, No please!"

What?

"Misaka...doesn't want to die!"

My heart stopped.

I could see the tears as they ran down her goggles.

Was this a trick?

I pulled out my phone to check the time

5:59

The clones were forbidden from taking any type of action against me before the designated time table.

So it couldn't be one

"Please! Misaka doesn't want to die!"

She was now huddled behind a trashcan, still shaking.

How?

"Oi. What the hell is this? Are you saying you don't want to die?"

She nodded her head while shaking.

Looking at her now...I could see that she looked different...

I looked at my phone for one last time

6:00 PM

She was still huddled in a corner.

Why?

This never happened before!

Why!?

Why after 9000 times did this happen!?

I could feel my blood as it started to boil.

I clenched my fist and walked up to her.

I had to do it.

I stretched my arm out to touch her.

It was the only way!

The only way I could get stronger!

It was…

"Please…...stop."

My hand stopped short.

Those were the words I wanted to hear from the beginning.

I felt as though the dark shadows that were looming over me were starting to part.

I felt relief.

"Get outta here!"

"Huh?"

"I said get outta here! Are you deaf! Leave, scram! Do I have to spell it out for you! Get lost!"

I went into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. I grabbed all the bills inside and stuffed it in her hands.

I turned around from the clone.

"I'm done."

I headed out of the alley, but not before hearing something behind me.

"...Thank you…"

"..."

I couldn't say anything. It didn't make sense to me.

Nothing made sense anymore.

But I knew one thing for certain.

I had someplace I had to be.

.

.

.

.

My feet carried me to my destination.

Looking up at the staircase I could tell I had a long way to go.

After the first few flights, I could feel my breathing getting heavy.

It was now pitch-black outside.

The lights in the staircase must've been broken because I stumbled up more times than I cared to count.

Once I reached the floor I was walking towards, I could see it.

The bright lights of the room I was heading towards.

The air seemed to be light as I stepped closer.

Once I was close enough I could hear it.

The shuffling and bustling of people on the other side.

I reached my hand out to the door handle but stopped.

I didn't deserve this…

After everything how could I…

That light that was on the other side didn't belong to someone like me.

I was someone who should be left to rot in the darkness for all eternity.

There was no way I could ever go there.

Absolutely no way.

So why, why does my arm not want to pull back.

Why won't my body move forward or backward!

My mind and heart felt as though they were sinking.

.

.

.

.

*Clink*

"What're you doing? Come on. Everyone's waiting for you."

The light that peered open from the room flooded the darkness of the hallway.

My arm was still extended outwards as if trying to grab something.

Kamijou saw this and grabbed my hand.

"Come on!"

He grabbed my hand.

*Shatter*

And pulled me inside.

I felt kindness.

Kamijou squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.

I'd be okay

If I was with someone who believed in me, I could take the first step.

My fight was only just beginning. I didn't need to rush, just take one step and a time.

And so I did.

Epilogue

"Praise me more Shinobu-san!"

"Alright, you're smart, okay. I'll admit controlling one of the Sisters was the right call but was it really okay?"

Misaki nodded

"He just needed a push in the right direction."

Misaki sighed.

"However, if he ever found out what I did, I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to kill me on the spot."

Shinobu nodded.

"Now onto the next issue, the Sisters."

"What're you talking about?"

Hearing what Shinobu had said, Misaki couldn't help but grimace at the thought.

"It looks like 'he' isn't done with this after all."

"Out of the darkness and into the light only to be dragged back by the sins of the past. What an interesting tale..."

Author's Notes

The and we've entered the first official chapter of the Sister's Arc.

The prologue was 3 chapters and the main part will probably be longer.

If you're wondering about the numbers, in cannon Shinobu implanted emotional code in the newest sister that was born on August 19, we later find out that sister was number 19090. We also learn from the Manga that on May 11 clone 9982 was born. With those numbers, we can assume that they spaced out the production of the clones to save money.

Also in that same month experiment 9802 was completed and they started moving the experiment outside. With this, we can see a trend that they use the clones in ways that express how many they would use at once. I suspect that the reason why they were so many around at the same time was to save in clean up costs since the experiments outside would require a lot of cleaning. The way the experiments would have to be laid out would be a one on one since Tree Diagram said that Accelerator had to both kill 20,000 clones as well as use 20,000 different battlefields so multiple clones being used in one setting would probably ruin the experiment.

In the Manga, we see evidence that contradicts this but I think they drew to add dramatic flair to the scene. Though this is just m way of trying to make sense of a crazy experiment like this.

I wonder what Shinobu meant by that?

Anyway, Thanks for reading.