Midori the Queen
Chapter 27: Kota the Knight
~Sir Nighteye Agency~
Bakugo and Todoroki both stood dumbfounded as they watched a full grown man attach a scantily clad woman to a torture board and proceed to tickle her. The squeals and laughter coming from her mouth were very misleading and had both boys flushed and confused.
"This… is your former sidekick?" Bakugo asked All Might, twitching.
"That's him…" All Might chuckled. "As humorous as ever."
"Sir! We're here and we've brought the new recruits!" Mirio broke through the confusion to approach Night Eye with a big smile.
"Ah so I see, welcome." He released bubble girl from the contraption and adjusted his glasses. "Long time no see, All Might."
"Ah, it's been some time, Nighteye." All Might extended his hand. "Forgive me for taking so long to reach out to you, my old friend."
"I understand why you did it, and I'm thankful you've given me a chance to help you once again." He turned his eyes to the two boys. "Are these the boys you mentioned in your phone call?"
"That they are," All Might turned to his students. "Go on, boys, make your introductions."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Todoroki bowed respectfully. "I am Shoto Todoroki, age 15. Thank you for inviting me."
"The son of Endeavor, may he rest in peace. I look forward to seeing if your abilities match the hype they've received." Nighteye adjusted his glasses again and turned his eyes to Bakugo. "And you?"
"Katsuki Bakugo, Age 16…" he nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Thanks for the invite."
"It's a pleasure meeting you both. My name is Sir Nighteye, and I'll be your acting supervisor for your internship. All of you make yourselves at home, and I shall gather the materials we need to discuss our business." He looked to his sidekick. "Bubble Girl, get me the complete file on the Shie Hassaikai."
"Y-Yes sir!" Bubble Girl saluted, and not wanting to get tickled again immediately rushed out to grab the files."
"Shie Hassaikai?" All Might questioned as he sat. "Aren't they Yakuza?"
"Ah, I will explain in fuller detail once Bubble Girl returns… but they're my only lead so far on the whereabouts of Izumi Midoriya."
"Hah?" Bakugo's ears pricked at that statement. "A lead on Usagi?"
"I'm afraid it's not much, and I have no concrete proof that this is where she's been hiding but-" he paused when Bubble Girl returned and handed him a thick file. "A couple of things shootout at me. There were reports of a young teenager interfering with a villain group known as the Reservoir Dogs. After the hero was caught off guard and knocked around, the young girl made quick work of them with what looked to be a telekinetic quirk."
"Sounds like her MO." Mirio folded his arms. "Guess All for One didn't do anything to damper her spirit in that regard."
"The next piece of evidence was a tip off we received from a reporter who had been looking into the actions of a Yakuza Group known as the Shie Hassaikai. They've recently gained a larger following, and to top it off their young head, Kai Chisaki, has taken an interest in a young woman."
"What kind of a lead is that?" Bakugo sneered. "What does that guy getting a date have to do with Usagi?"
"According to the information we've uncovered, he's in a relationship with the daughter of Drake Carson, one of the top dons in the American Mafia. His daughter is a nineteen year old named Karma Carson."
"Karma…" Shoto narrowed his eyes. "A coincidence?"
"So it would seem. All the records appear to be legitimate. Drake does have a daughter named Karma, as well as two sons. All three of his children are now living at Chisaki's home. There's even been talk of marriage."
"Marriage?!" Mirio, Shoto, and Bakugo all shouted together.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Bakugo sneered. "Isn't one villain ex-boyfriend enough for her? Now she's got wedding bells on the brain?"
"Something doesn't add up," All Might rubbed his chin. "Why would young Midoriya tie herself to the Shie Hassaikai? I can understand her taking refuge there for a short time, but marriage? Are we sure this isn't just a coincidence."
"That's what I'd like to find out." He slid a file forward. "Inside here are pictures of the three in question. Since you all seem to know the most about her, I thought it best to share this information with you and figure out if it's legitimate."
"Let's see here…" All Might opened the folder. One look at Karma's picture had his face going serious. "Ah, that's her. There's no mistaking it."
