A Certain Magical Haruka

"Which amusement park are we going to anyways?"

"Academy City's largest amusement park. I forgot the name."

"'MISAKA has never been on a rollercoaster,' says MISAKA as MISAKA hides her nervousness."

"I doubt you're tall enough to go on one, brat."

"Actually, me neither. I was never allowed out of the lab, so I saw very little of the outside world."

"Heh. You're in trouble then, Hakutsuki."

"What are you thinking of, Accelerator?"

"I like all the dangerous and extremely terrifying rides. And since I have to keep an eye on you, you're coming with me."

"'Hey, that's not fair! MISAKA can't go on the rollercoasters,' exclaims MISAKA as MISAKA tries to glare at Accelerator."

"Who said I was going to make you go on one, brat?"

Yomikawa sighed. "Break it up already, guys. How about this, Kikyou and I take Last Order around the kiddie rides and Accelerator and Hakutsuki can go together on the rollercoasters."

"Aiho, shouldn't one of us go with the teenagers?"

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine." Haruka reassured the adults.

"Okay then. Accelerator, remember what we told you back at the apartment."

"I know already. Don't remind me."

Yomikawa drove the car into the parking lot of the amusement park. It took a while to find a spot since practically all the spots were filled. Finally, the car was parked, and the group went inside. Yoshikawa grabbed two maps and handed one to Accelerator.

"It's currently 2:00. Meet us in the parking lot at 7:00. 5 hours should be enough for you to go on all the rollercoasters. Do you have money, Accelerator?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. Let's go, Last Order."

The adults and Last Order soon disappeared into the crowd, heading in the direction of the kiddie rides. Haruka turned to Accelerator.

"Which one should we go on first?"

Accelerator looked around. "That one." He pointed at a dangerous looking ride with corkscrew turns and loops.

"It doesn't look too far away. Let's go."

It took around 2 minutes for them to reach the ride, but it took them 20 minutes to reach the front of the line. When they got to the front, a smiling young worker was helping riders into the seats. When the two reached the rollercoaster car, he gave the two a grin.

"Is this your first ride of the day?"

"Yeah."

"A lot of people choose this ride for their first ride. It's a great ride to get the adrenaline pumping. You'll get a nice view at the front of the car. Have fun!" As he was speaking, he pulled down the safety bar and locked in place, then stepped back and gave them a friendly wave.

With a jolt, the cars starting moving. Haruka grinned in anticipation while Accelerator had the blankest look on his face, but his eyes gleamed with anticipation. The ride sped up, and then all you could hear was screaming as the cars careened wildly at a lightning-fast speed through twists and loops.

After the ride

"Okay, I need to sit for a while."

"Tch. One rollercoaster and you need a break?"

"How come you're not dizzy?"

"This is the one time I'll be thankful for the crutch."

They found an empty bench and sat down. Haruka closed her eyes and rested, while Accelerator flipped through the map, checking out all the rollercoasters. After five minutes, he stood up.

"Oi, wake up. There's another rollercoaster we're going to try."

"Give me a break, that was my first ever rollercoaster ride."

"Well, too bad. I intend on using the five hours we had to explore all the rollercoasters, not sitting around. This is probably the most fun I've had that did not involve killing people." Accelerator had a tiny smirk on his face that was just a little maniacal.

"Fine, fine."

Accelerator's face suddenly turned serious. "I forgot to tell you something earlier, but now's the better time."

"Why is that?"

"Let's see: the adults aren't here, we're alone and nobody's stalking us right now. Yoshikawa and Yomikawa are going to discuss something related to our eighteenth birthdays tonight."

"Whaaaaat? How do you know?"

"They spoke a little too loudly. I simply directed the vectors of the sound waves in my direction. I couldn't listen to the conversation Yoshikawa had over the phone though."

"And what are you going to do?"

"We are going to eavesdrop tonight."

"Why are you going to include me?"

"Don't you want to know what will happen on my eighteenth birthday, or yours?"

"Okay, but what if we get caught?"

"Can't you use your ability with the elements to keep our movements silent? And if that doesn't work, I'll control the sound wave vectors."

"You seem to have everything planned out."

Accelerator shrugged. "I had plenty of time to think. Now, let's go on another rollercoaster."

***

Last Order, Yoshikawa and Yomikawa were waiting for the teens to arrive.

"I wonder what's taking them."

"Oh relax, Kikyou. They're probably walking over right now."

"'Look over there!' Exclaims MISAKA as MISAKA spots Hakutsuki-san and Accelerator-san."

