99 sat beside the Lord as he activated his Quirk, closing his eyes, leaning back in his armchair. Around stood a few others, a couple of Right Hand underbosses, and five Left Hand assassins. Her soldiers, the officers she had selected to defend Tselinoyarsk. The Right Hand would provide the muscle, protecting the village and the nuclear reactor, as well as a perimeter along the school. They were almost an army themselves. Inside, Lord Pestilentia had given her joint command with one of the agents from their sibling cell.
The Left Hand was divided in four groups. Two were retired assets; breeders and instructors. Instructors would teach the young, perform logistical tasks and debrief agents. Breeders were selected since childhood by their strength and their Quirks, how well they adapted, how fierce they fought. Mediocre, weak children could become agents and retire to be instructors. The strong would create the future, and breed.
In the 13th generation, 2nd division, 7th cell ninety-nine trainees had started, forty-five boys and forty-four girls. By the time they had turned seven years old, a third had died. By their tenth birthday, the weak and the strong had been selected. Six males and ten females. Among them had been 99 and her "sister" 98, "Himiko Toga". That name made 99 want to puke, she couldn't believe 98 would have let herself go so weak as to rely on names.
But not all children were trained for the same job. While the 2nd Division made spies, infiltrators, assassins, the 1st made super soldiers. By careful breeding (and at times, abduction) the 1st Division trained children to be unstoppable killing machines, their Quirks related to strength, size or resistance enhancement. A 16-year-old soldier was more than a match for a fully armed and armoured Mountain Brigade commando twice his age. Sadly, mortality rates for the 1st division were almost 90%, so 99 only had a handful to use.
Her command was joint with one of these super soldiers, 121842, or 42. He had a prodigious strength enhancement Quirk, five years of combat experience at the age of 20 and was probably the best tactician in the 1st division. The tall, blond soldier was also the one selected to be her mate when they were both retired, so they had worked together previously. 42 was good at what he did, was an efficient agent, and was the strongest, so 99 respected him.
With more time they might have gathered more power around them, but 99 felt confident no man could break her defences.
But her thoughts were interrupted, as the Lord had opened his eyes and made a small sound of anger. "She grew a bit of spine since last time, and someone on their side found a cheap counteract to my power. No matter, we are not likely to gain anything of value from any of these people at this point. 99, child, give me the report." "All ready, my Lord." "Good. You two, progress with your crews?"
The two underbosses nodded, and one answered, "We are a day away on my area." The other said "Around thirty hours for mine, boss." "I want everything on a dead man trigger. See to it that nothing stops us." The two men left, sparing the group of young adults around Pestilentia another scared glance. Most people grew afraid when they looked them in the eye. "Suit up, children. We have one of your own to welcome back."
99 left Pestilentia´s solar, heading to her cell to pick up her gear. An armoured sneaking suit, a length of green cloth from her first mission she used to tie her hair in a bun, a high frequency blade; a short sword, similar to a ninjato, which vibrated at a high speed, allowing for cutting through metal, an armour piercing submachinegun she could wield singlehandedly, a combat knife, a belt of grenades. 98 would not survive a clash against her.
Back in the command room she would occupy, adjacent to the Lord´s chambers, she met the rest of her officers, including 42, who looked imposing in his black and red up-armoured battle dress uniform, a "1st Division Tselinoyarsk" patch proudly on his shoulder. "You ready for them, 42?" "Anytime. Intel says they have one with strength enhancement too. I will enjoy breaking him in two."
After sparring with his teammates and exercising for a good while, Izuku Midoriya felt good with himself, confident in the mission and his own skills. He had worked up quite the sweat, so he would have to take a good long shower before getting Himiko to sleep. He couldn't let her go on a dangerous mission when it was so clear that she needed the rest. Pestilentia had been relentless with the nightmares as the day had approached, and now they had just a few hours to catch their eight hours before the fight. The final fight. Would Pestilentia fight them himself? Try to do something to their brains? On a straight up fight Izuku was confident he could absolutely wreck an elderly man!
He had been lost in his thoughts and entered the base housing without realizing, he was already in the small, cheaply furnished living room. "Oh hey, Izu-Izu! I heard you mutter you were going to punch an old man and had to come and ask!" Himiko peaked in from the bathroom, a toothbrush in her mouth (she was quite proud of keeping her teeth and fangs healthy). "I was just thinking about beating Pestilentia, that´s all…" She pouted and said "Just when I thought I had brought you to the side of chaos! Where we kick grandpas and steal candy from babies!" They both laughed for a good moment, then stayed watching each other´s eyes. Izuku liked those golden eyes, flecked with tiny green and amber lines. "Did I ever tell you I really love your eyes?" "A few times, yeah. I like it very much every time you say it." Her smile was soft.