"Let me see…" Bakugo grabbed the picture and nodded. "I'm with All Might. This Karma," he holds up the picture. "Looks almost exactly the way Izumi did before becoming a villain. I don't know how she got rid of the scars, but it's too big of a coincidence."
"I never knew Izumi before she became a villain," Shoto put in looking at the picture with a serious expression. "...but even I have to agree the similarities in their looks are too exact. People who aren't used to seeing her face everyday, who wouldn't notice little things about her would definitely write her off as someone else."
"Which is probably why she hasn't been discovered yet." Mirio finished off.
"Excellent," Nighteye nodded his head, a little spark of victory in his eye now. "Now would you take a look at the other two, and tell me if you recognize them as any of her former crew?"
"This is one of the supposed brothers?" He pulled out the picture of Touya, red eyes staring back at him and a carefree smirk on his face. "Hmmmm not particularly familiar."
"Hmm?" Shoto peered at the picture and his breath hitched. "Dad?"
"Did you say something, young Shoto?" All Might questioned.
"What? Oh, no, nothing. I don't recognize him." He averted his eyes from the picture, shaking away the chills going down his spine.
"It could be that Dabi guy." Bakugo pointed out. "Without his scars it's hard to tell, but Usagi had marks on her body and somehow managed to heal them, so they could have done the same for him." He pulled out the next picture of a red head kid with the same red eyes as Touya. "Now that kid definitely looks familiar."
"Its Kota, or at least it looks a lot like him. Didn't he go missing around the same time as Karma?" Shoto lifted it up for a better look.
"There is evidence that boy could be in Karma's custody. The guard watching Dabi reported a boy fitting his description being the one to help spring him. Mandalay and Eraser both attest that Kota defended Karma's actions and was siding with her despite what she'd done." Nighteye clarified.
"If the squirt forced himself into her custody, she could be planning to use him as a hostage as a means to return him if things get dicey. She wouldn't put him in harm's way." Bakugo assured.
"Still we should find a way to get him back as soon as possible. If he's already siding with her and breaking the law then she could very well turn him into a villain without meaning to." Shoto pointed out.
"I agree," Mirio nodded his head. "It may be difficult to get Karma back into our custody, but at the very least we should rescue the boy from being further influenced."
"We'll approach that matter when the time comes. First we need to pinpoint her location."
"She's with the Hassaikai isn't she?" Shoto questioned. "Wouldn't the logical place for her to be is in the stronghold? Why not get a warrant to search the place?"
"It's not that simple, I'm afraid." Nighteye pushed his glasses further up his nose. "If we're wrong, and the Hassaikai catches wind of our investigation, they now have the funds and means to move Karma to a more discreet location, and completely out of our reach. It's best we handle this covertly and be sure of her whereabouts without giving her a chance to escape."
"If she's planning on marrying Chisaki, wouldn't the best time to pinpoint her location be the wedding itself?" Shoto suggested.
"Part of our covert investigation will be to determine if there really is a wedding." Nighteye stood up and took the forms All Might handed him. He stamped the two and held them up for Bakugo and Shoto to see. "From today on you boys will be acting as my sidekicks. Be sure you don't disappoint me."
Shoto and Bakugo sat up straight and their eyes took on varying degrees of seriousness.
"Yes Sir."
~Two days later: Shie Hassaikai~
"Karma...Karma… OI IZUMI!" Kota shouted and shoved her to snap get free from her thoughts. "You're burning the chow!"
"Huh? What? Oh shit, KYA!" Izumi revived the pan groaning at the sight of the burnt cheese sandwich she'd been trying to prepare. "Damn I'm sorry bout that."
"What's with you? You've been a space cadet for the last two days. Did something happen?" Kota scowled crossing his arms and tapping his fingers impatiently on his arm.
"No, no, it's just…" Izumi flushed bright red and she lowered her head so that her hair curtained to cover the embarrassment. "I've got a lot on my mind is all, Kota."
