THIS IS A REUPLOAD. Apparently this site, by his glorious powers, decided to nuke the latest chapter into oblivion for some reason. Thank you all who brought this to my attention. I'm not exactly sure what happened but seems like stories all across the board got hit by whatever this was, so let us just hope that we don't have to deal with that in the future.
-.
October 29th, U.A. Highschool Training Grounds, Gym Gamma, Male Bathroom, 1045.
Release.
A few moments ago it was a spiritual one.
Now…
*BLURGH*
Now Machibuse was busy with a far more physical type of release as he held on tight onto the latrine; all the pent-up anxiety and stress came crashing back with full force now that his adrenaline high had passed.
"I'm… never… doing this shit again…" he panted, his voice echoing inside the basin.
Machibuse took a deep breath and lifted his head with some effort as the sound of someone approaching got his attention.
"You alive inside there? Yaoyorozu asked me to give this to you…" it was Kirishima's voice.
Mustering all of his remaining strength, Machibuse forced himself back to his feet and pulled the door of his stall open.
"I will be healed in a moment, just dehydrated... And in dire need of a shower." Machibuse responded, his breathing still failing him a little.
"Well, this should help then… Bakugo and I are going to try that obstacle course that the folks from the second year set up. I thought that it maybe something up your alley, but…" Kirishima offered both the plastic bag in his hands and the invitation. The later with some tangible uncertainty.
Two bottles of cool water and a change of clothes. Momo likely made a run for his room when she realized her boyfriend was getting nauseous.
"Why are you… sticky?" Kirishima on the other hand had no idea as to what had just transpired. His tone was that of someone grossed out but curious, like that of a child poking on something rancid with a stick.
"Vomiting has some adverse effects for me; causes my Quirk to unload everything I have stored… it is best that I skip on your invitation for now. The carrier fluid for my chemicals reacts with air to form a film-like substance after a few minutes of continuous exposure, and…" Machibuse began explaining, but Kirishima rising his hand caused him to stop.
"Can I have the no-protocol version? I got just about half of that science speech." Kirishima asked flatly.
Machibuse stared for a moment.
"If I don't wash this crap soon then it is going to dry out and then it becomes a pain to clean. It also begins to stink to high-hell depending on what I had prepared with my Quirk." he explained.
"Ah! It's like when you spill soda and forget to clean and then that spot gets all gooey!" Kirishima concluded, enthusiastic about understanding the situation.
"…Affirmative." Machibuse just went along.
"Well, I'm just gonna leave you to it then! We are almost done with cleaning the gym!" Kirishima smiled and turned to leave, now clearly looking forward to enjoying the festival.
With a sigh, Machibuse turned towards the showers.
"At least this day can't get much worse." he admitted, now looking down inside the bag.
He stopped.
He had spoken a little too soon and moved a little too fast.
And once more he bolted for the latrine as something stirred on the back of his throat.
-.
October 29th, U.A. Highschool Training Grounds, Festival Area, 1125.
If anything, Machibuse felt fresh.
A shame he lost the beauty pageant, but there would be next year's… Perhaps Momo would be participating then. U.A. had quite the amount of good-looking girls, but Hakuba was pretty damn sure his girlfriend had more than a shot at winning such a contest.
Calmly he sat down on a nearby bench, his mind busy with that image of Momo exposing her back to him just a month ago. It was good to dwell on nice things for a change.
Knowing that such a perfect girl choose him despite everything sure did wonders for his self-esteem.
Just a minute or two more of rest, then he would resume looking for his friends. Machibuse still had a small part to play for Hatsume's presentation, but that was still a few hours away.
"Huh, I kinda expected you to be hiding in your room or dead in a bathroom somewhere. Pretty good show back there." a familiar voice came from his left.
"Susumu-san?" Hakuba quickly snapped back to reality as he turned to meet the voice.
"'Sup." the minister greeted casually as he also sat down. In one of his hands he carried a bright-colored mass of cotton candy, roughly shaped like one of Principal Nezu's paws.