And then she continued brushing her teeth while keeping eye contact, daring him to laugh with a few eyebrow raises. Izuku couldn't help but smile wide. Those playful eyebrow raises reminded him somehow of when they had been stuck in Okinawa, when Himiko had brainstormed a whole list of "cute nicknames" for him, a few hours before he asked her to hide from his rescuers and slip past unnoticed.
"Uh, Himiko…are you going to need the bathroom for a lot more?" He heard the water running in the sink briefly. "I´m done, you´re showering?" "Yeah" "Enjoy your shower then! The right´s the hot water!" Toga had washed at some point of the early morning, as her hair still seemed a bit damp. She left for the living room, sitting down on the couch and pulling out her phone, as Izuku closed the door he could listen to muffled music, an old rock song. Himiko had a very varied music taste, he had found, but her favourites were all in Izuku´s playlist.
The water was hot and had pretty good pressure, considering the "lowest bidder" quality that sometimes could be seen on military installations and housing, and Izuku found himself happily humming the jingle All Might had used in the Silver Age. Two things came up in his thoughts: how improbable it was that All Might had become such a big part of his life, had become his dad; and that he had never learned to whistle. Then again, did people even whistle in the age of Quirks? He remembered Kacchan would whistle all the time, and that it was kind of obnoxious, though it bothered him less than that classmate who thought he was a band drummer and didn't stop playing with his pens on his table…
He finished washing himself thoroughly, and spent some more minutes in, just enjoying the warmth. Finally, with a sigh, he turned off the shower, and dried himself. He looked at himself in the mirror, feeling kind of proud of how he wasn't as much of a babyface anymore. He put on some cologne, a gift from his mom, and his clothes.
Izuku left to join Toga in the living room, sitting next to her. "So there´s fifteen hours before we have to get ready, wanna see a movie or something?" Himiko nodded, and sprawled on the couch, resting her head on Izuku´s lap "Play with my hair?" "Sure." With one hand Izuku softly massaged her scalp, with the other he switched on the tv, looking for something interesting, before they finally settled on some old film about a Quirkless vigilante, a different version than the one Izuku knew, this one apparently danced and had infinite ridiculous gadgets in his belt. It was the kind of film Tsuyu loved and would often get Tokoyami to watch with her in the Team´s lounge.
"Could you scratch a bit to the left? Oooh, yeah. There. I love this, it gets my head all relaxed. Do you also get those tingles in your neck when people play with your hair?" said Toga, her eyes closed as she leaned in to the gentle head massage. "Yeah, I get them too!" he replied "Even more when its you" he added in a softer tone. Toga was blushing, he didn't know if from the pleasant sensation on her head or by what he had said. They kept on watching for a while, the plot seemed to involve the hero and his sidekick escaping from a villain´s lair, where they dangled from a rope over a shark tank.
Izuku wasn't paying too much attention, he just delicately traced shaped on her scalp, using his nails to scratch it ever so slightly. He traced in the shape of the kanji for her name, saying "When all this is over, are you changing your name? Will you reclaim your birth name?" She looked up at him and replied "Maybe legally, I dunno…but I kinda want to keep being Himiko Toga. Maybe just because it sounds really nice when you say it all breathy and looking into my eyes like you are about to give me a wedding ring or you whisper it with a hug…I kinda like it. I probably only like one thing better, how you caress my ear when we kiss." He knew what she was talking about, it was kind of instinct, he guessed "Like this?" Their lips met for a long moment, and she shuddered as he touched the mentioned ear, gently.
Himiko sat back up after the kiss ended, kneeling on the couch, leaning in to get really close to Izuku. "How about you, Izu-Izu…do you like little things like that?" She looked at him longingly, opening her mouth slightly, showing her teeth. "I actually really liked that little bite last night" he replied earnestly, then he smiled mischievously "And how cute you look when you close your eyes when we kiss!" "You´re not supposed to keep them open, Izu-Izu, what the hell!" she answered in mock annoyance, before she smiled again, and got closer. They were a centimetre or two apart now.
"No peaking this time, eh?" she said. They kissed again. Izuku felt their tongues meet, it was as exciting as fighting a villain, as free falling from a plane. She was aggressive and dominant, but he didn't give ground. When they separated for air, Izuku felt himself blush; his left hand was on her back, touching her soft skin directly under her tank top. Instead of meeting his lips again, Himiko went for his shoulder, nibbling gently all the way up his neck. Izuku shivered, it was a very sensitive area, and it felt great. As she made it to his ear, she kissed it a few times "I like these ears" she said, her warm breath tickling his ear and all his spine.