That really was all he needed to know. Izumi didn't feel comfortable sharing the fact that she'd been thinking about how to tell Touya that Kai kissed her and told her that he loved her. She still couldn't believe it herself. What the hell had changed? She thought he tolerated her… maybe had some affection or affinity due to the fact they were cohorts, but nothing to the extreme that he brought it to.
Letting out a heavy sigh she dumped the burnt food in the trash.
"Ask Touya or someone to make you lunch, Kota. I just can't focus right now. I'm gonna go work out for a bit and clear my head."
"Okay I guess…" he watched her slump away. "Hey, Izumi?" He waited for her to turn to face him. "Are you… happy here?"
"Hmmm? Happy?" She turned towards him, saw the seriousness in his eyes and let out a small laugh. "What brought this on?"
"Well it's just… you're always saying how you want to make other people happy. You work hard to help Overhaul and the other Yakuza members, you play games with Eri and I whenever we ask, you listen to other people's problems and offer up solutions… but you never really seem to do things just for yourself."
Izumi took a moment to process what he was saying. Was she happy? Well she wasn't UN-happy. It just never really occurred to her to find happiness. Her only dream was to be a hero, which was impossible now. Instead she found contentment in helping the people who needed and deserved it, people like Kota, and Eri. Her smile came back, but it was soft and just a bit sad.
"I'm content." She finally decided and offered up a soft smile. "Helping other people gives me purpose, and I find joy in that." She pat him on the head, ruffling his hair through the bandana. "Having someplace to call home, people I can depend on, and a purpose to give my life meaning... I can't ask for more than that."
"That's not happiness…" Kota lifted his head up. "What would make you happy? Tell me! I'll do whatever I can!"
"Oh Kota." She knelt down and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you… but you don't have to do anything." She pulled back and touched his face. "You want to know what will make me happy?"
Kota sniffed back a tear and nodded.
"Protecting the people I care about makes me happy. Knowing I can trust people like Touya and Ace to have my back makes me happy." She hugs him again holding back tears of her own. "Having you as my friend, and my knight makes me happy."
"I'm… really your knight?" He hugged her back and felt her head shift in a nod.
"Mmmm, you are…" She pulled back and brushed a tear away from his face. "If you really want to do something to make me happy… then I want you to help me bring back Eri's smile."
"Her smile?"
"Yeah," She stood up and looked around to make sure that others weren't listening in. "You've noticed it haven't you, Kota? No one in this place knows how to genuinely smile. Eri's grown up in an atmosphere where the people around her are all stern, and sour faced, and as such she didn't even know what a smile look liked until we came here."
"So that's why she's like that? I didn't know." Kota lowered his head.
"There's more to it, I'm sure, but that's the real root of the problem. We need to show Eri what it's like to have fun again, what it's like to enjoy life again." Izumi's smile spread genuinely again. "I don't know about you… but I would love to see her smile again. I bet it's the cutest thing you'll ever see."
~Later~
Kota wandered the underground aimlessly, losing track of where he was or where he was going. His thoughts were focused on one task, and everything else became a jumble mess.
Smile… how could he get Eri to smile?
Usually stuff like playing games, enjoying delicious foods, and listening to a good story was enough to make any kid break out in a grin. Izumi had tried all those things, and the most he had gotten out of Eri was a wobbly grimace.
They could try an amusement park… he'd never been to one before, but he'd seen all kinds of anime and tv shows that showed all kinds of people laughing and smiling.
"Maybe I could ask Karma to take us one, gah!" He let out a small sound of surprise at the sound of a door slamming from the hall. It was then he realized he'd wandered nearly to the very bottom of the basement, a place Overhaul had forbidden him and Touya from entering due to the sensitive equipment that was kept there.
He spotted Overhaul turning a corner. Afraid he'd get lectured, Kota ducked into a nearby closet and covered his mouth to keep from being discovered.
"You went easy on her today." Chronos spoke up from behind him, carrying a sleeping Eri in his arms. "Are you sure we got enough samples?"