"Mind if I wait here with you? Turns out that Ryuko has a bit of a fanbase and pictures need to be taken." Susumu visibly held in a sigh.
"You are out with her instead of working non-stop. I take that things are working out." Hakuba quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh, shut up. I give you an inch by telling you to drop the protocol and you take a mile's worth of sass…" Susumu complained, now picking some of the cotton candy.
"And besides, this is a business trip also. Needed to ask you a about something." he added, sounding a bit more serious now.
"How can I help?" Hakuba asked.
"I was going to ask for your help with interrogating Kurogiri, but that got vetoed… But something else came up: Ever heard your mother saying something about a "Oguro Iwao"? Was a drinking buddy of hers, if I'm not mistaken." Susumu asked, plucking another piece of cotton candy.
"I remember meeting a "Mr. Oguro" once, but that was some eight, maybe nine years ago. Lived alone in an apartment in Osaka, but I'd imagine it was just a temporary place." Hakuba responded after a moment to think.
"Nothing new then. Guess I'm back to waiting for Hakame to wake up. I know she had some intel on "Mr. Oguro" stashed somewhere, but that is off the table now… even now she still manages to get the final say on these things." Susumu just sighed.
"Why are you after him, Susumu-san?" Hakuba asked.
"Oguro Iwao had his Quirk stolen by One For All and was left to die sometime after you met him. Your father was the one who fixed him up after that, but I haven't heard of the guy since. We still have to make our move against the League, and I'm trying to gather as many pieces as possible for our opening play." Susumu answered, now getting back to his feet as he spotted a certain someone looking around.
Pixie-Bob had just finished her little meet and greed session. And she had gathered company.
"Now let us get our game faces back on; I have a lovely lady inbound and have to make the best out of it before people start calling for me to get back to work. Which is unfortunately bound to happen sooner than later." he added.
Machibuse just stared at the minister for a second as words echoed inside his head, but Pixie-Bob came accompanied by a few of his classmates, including his girlfriend, so it was better to just enjoy the moment while it lasted.
"Apparently this kitty here is still rather popular with the kids." the heroine joked as she stopped close to her beau.
"And you complain that I am busy." Tamani chuckled before turning his attention towards the group that had formed: Yaoyorozu Momo, Sero Hanta, Kyoka Jiro, Shoji Mezo, Kaminari Denki, Mashirao Ojiro and Ashido Mina.
"Well, I suppose this is kind of your guys' fault, so lunch is on me today. Sounds fair?" he offered as he pointed towards his date and then back to himself.
A loud hooray followed that offer and the group soon began making their way towards the food court.
"How are you feeling?" Momo asked as she joined her boyfriend, both of them now remaining a bit behind the rest of the group.
"Sub-optimal, but I just need to not over-exert myself further. Eating something will surely be of help." Hakuba responded as they began walking, fingers entwining as they held hands.
"There is something else, isn't it? You two were speaking." Momo pushed, she knew that face well.
"Nothing you should worry about, just some intel that needed confirmation… It had to do with my parents and the hag, I suppose it just dragged my spirits down a little." Hakuba squeezed her hand gently.
Moving as a large group in a festival like that was somewhat inconvenient, but luckily Tamani stood out quite a bit amidst the crowd of students and that made things a lot easier. The man was basically a walking, talking point of reference for everyone else.
The minister's height and unusual hair color however couldn't hope to draw more attention than the massive structure the group had stumbled upon.
"Isn't that the obstacle course Kirishima was talking about?" Sero asked to no one in particular.
"If I'm not mistaken the guys from the second year set up a bunch of different games." Ojiro responded.
"Like in a carnival? Been years since I've been to one, now that I think about it." Tamani commented, now taking a look around.
"Do you always have to sound like you are a grandpa?" Tsuchiakwa poked fun at him.
"It balances you out, miss "eighteen at heart"." Tamani teased back.
"Can they be any cheesier?" Jiro quirked an eyebrow as she watched the two.
