Winter Cleaning

The Winter Cleaning (大掃除) is an ongoing protest by residents of Academy City, one of multiple demonstrations and movements around the world in the aftermath of R&C Occultics and the trial of Accelerator.

Causes and Motivations
The Winter Cleaning movement arose from the public revelation concerning two events which culminated on December 26th, the trial of Accelerator for the murder of the Sisters clones in the Level 6 Shift Project, and the destruction of R&C Occultics, after causing the Los Angeles Mass Disappearance.

Founder and CEO Anna Sprengel had intended for R&C Occultics to be destroyed from the beginning, in order to bring about a poisonous change in the world and its people, to sneer and watch as it suffered. After all the trouble caused on camera, she anticipated that people would push for the restriction of giant corporations and state management of the successful and elites, with insistence that the exceptionally rich need to be torn down into the mud as they were sure to use illicit and horrendous methods and claims that the world's standards needed to be aligned to lower classes to preserve peace and safety. While expecting a new age of uncontrollable riots and a reign of terror where anyone rising even slightly above the masses would be cut down, she believed that even if President Roberto Katze (and others) did not want to do it, he would have little choice with the crazed masses forcing his hand, with his beloved justice poisoned to kill all the people he hoped to protect.

Although there was no connection between R&C Occultics and Accelerator's clone killings, many people conflated the two as they entered the public conscience at the same time. Some commentators also noted that the movement to further restrict corporate activities was ironically helped by people's frustrations over the inconvenience of R&C Occultics shutting down. Winter Cleaning and related terms filled trending lists on social media, with a social phenomenon one commentator called an 'elite allergy'. Along with the demonstrations spread under the 'Winter Cleaning' hashtag (given the time of the year), dedicated communities were also popping up across the internet.

In the case of the District 1 protest late on December 29th, one of the voices amongst an angry deluge was claiming that the tyranny of those elites couldn't be allowed to continue and that the harmless average citizen like them needed to keep the monsters in check, stating the examples of R&C Occultics and Academy City's #1. Another claimed that the excess wealth was what allowed them to cover up their misdeeds, demanding to tax the rich and return the money to the people, saying to not let them hoard power.

Some young protestors seen by Kamijou Touma, heading for the District 7 station to get their voices heard from the TV cameras and live broadcast there, were carrying homemade signs talking about the Winter Cleaning. While they hid their identities with ski goggles, scarves and construction masks, it seemed more like they were putting on a show for cameras rather than participating in any serious underground activities.

Concurrent Events
As Winter Cleaning demonstrations were occurring on December 29th, there were frequent discussions and debates being held over the related causes; cloning and the misdeeds of the elite. When Shirai Kuroko was considering the debates, the commentators were noted to be either sweetly pro-clone or harshly anti-elite, with the feeling of trying alter public opinion for someone's convenience, seemingly feeling like multiple opinions were in conflict. There was also noted worry over the impact of the resultant distrust in Academy City's #1 Level 5 to students in the final stretch preparing for entrance exams, with their desire to learn dampened.

On December 29th, two new bills had been proposed in the United States House of Representatives; to investigate all corporations above a certain capital threshold and to amend laws protecting gifted children. Commentators suspected it was only a bluff to get in the headlines as the original proposer had the most to lose if they actually passed. They also doubted President Roberto Katze would be too happy either, seeing as artificially creating a level playing field and restricting the exceptional would contradict the foundation of capitalism.

Amongst the period of clone-related debates in the news and the human rights of clones being reorganized, there were individuals who expected that it would also lower the psychological barriers for those who would create them. It was reported in the news on December 29th that a biochemistry group of college students had been arrested in Nuremberg, Germany, having allegedly purchased and operated lab equipment in order to manipulate human DNA and create a human with less than 50% water content. The press officer involved apparently strongly denied rumors of the unofficial cooperation of Academy City in the speedy arrest and said that people must pay careful attention to the changes in science ethics in academia.

Post-Handcuffs Arc
On December 29th, Winter Cleaning demonstrations were occurring around all of Academy City's subway stations and its shopping district,   with the city on edge. Anti-Skill was not touching the demonstrations due to the crippling damage the organization sustained during Operation Handcuffs on December 25th.

Late in the day, as the Overhunting was preparing to transport survivors of the dark side from District 1 (a prime target of protests as the city's administrative center) to  District 10's prison, watching the protests on the station monitors, driver Matsuriba considered that they would be a target of anger and attacked by the students if not defended.

New Year's Arc
By January 1st, the social phenomena had taken on a new form, referred to as Kotatsu Syndrome, and was widespread among students making their New Year's shrine visits.