"Shut up, don't talk to me like I'm going soft. I collected a single sampling for an experiment Karma requested of me."
"Karma did? You told her what you've been up to down here?"
"No, she doesn't know the process or how we compose the bullets. She just asked that I modify the formula a bit for a special plan she's cooking up."
"What plan?" Chronos frowned. "I really don't trust her. Are you sure she's not gonna use it on-"
"I know precisely what she's gonna do with it, and I'm looking forward to seeing that plan come to fruition. It'll be a grand display of her power… a display we'll have the honor of sharing once word of it gets out."
"Still-" He jerked back when Overhaul turned cold eyes on him.
"You leave Karma to me. She won't betray us," he turned around, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. "I'll make sure of it."
Kota listened to the sounds of the footsteps disappear down the hall. His eyes had gone wide as saucers, and the rhythm of his breathing quickened from what he'd heard. Slowly he lowered his hands, letting the shaky breath out.
"What.. was that?" He clasped the door handle and cautiously looked around for people. When he found no one, his head turned back to the direction Overhaul had come from. He walked, quickly and quietly to the corner and peered around. There were no people around, but he spotted only one door Overhaul could have come out of.
His body moved before he could tell himself to stop. He walked to it, placed his hand on the knob and twisted it open. When the door opened, the stench of blood and chemicals struck him hard and he covered his mouth again to keep himself from vomitting. He saw the chair with straps for a person's limbs, and the knives, scalpuls and other blood soaked equipment laying on a tray beside it. The urge to vomit kicked in even stronger and he quickly shut the door and made a run back down the hall.
No way… no way! What the hell were they doing down here? What did all this have to do with Eri?
Did Izumi know? No… she couldn't. Overhaul said he didn't tell her anything, and was determined to keep it that way.
"They're lying to her. They're hurting Eri and keeping it from Izumi. I gotta do something, I gotta-" he skidded to a stop when something dawned on him.
"I don't know about you… but I would love to see her smile again."
"She'll never smile…" Kota felt the hot tears of sadness and fury build up inside. "She'll never smile so long as they're doing that to her." He walked a few steps farther, saw Chronos leave Eri's room and speak with the guard standing outside it. His hand clenched into a fist and he rubbed the tears away as determination sparked in him. "I've got to get her out of here!"
~Training Room~
Izumi wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished her workout. Snagging a bottle of water she downed half of it, letting out a loud sound of relief as the cool liquid eased her dry throat.
"Well looks like you had some fun." Chisaki's voice startled her, and she fumbled with the water. She whirled around to face him, embarrassment flushing her cheeks more than the work out did.
"Kai… what are you doing here?" She'd put on some training pants and a sports bra to make it easier for her to move around… but now having Chisaki's eyes on her, she felt naked and vulnerable.
"Came to see my future wife, naturally." He snagged up a fresh towel from the bench and proceeded to help her dab at the sweat along her brow and neck. He watched the muscles in her throat quiver as she swallowed hard, and it made his ego swell knowing he was making her nervous.
"You're really taking this joke too far." She gently pushed his hand away with the back of her fist and took a step back. He only shifted a little towards her, and made her feel completely trapped.
"What joke is that? I'm being completely serious."
"Like hell…" Her eyes went sharp as fangs. "You've been content with keeping me at a distance all this time, and now all of a sudden you're showing interest? Just what kind of game are you playing?"
He sighed heavily and boxed her in, feeling the heat radiating off her body.
"Your quirk still hasn't fully healed I see… but it won't be long before it does." He reached out with his gloved hand snagging her chin. "I can feel the immense heat radiating off you."
"Best keep your distance then. I might burst into flames at any second the way you're pissing me off." She jerked her head away.
"Alright… I admit it. I don't actually love you… I said those things, did those things to you because I want you to trust me as much as you trusted Shigaraki Tomura. Blindly, faithfully."
"Yeah well it failed, it only succeeded in me trusting you even less."
"I agree it was a folly on my part… but something interesting happened that I didn't expect when I kissed you."