"Well, this was your idea, like it or not…" Ashido grinned, this was just how she liked romance to be.
"Seems like we arrived just in time, look who's at the starting line." Shoji pointed out, not really that interested in the two adults accompanying the group.
Two familiar faces were the next ones to have a go at the obstacle course.
"Not happy with missing the record time by one second, he's back for a second try! Hey, Red! You better get your friend on a leash if he starts raging again!" the announcer's voice came from the speakers around the track.
The group from Class 1-A didn't even need to look towards where Shoji had pointed to after that.
"3… 2… 1… GO!"
Well, it wasn't something in their plans originally, but they cheered on for both Bakugo and Kirishima.
The obstacle course proved to be on the more challenging side, which was unexpected given that the vast majority of the participants were from outside the Hero Course. Steep slopes and sudden drops were plentiful, as were obstacles related to balancing and even climbing or long jumping.
And the fact that participants weren't allowed to make use of their Quirks only made it harder.
Kirishima was having a hard time apparently, mobility wasn't one of his stronger attributes.
Bakugo on the other hand was speeding on ahead, in part thanks to his athletic skills and in part because he simply wasn't having anything other than a win that time.
Both ran, dipped and jumped to the best of their abilities.
It was intense, but the explosive blonde reached the goal with a full three seconds to spare. And for that he was gifted with what looked like a coupon for something, some kind of prize apparently.
Soon after that both were making their way out and joining their classmates.
"Shitty stopwatch made me lose the first run." Bakugo complained, as he unceremoniously shoved the prize in his pocket.
"If you don't want the prize then let me use it…" Kirishima moaned in defeat.
"Seems like you two found something interesting to do while we were having a look around." Kaminari pointed out.
"Yeah, the guys from the second year have set up one of those shops where you can trade in these tickets for stuff! I've been grinding for a backpack they got there!" Kirishima responded, his resolve unphased by his lack of success.
"Huh, this maybe something worth having a look at…" Tamani mused.
"And who's the lamppost?" Bakugo asked, now eyeing the man that apparently had been accompanying the group from Class 1-A alongside one of the Pussycats.
"Tamani Susumu. Minister of Defense and head-director of the Tartarus Maximum Security Prison. Would you like a moment to rethink your words?" Tamani responded in a serious tone, his towering figure now that much larger as he eyed Bakugo down.
There was a moment of silence.
Bakugo visibly tensed, flashes from his encounter with the former minister now coming back to his mind.
"I know that the scar gives me the whole serious, gritty look, but I'm honestly surprised that you all are buying this crappy act…" Tamani shifted back to his usual posture, clearly faking dejection.
"I wouldn't call it crappy…" Tsuchikawa laughed nervously.
"Years of working on interrogatories do that to a man. The inmates wouldn't take me seriously otherwise." he shrugged awkwardly.
"You didn't learn from your run with the Captains grandma, didn't you?" Jiro teased.
"Shut up, Ears!" Bakugo shouted back.
"You got on Hakame's bad side? Sorry for you…" Tamani just nodded solemnly.
"She headbutted him square in the nose! Just talking about her gives me the chills…" Kaminari explained.
"Can we not have a conversation about my grandmother's tendency to physically assault people just to prove a point? At least not right now…" Machibuse groaned.
"Fair point. If she learns that we are talking smack about her then it's me and Hakuba on the chopping block. If anything, I'm safe from the headbutts to the face, given than I'm a lamppost… gotta remember to hide that stool I have in my office if she ever comes to visit. She might use that as a step ladder." Tamani agreed tiredly.
"You being taller just means he hits you with her cane rather than with her fists." Machibuse pointed out as the group began moving towards their intended destination.
The carnival area was a little too densely packed with people for Machibuse's liking, but he had been through a much worse situation just two hours ago. Games were varied and plentiful, ranging from games of chance to games of skill: Duck pond, rope ladder, darts and balloons, shooting range, dime pitch...
They stopped briefly just to have a look at the prizes, and the variety didn't stop. There were all kinds of trinkets and plushies all over the store.
