Chapter 3

Accelerator asked her a very simple question: “What is your deal?” “…Misaka doesn’t know anymore…” 8 Hamazura ran like hell to escape the delinquents. While it depended on whom the persuers were and what the exact situation was, the trick to fleeing on foot was to alternate between large roads and small ones. Repeating that process would largely prevent the use of cars or bikes. When it came to dealing with peacekeepers like Anti-Skill, it was better to head toward more deserted places, whereas with law-ignoring delinquents, sticking to more populated areas was ideal. Sometimes the gazes of passersby and exercising plain common sense would be enough to end most chases. With all that in mind, the thing that needed to be avoided no matter what was long, direct routes. It was critical to keep turning little corners over and over to increase the likelihood of losing them completely. While this was an effective strategy for throwing off pursuants, it came with an important caveat. …Shit! I don’t know District 10’s streets!! I really hope I’m heading north right now!! You could easily lose your sense of direction after turning a few unfamiliar corners. It was more than possible to think you had run far away when you’d actually done a long U-turn, and the next thing you knew, you were surrounded again. To prevent this from happening, you could first pick a direction to flee in, turning tight corners while making sure to keep going in the same general direction. This was all well and good in theory, but if delinquents suddenly surrounded you and you were running for your life, it was harder to put into practice. “Haah!! Haah!! …C-crap. Those two… They’d better remember this. One hundred spanks for each of them when this is over. As for Takitsubo… Yeah, she probably feels amazing stripped down, judging from before…” Hamazura’s thighs hurt from running at a full sprint for so long, and his lungs were beginning to malfunction. Finally, he stopped and looked around. His pursuers were nowhere in sight. Checking a nearby map sign, he realized he was in District 7 now. He’d crossed over at some point. For a moment, and honestly just for a moment, Hamazura thought of the others. But he quickly banished the worries from his mind. Every one of those delinquents had been chasing him, and even if they’d gone for the girls, they wouldn’t stand a chance against a Level Five and a Level Four. Maybe I should text them to tell them I’m safe, he thought admirably. Wait, no. If they know I’m out of harm’s way, they won’t waste any time getting me involved in the next ridiculous situation. I’ll just play dead for a little longer— Thump. He bumped into someone’s shoulder. Upon closer inspection, that someone was a girl with short brown hair. She was probably in middle school. “Uh. Sorry,” he said out of reflex. She didn’t answer. The girl walked away unsteadily, disappearing into the crowd. …What was up with her? That was a Tokiwadai uniform, wasn’t it…? he thought, looking in the direction she’d gone for a few moments. Seems like something’s going on there… Well, it’s got nothing to do with me. Thinking in circles wouldn’t get him anywhere. No longer needing his phone, Hamazura put it back in his pocket and glanced around, looking for a place to get a nice, cold drink. And then someone spoke up from right next to him. “Oh, hey, Hamazura. What’s wrong?” Still catching his breath from the run, he turned around. That was a face he remembered. “Hanzou?”