"Oh and what's that?" She raised a brow and went rigid as his face came in close. Their lips brushed just a bit, and Izumi lost all her breath.
"I liked it."
"Eh? What?" She blinked in confusion and made a muffled sound of protest as he closed the distance completely with a firm kiss. His arms pull her in so her sweaty half naked body pressed on him.
"I like kissing you," he panted against her lips licking the sweat off her cheek. "I like touching you, making you tremble in my arms. Even now, you're filthy: sweat covered, bleeding, bruised... and yet I can't stop myself from wanting you. One kiss is all it took."
"Kai stop it…" Izumi panted and placed her hands on his chest. "This is crazy, you can't be serious. Your mysophobia couldn't possibly be cured by-"
"One kiss…" he whispered it again and this time dragged her down to the floor, and placed her hand against his crotch. Izumi's eyes went wide when she felt the hard shape pressing against his pants. "...and suddenly I know why all those dirty old men ogle porn mags. Just one kiss and suddenly I know why the red light district exists."
Just one stupid kiss, Kai thought to himself, made him unable to concentrate on his work. He'd only spent an hour with Eri in the lab when normally he would have taken half a day. He couldn't concentrate, or focus… all he could think about was her. Suddenly everything he did to Eri disgusted him… every sound she made was like nails on a chalkboard.
It had never bothered him before… so why did it now? What had changed?
Her… it had to be her. Everything she'd done before that kiss had lead up to him caring. He cared about the way he dressed and looked in front of her. He cared about her past and wanted to know more about her. He cared about Eri, about the girl he'd used as his means of changing the world.
Now everything was falling apart… and it was because he couldn't get rid of this NEED he had for Karma. He needed to partch it, needed to rid himself of all these filthy desires before he became diseased.
"I don't care if it's love or not… I don't care if you continue your little affair with that quirkless loser." He unbuttoned his shirt and sent it flying across the room. "Give yourself to me… let me eat my fill… and be free of this distracting hunger."
"You can't be serious…" her breath quickened when he removed his gloves and removed her clothes by pinching the fabric between his fingers and rendering them to shreds. Now naked, izumi trembled and felt the piercing affect of his lust filled eyes.
"Deadly."
~Kota and Eri~
"Hurry Eri!" Kota pulled the girl along as they rushed through the alleyway. He could hear her small panicked breaths heave out as they cut corners and duck behind objects to lose their pursuiters.
"I don't understand Kota. Why are you doing this?" Eri asked in a panic.
"Because Izumi made me a knight." He glanced back smirking at her. "It's my job to keep you safe."
"Eh? Knight? Like in the stories?"
"Yeah." He squeezed her hand. "So I promise, I won't let them hurt you anymore Eri. We're gonna run as fast and as far away from here as we can."
"What about Izumi and Mr. Touya? We shouldn't leave them behind." She spotted light from ahead where the alley ended.
"Don't worry. Both of them are strong and can handle those guys on their own. We'd only get in their way if we stayed." He looked back at her. "We can go to Mr. Ace's house. I know he'll keep us safe. And he can-" Kota ran right into something hard and fell back. Both he and Eri hit the ground and he jerked his head up waving his fist. "Hey watch where you're-"
"Kota?"
The sound of his name halted Kota's voice. His eyes focused in the bright sun on the faces that hovered above him. He felt a cold sweat drip down his cheek as Bakugo, and Todoroki hovered over him looking startled by his sudden appearance.
"That is you, isn't it?" Shoto knelt down helping the two kids up. "What are you doing here?"
"I...that is-"
"Kou!" The quick disapproving shout had both Eri and Kota cowering in fear. Kota instinctively pulled Eri close to him, holding her hand and turning to face the imposing figure.
"Touya."
Mirio, Shoto, and Bakugo all look up as Touya stepped out from the alleyway, hands carelessly in his pockets, his mouth covered by the trademark mask of the Hassaikai. His red eyes met the three heroes first, before turning down to stare disapprovingly down at his small partner.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
~Ask Briry~
Dun, dun, dun!