"Looks kinda like Kaminari's room, doesn't it?" Ashido asked out loud as they entered the place.
"Hey!" Kaminari protested.
"His is more chaotic. There clearly was some planning behind this layout." Machibuse pointed out as his eyes scanned the many different shelves lining the walls.
"HEY!" Kaminari continued.
"Perhaps one of these stores was his inspiration all along, and maybe we're the ones who didn't get the power of this two-thousand IQ play." Sero suggested coyly.
"I'm right here, you guys…" Kaminari gave up, now crouching near a corner.
Bakugo took the chance to trade in his coupon from before for some earphones. Kirishima had enough to get six pencils and maybe an eraser, but he had yet to try his chances at the high striker, so for now he just took the opportunity to see if anyone had cashed in the backpack he was talking about.
Machibuse was just about to and leave when he spotted his girlfriend looking at something hanging from the wall behind the counter.
It was a plushie. A stuffed sunflower much bigger than it had any right to be, wider than a manhole cover.
Momo was a composed enough lady to not show it much, but Hakuba had a sharp eye and knew her well enough to pick up on the few hints that she allowed to escape; the way she gripped on her clothes, how she pressed her lips together, how she did her best to not blush as she turned to leave…
"Mission objective acquired." Hakuba quirked an eyebrow. Apparently he would be busier than expected while he waited for the Development Course showcase to begin.
But first came lunch. He wouldn't be beating any game of skill in his current state.
Soon enough the group had reached the food court, and even happened to pick a few more of their classmates along the way. They were missing only Uraraka, Midoriya and Asui at that point, but apparently those three were out taking young Eri around the festival. They were also missing Aoyama, but no one knew just where the guy was.
Options were plentiful, finger food, yakisoba, burgers. You asked for it and one of the stands would have it.
"Right. This might get complicated… Everyone, feel free to go wherever you like and just tell me how much it costed. I saw an atm or two somewhere along the way and it will be easier if I just cover up the expenses rather than we going one by one." Tamani suggested as he began scanning the area.
"Sure, if any of you feel like having some of that nice looking yakiimo they are selling over there just tag along and we don't have to worry about that." he added, now spotting something very much to his liking.
"Really? You are having a stack of sweet potatoes for lunch?" Tsuchikawa asked with mild disbelief. He sounded like a child just then.
"What can I say? You can take a man out of Satsuma, but you can't take Satsuma out of a man." Tamani barely tried to defend himself as he turned around.
"A man that takes a cup of coffee and a cigar for breakfast and then chooses to stuff himself full of roasted potatoes instead of having a proper meal… What have I gotten myself into?" the heroine just sighed and began walking towards another stand.
"Complaining about him already?" Ashido joked as she and Hagakure began heading the same direction.
"You know how it is, no man is perfect. Him being allergic to cats is inconvenient and he has so much work to do that you'd say he works four jobs at a time, but girl… what a catch." Tsuchikawa smacked her lips.
"You know what? I'm suddenly in the mood for sweet potatoes." Mineta scratched his chin as he watched Pixie-Bob walking away as she commented a few things about how this venture was going.
"You are really going to ask the fucking Minister of Defense for dating advice?" Bakugo couldn't believe her ears.
"This is beyond inappropriate, Mineta-kun!" Iida protested.
"And I willing to bet that he's going to be really chill about it!" Mineta just grinned and began walking.
"And why are you two following him!?" Jiro asked as she noticed Kaminari and Sero also heading towards the yakiimo stand.
"Nothing..." both faked innocence.
"I strongly suggest that you do not base your opinions about Susumu-san solely on his position. It makes all too easy for him to just use that against you all, like he did with Bakugo-san earlier." Machibuse advised, clearly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"He does that all the time, doesn't he?" Shoji asked.
"Unfortunately." Machibuse agreed.
"And he did that to you more than once." Yaoyorozu concluded with a deadpan expression.
"Unfortunately." Machibuse repeated himself tiredly and motioned for them to go after something to eat.