"Either the amusement park sells alcohol or they went on too many rollercoasters," Yomikawa observed. Even from a distance, the sun lit up the espers, showing their flushed faces and slightly wobbly walking. Even Accelerator's normally pale face had the slightest tinge of pink, although he'd deny it later. Haruka was holding a large bag of blue cotton candy.

"I'll go with alcohol. Or they ate too much sugar."

"Shush, Aiho. They're still underage. Besides, Accelerator never eats any sugar unless we sneak it into his meals."

"Not for much longer. Do remember 18 is the drinking age in Academy City."

They fell silent as the pair approached them. Haruka had the hugest smile on her face and Accelerator's face had its usual blankness, but for the first time, the adults saw his ruby eyes sparkling with genuine excitement.

"Had fun?"

"The most I've ever had my life!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Well, let's head back now. Aiho, you're making dinner."

"Fine. That means you're driving."

"Alright."

On the route home, Last Order was busy recounting her time at the amusement park, occasionally snatching handfuls of cotton candy from Haruka.

"'By the way, Accelerator-san, you lied to MISAKA,' says MISAKA as MISAKA tries to be mad at Accelerator-san."

"About what, brat?"

Yoshikawa cut in. "Last Order was tall enough for a few rollercoasters."

"Tch. The brat isn't tall enough for the dangerous ones."

"She will be. And stop eating the cotton candy, Last Order. You'll spoil your dinner."

"You can't exactly tell her to stop, she's eaten it all." Haruka held up the empty bag so the adults could see.

"Hope you brush your teeth, brat, or else they'll rot off." Accelerator was smirking again. He seemed to be in very high spirits.

"'According to the MISAKA network, teeth don't rot. They get cavities.' Says MISAKA as MISAKA contradicts Accelerator-san."

"We're home. Time to get off." By some stroke of luck, Yoshikawa had arrived at the apartment just in time to stave off the brewing argument. They entered the apartment, where Yomikawa immediately got to cooking.

"Hey, Last Order, do you like puzzles?"

"'Yes, Hakutsuki-san!' Says MISAKA as MISAKA tries to hide her enthusiasm."

"I'll make you a puzzle then."

Haruka filled a bowl of water from the sink and carried it to the living room table.

"'Eh? Hakutsuki-san, can't you just make water with your ability?' Asks MISAKA as MISAKA tries to figure out the question."

"I don't exactly make water with my ability, I can pull the water molecules out of the air and condense them, creating liquid water. This takes up some energy, so having an actual water source is more convenient."

Last Order nodded slowly, and then gasped in surprise when the water floated up in the air and froze into a rectangle. The rectangle then split into regular shaped puzzle pieces. As the rectangle floated back to the table, it immediately rearranged itself so it turned into a pile of messed up puzzle pieces.

"Alright, here you go. The ice won't melt until you're done."

Last Order immediately got working on the puzzle. Haruka glanced at Accelerator, and went off to her room. Accelerator followed 5 minutes later, knocking on the door to Haruka's room.

"Come on in."

He entered and saw Haruka folding the clothes she had gotten earlier and stuffing them in the chest-of-drawers, and hanging up the jackets and hoodies. When she was done, she looked up at him.

"You struck me as a person who doesn't knock on doors before going in them."

"I've had… experiences."

She raised an eyebrow. "At least you've learned your lesson."

"Tch." Accelerator scoffed and looked around the room.

"Now, what are we going to do tonight?"

"How good is your ability when controlling air?"

"It could be better." As she was speaking, a gust of wind blew around the room and blew the door shut.

"Can you levitate?"

Haruka promptly rose off the ground in a sitting position, legs dangling in midair. She floated over to Accelerator with a smirk on her face. "I created a solid pocket of air pressure. I'm not using any kind of wind."

"Impressive."

"So, why do you need my abilities for tonight?"

"I'm going to ask you to float us over to the adults's room and eavesdrop on them. That will conceal the sounds of any movements we make. If their conversation is over 30 minutes, I cannot direct the sound wave vectors after that."

"I'd rather that you use your ability than mine. Creating that took a lot out of me. I doubt I can hold up two people for longer than 2 minutes. Air isn't my strongest element."

Accelerator stifled an urge to sigh. "Alright then."

"'Hakutsuki-san! MISAKA has finished the puzzle!' calls MISAKA as MISAKA tries to find Hakutsuki-san."

Haruka yelped as her concentration broke from the sudden call and went plummeting to the ground. Suddenly, she landed in someone's arms. Looking up, she saw Accelerator carrying her.

"Tch, be more careful next time." He set her down gently and quickly grabbed his crutch.

"T-Thanks."

"No problem. We might as well find the brat."

The two walked out of the bedroom to the living room, where Last Order was looking with pride at the completed ice puzzle.