Then she bit slightly harder on his neck, giving him an intoxicating mixture of pain and pleasure. "Oh God did I just find my fetish?" he thought. Before he could fully think his next move, they were both removing the other´s shirt, and tossing them to the ground. Izuku could see much more of her skin than he had before, he could see quite a few scars in her abdomen and her shoulders, mostly from bladed weapons, but also one from a gunshot, and one that looked like a slash made with claws. The scars were part of her, and he thought she was beautiful with them.
"The pants too, Izu-Izu!" she commanded, her face a giant blushing smile. He had no power to say no, and his eyes were transfixed by Himiko´s agile fingers undoing the buttons on her shorts. Her hands ran across his chest, back and abdomen, exploring every inch of skin. Izuku yelped when she lowered her hands and grabbed his ass "I only expect you to do the same, baby" she said, placing his hands on her skin, giving a pleased sigh as he touched her. They kissed, again and again, losing sight of the world around them. Izuku moved to the left just a bit, and they both fell down. The ground wasn't too hard, so they didn't get hurt. They only broke out laughing.
They hugged on the floor, feeling their warm skin touching, holding tightly. "Hey, Izu-Izu?" she asked, looking into his eyes, as she breathed a bit more heavily than normal "You wanna go all the way? I…I understand it if you don't think we are ready for it…" she said, her voice almost a whisper. "I…yes, let´s do it. We could die tomorrow, and I don't want to die with regrets." Her smile was so bright, so happy…and then she said sarcastically "You mean you don't wanna die a virgin, huh?" With a deadpan voice, he replied "Well, that too. So, to the room? The light is nicer there…" "Yeah, let's go. I kinda don't wanna die a virgin neither." Izuku picked her up, bridal style, and they entered the room, discarding any remaining underwear along the way.
Freya held Anna´s hand as they watched the movie, a very old film about a Quirkless hero fighting some sort of clown in the fictional city of Gotham, with an unbeatable strategy; beating goons while dancing twist. The movie was about to end its hour and a half runtime, with some sort of fight, she guessed. They were cuddled in Anna´s bed, eating snacks they had brought from outside. From the apartment next door, they started to hear some muffled sounds. Was that…moaning?
Freya looked at Anna with a smirk "So the youngs did get to that kind of wrestling, huh?" When Anna connected two and two, she brought her palm up to her face, as she blushed. "Goddammit Toga" she hissed, before grabbing her headphones. "Oh shit" she said as she came to a realization "We need a new apartment, Freya. The walls are too thin and I´m not dealing with a smug Toga tomorrow." She pulled Freya´s hand leading her out of the bedroom. At least they were still dressed…"Wait so we are still?" asked Freya. Anna looked at her and smirked "Obviously."
Anna knocked on the door of a base house as far as they could from the apartment they had left. A middle-aged woman appeared, with two kids on thrall "I´ll make you a deal, ma´am, you take this noise cancelling headphones, this portable gaming console for the kids, and a hundred bucks, and you let us switch houses with you for a few hours. Deal?" The military wife answered shrewdly "Make it two hundred, and I keep the headphones." "A hundred and fifty, and it's a deal." "Deal." The wife switched keys with them and went on her way.
"Don't worry, we´ll clean any mess, Freya"
"Izuku, is that a bite on your neck?" asked Shouto as both teams walked up to their respective aircraft, suited up and ready to go. Shouto had been given a pilot helmet and vest to go over his hero suit, the cold weather version, since they were operating in the cold sea between Japan and Vladivostok, Russia.
Izuku blushed completely, while Toga gave them all a crooked grin and held Izuku´s hand tighter. "It's just uhh…mosquitos. Yeah, mosquito bites!" he stammered. In a deadpan tone, Tsuyu asked "Is there a reason those mosquitos' bit along that line of hickeys, Izuku-chan?" Momo and Shouto exchanged a curious glance. In grave, dramatic manner, Tokoyami added "We only jest, Midoriya, we shouldn't presume to gossip about your carnal activities, even if they were loud and obnoxious, and Tsu-chan could not watch her film." Shouto thought he could hear Hatsume´s mouth hit the floor in surprise, and Uraraka almost crush Iida´s hand in some residual anger.
"See you on the other side, guys. I´m proud of all of you, you are all great heroes, and I´m happy to call you my friends." Izuku teared up a bit as he said goodbye, giving each of them a hug. Shouto embraced his friend tightly when it was his turn "No getting captured or anything this time please, brother. Take care, we all love you." Izuku was the best at hugs, thought Shouto as they departed.
Helmet on, flight checks completed, Shouto took the stick, and the helicopter gunship rose to the skies. Beside them, the Mei took to the air, rising above the helicopter and switching its thrusters back, it sped away. It looked different on the hands of a pilot other than Hatsume, slightly more mechanical flying, slower, though probably much safer.
"This is First Response, we are off to the AO, over. Wish us luck."