The hour passed by quickly, the group had managed to find a nice spot in the grass where they all sat together for their meal. Eventually Aoyama joined them, ranting about how he had lost track of time as he got caught up doing marvelous things, none of which people seemed to care that much about.
By now people had already finished eating and were just waiting for the food to settle down so they could keep on enjoying the festival. They were talking and laughing mostly, and also reminiscing about their live performance.
Then came music.
Tamani quickly fished his cellphone from his pocket. He just watched at the screen for a moment.
"Here we go…" he muttered.
"The telephone number you have dialed is temporarily not in service. Please try again later." the minister spoke in a monotone voice as he picked up the call.
People just stared at him.
And surely whoever was on the other end of the line had the same expression.
"Right… Hanabata! Hey!" Tamani finally gave in, now getting up and excusing himself from the group for the moment.
"He does that more often than you would imagine." Machibuse just tried to ignore what had happened.
"Really now, how did this guy ever survive working for your grandmother?" Kirishima tried not to laugh.
"I ask that question myself every so often." Machibuse admitted.
"If this trick works then I might try to do the same to my father." Todoroki pondered loudly as he watched Tamani pacing back and forth while talking.
Suddenly the man came back, still holding his phone but somewhat covering it as he approached Tsuchikawa.
"What time do you plan on leaving tomorrow?" Tamani whispered away from the device in his hands.
"Huh… around six or seven?" she half answered.
Tamani just nodded hastily before placing the phone against his ear once more.
"So tomorrow, nine-o-clock? ...Right, see you then." Tamani concluded his conversation.
"Your politician friend? I can leave earlier if you have stuff to do." Tsuchikawa offered.
"Don't worry your pretty little head with that, it's nothing that can't wait an hour or two... Has pretty much zero to do with politics really, just a surprise party we are planning for a few friends." Tamani eased her concerns as he sat down again.
"Politician? You mean Hanabata Koku, right? Leader of the Hearts and Mind Party." Iida asked in a surprised tone.
"So you know him? Nice to see that his word gets by." Tamani asked back.
"His party has a very… unorthodox vision for society. I wouldn't have imagined that the head-director of Tartarus shared such a stance." Iida explained, taking his time to pick his words carefully. He was still speaking to an authority, despite how easygoing the man was.
Tamani took a deep breath and looked up towards the sky.
"You start thinking a lot about freedom when you spend half your life working in with prisoners. Our society has its flaws, and it is through those cracks that villains come to exist; there are bad seeds, yes, but honestly I'd much prefer to live in a world where my job description is outdated…"
-.
October 29th, U.A. Highschool Training Grounds, Festival Area, 1325.
*ding*
*ding*
*ding*
*ding*
*ding*
Machibuse took a short breath after that last shot.
"Ninety-one out of a hundred…" the fellow in charge of the shooting range sounded dazed. That was the second highest score of the day thus far, and that's because Snipe stopped by just to ace the game during his break.
Machibuse Hakuba was also tied with himself for third place and tied with himself twice more for fourth place. The leaderboard was literally just him and the gunslinging teacher.
Farming the shooting range proved to be a very efficient method of acquiring enough tickets for that sunflower Momo wanted.
"A shame, really. Air rifles handle completely different from standard ones." Machibuse sounded disappointed about his performance.
"Well, this still awards you with a whole bunch of tickets." the second-year recomposed himself as said rifle was handed back to him.
"I assume this will be enough. I should come back otherwise." Machibuse nodded as he received his prize.
"Huh… try the other games for a while maybe? We are kinda of running low on tickets here." the second-year looked for an excuse.
"Very well. Thank you for your time." Machibuse bowed lightly and made his way towards the "shop" where we could trade in the fifteen-hundred twenty-four tickets he had earned since splinting off most his classmates after lunch.
Surely he caught the eye of more than a few people, carrying around such a massive bundle of paper.
Luckily the shop wasn't very full, so the cash out was a quick job.
Now he caught the eyes of the people walking around the carnival area because he was carrying a sunflower large enough to hide one full-sized Mineta underneath it.
"Hey, Soldier Boy! You plan on planting that one?" a familiar voice came from behind the crowd.
"Togata-senpai, Midoriya-san." Machibuse greeted the duo that approached.
There was someone else.
Small, shy and scared.
"You must be young Eri. Glad to finally meet you." Machibuse crouched to meet her.
This caused Eri to hide behind Togata's leg, clutching to his clothes like a lifeline.
Machibuse took a deep breath.
"I apologize for scaring you. I tend to sound rather serious because of my protocol." he nodded.
"It looks like you are busy, Machibuse-san." Midoriya chuckled as he pointed towards the sunflower.
"Momo was interested in getting one of these, so I suppose the responsibility of acquiring it falls on me." Machibuse responded as he shifted the plushie in his arms. It was really inconvenient carrying that thing around.
Eri's eyes following the sunflower around did not escape him.
Machibuse paused for an instant.
"You can have this one if you want, on the condition you continue enjoying the festival for as long as you can. There are two more of these in store and I have the time to get one." he offered, now holding out the sunflower and peeking over it.
Eri's eyes shined for a moment before she sunk onto the plushie as she hugged it.
"You should leave it for someone else to carry, however." Machibuse suggested, suppressing a chuckle as he watched the girl struggling slightly to not fall forward once he let go of the sunflower.
"Let me get right on that!" Togata laughed as he picked up Eri on one arm and the sunflower in the other.
"Now, what do you say?" he added, now turning around a bit so that Eri could face Machibuse.
"Ah.. Thank you, Mr. Soldier Boy!" Eri beamed with happiness as Togata began rocking her around.
She could only laugh.
"Do you need help in getting another one? That was supposed to be Yaoyorozu-san's." Midoriya offered with a smile as both him and Machibuse watched the girl playing.
"There is no need for it. You should be spending the day with her." Machibuse declined.
Eri deserved that. She deserved a whole lot more given what had happened to her.
"It would be both me and her making those bullets if Overhaul had it his way… if all it takes for me to make her life a little better is to try and get another stuffed flower, then I would be glad to get another hundred." Machibuse said with a small smile breaking through his façade. It was a sad kinship he shared with Eri.
Midoriya was about to say something, when they both saw someone walking out of the shop with one of the two sunflowers that remained.
Machibuse just closed his eyes for a moment and took a short breath.
"You can… break protocol." Midoriya offered nervously.
"The road to good intentions be paved with hell… fuck my life, right?"
-.
October 29th, U.A. Highschool Training Grounds, Festival Area, Support Course Pavilion, 1500.
Machibuse's quest for his second sunflower had been a success, despite cutting a little bit too close for comfort.
No other game proved to be as efficient as the shooting range and he was running out of time; the payout for the rope ladder wasn't as high, acing the darts and balloons took way too long because the game had to be set up again between attempts, the high striker required more raw strength than he could reliably output without boosting himself with his Quirk and he knew better than wasting his time trying the luck-based games.
But those were no longer a problem, and he even managed to make a beeline for the dorms and inside Momo's room! Some lockpicking was involved, but Momo would be finding her not-so-little gift as soon as she opened her door.
Part of Hakuba just wanted to take the chance to slip under her sheets and take a nap there, but…
"Right, partner! Doors are opening!" Hatsume was going absolutely ballistic.
Machibuse had one last mission for the day.
"Tell me again, Hatsume-san, what exactly am I supposed to do?" he asked, now adjusting the quiver on his back.
Most of his costume was displayed on a mannequin, with a few pieces such as the pill selector and the bag of caltrops on separate displays
"Right! I managed to secure a spot for you at the testing range, and there are some high-speed cameras there as well: One right on the beginning and one just by the target. What I need you to do is load the explody arrow I made for you, then pull out the bow and take a shot. It's the big showy one, and investors like to see these first-hand! The slow mo is just to hype people up, so I'm going to need that you buy me some time after the shot because I'm going to need to edit the video on the fly here!" Hatsume explained with great enthusiasm, her notebook on the small desk behind her had two camera feeds open and a video editing software booting up.
"Pardon me asking, but when did you learn how to edit videos?" Machibuse quirked an eyebrow.
"Last night!" Hatsume smiled widely.
"Right… Should I get started with the demonstration?" Machibuse just accepted that.
"Hmm, that was supposed to be the plan, but I think we are better off switching things around. I was going to use you to lure in people so I could show this baby off, but then you got yourself into that mess last week and I imagine that there will be people coming here just to take a peek at what you actually do. So I'm showing the new stuff first and then it's your turn to get those babies to work, this way we can be sure that everyone sees everything." Hatsume laid out the plan.
People soon were coming into the pavilion, wouldn't take long for the crowd to come closer.
Machibuse took a deep breath, this was his last task for the day. The audience would be much, much smaller than the one he had to face just this morning, and, for better or worse, Hatsume was a ruthless businesswoman who would inevitably take the lead and shore up any problems they encountered.
Still, there was something in the back of his mind.
"And what about you, Hatsume-san? What you learned about me last week troubles you?" Machibuse asked with some apprehension.
"Not really…. People are complicated, and I prefer to trust my gut rather than thinking too much about it: You are still the same overly stoic airhead from earlier this year. You still need someone to keep you up to speed, and I'm not planning on vacating that position, if that is what you are asking." Hatsume responded with a small grin.
"I was afraid you would be thinking otherwise." Machibuse admitted with a relieved sigh.
"And lose my best client? What do you think I am? Crazy?" Hatsume protested, punching his arm lightly.
"Sometimes, yes." Machibuse responded without a second thought.
"I just walked right into that one." Hatsume just shrugged.
The main screen set on the far wall of the pavilion lit up, as did many other smaller ones scattered around the place. Power Loader was declaring the exposition open and welcoming the guests.
"Say, when you were speaking, did my name came up? From what I was told he isn't very big into marketing, and I've been using you as a walking advertisement since before you even met him." Hatsume took the chance to fire off one question of her own. Soon enough they wouldn't have the luxury of being able to talk about these things.
"It did once. Chizome-san is not exactly fond of your methods, but I somehow got him to just let it go." Machibuse responded.
It was then that he realized that he had made a mistake.
"So what you mean to say is that my babies are Hero Killer approved and I can use that to sell them as "made for true heroes", is that it?" Hatsume grinned like the mad scientist she was.
"…Let me get my own "true hero" seal of approval before you do that, yes? I much prefer not to get stabbed again."
-.
November 2nd, Tokyo, Adachi Ward Outskirts, The Ragged Flagon, 0015
Night was slower than usual at the seedy bar. There were only a few of the usual customers, accompanied by people who intended on doing business with them. Drugs, prostitution, weapons… the Flagon had it all if you asked the right person and paid the right price.
The owner and barman expected a little more movement, given that one big-name broker had come to do business in his establishment earlier that week. His rat-ish features, stained by a bit of grime and a bit of blood, didn't conveyed much enthusiasm, but he was still expecting great things to come around due to this most esteemed guest.
Giran.
The man was a rather unusual fellow, but then again, if something had coerced the man dealing directly with the League of Villains to move out of his usual turf and pay the house tax, then everything was set-up for a decent joint venture.
Perhaps word that such an esteemed broker was now doing business at the Flagon just hadn't gotten out yet. For now it was just the owner, the two bouncers and the five patrons.
*BZZZ*
The sound of a buzzer caused a few heads to turn. That sound meant someone was about to step through the door.
Up to six patrons now, apparently.
The newcomer was a man, teal hair, tall, very well dressed and sporting a distinctive scar on his face.
Tamani Susumu had his phone to his ear as he looked around the place.
"Yeah, found him. Good to know I can always count on you, Skeptic… This shouldn't take long." he spoke before hanging up.
Tension skyrocketed inside the bar.
"Now now, what brings such a figure to my humble establishment? There are plenty of regulars here that wouldn't be too happy to see me serving the warden of that fortress." the owner asked, one of his eyes checking for his rifle, hidden underneath the counter.
"That gentleman over there, actually. Please be at ease, the only two heroes patrolling this area work for me." Tamani pointed nonchalantly towards Giran and handed his pistol to one of the bouncers.
"When people start asking too much about you it is better to lay low for a while. But it seems like a pretty big fish caught wind of me this time… What can this broker do for the government?" Giran asked with a smile as he motioned for the newcomer to join him at his table.
Tamani took a glance at the bottles behind the owner.
"Get me a highball. Lemon or lime, up to you." he ordered and began walking further into the bar.
"You drink? It's on me." Tamani added as he sat down.
"Well, it'd be rude to decline. Mine's a martini!" the broker called out.
Both men waited in silence for a moment, and soon their drinks arrived.
"You haven't answered my question, minister." Giran spoke after taking a sip of his glass.
"About what you can do for the government? Legally speaking, not much. But I'm not here as a government official, so that is hardly a problem." Tamani gave a light shrug.
"This is what I like to hear." Giran's grin widened.
Tamani took a swig out of his drink and reached for the cigar box in the inner pocket of his suit.
"You see, my friend, you have acquired a rather big client recently. And I need to have a word with the League of Villains, I usually like a bit of noise in the background but Shigaraki and his merry band of troublemakers are making too much of it." the minister informed, now reaching for his lighter and taking in the first few puffs of smoke.
"This maybe the black market, but we don't sell each other out. Say what you will, but, unless you are speaking about releasing All For One, I don't see Shigaraki negotiating with the man holding his mentor captive." Giran responded, sounding mildly disappointed.
Tamani sighed.
"You sure I can't change your mind? There are some pretty deep pockets behind our conversation here." he insisted.
"No can do. Can I interest in something else?" Giran shook his head.
"I can only ask for you to come with me then." Tamani responded as he got up and took out an exquisite looking pen from his front pocket.
Tension was in the air once more.
The bouncers looked at each other and began moving, the owner placed his hand onto his weapon, even the other patrons of the bar began readying for trouble.
"That won't do… I hardly believe you are in position to arrest me; I got nothing you can use to bring me in without a warrant." Giran slowly reached for his own gun, hidden away in a compartment underneath his table.
"But I'm not here to arrest you, Okuta-san…" Tamani corrected as he turned to face the bouncers and stood still for a moment.
In the blink of an eye he had disappeared from where he was standing.
And immediately after both bouncers had been cut down.
Tamani was standing behind both of them, holding in his hand a cavalry saber with a handle much too similar to the pen he was holding before.
*BANG*
The owner had enough time to fire a single bullet, but the projectile simply went through the swordsman as if he wasn't even there. He was about to fire a second shot but was stopped by a blade severing his arm from below.
"Thanks for the drink!" Tamani was now standing by his side and ready to bring his sword down.
The owner didn't even had time to scream in pain before his head came falling off his shoulders.
The patrons were frozen in fear now as Tamani began walking towards them.
He turned around slightly to meet Giran face to face.
Tamani still had the same carefree smile on his face from when he had arrived at the bar.
"I'm here to make sure no one spoils our little plan, you know. It is a surprise party for the League of Villains after all, and you might as well be a guest of honor."
…
..
.
AN: So, remember when Tamani said he wasn't much for fighting? Yeah, about that… the first information you ever had about him was that he is amazing at lying. So you might want to take what he says with a grain of salt.
Oh, and you might want to check out a little something. There's a spin-off out now if you haven't seen it yet. I've marked it as Rated M because it focuses on the Vigilantes storyline, and that is a bit darker than the mainline MHA, given the underworld focus of that story.
That and Kagome is the main character there. The one chapter in this story here with her fighting has her throwing a guy chest-first into a deathtrap, then she kills another four people right after. Yeah… it's just the safer road.
See you next time!
