"You have both my humblest apologies for this whole mess and my sincerest thanks for saving my employee. It's rather difficult to find men I trust enough to complete such a deal, you understand." The sly, almost too cheerful voice from the Deternat president seemed to be a mix of ruthless capitalist and a used car salesman that had used far too much grease in his hair.
Of all the people Izuku had expected to be calling them about the deal gone bad, Izuku hadn't expected the actual public face of the company to call directly. That felt like a bad idea on several levels. What on earth would they do if the Amagi went public with this information? Maybe this guy was just a good businessman but terrible at basic human things
… like survival.
Izuku looked around the isolated room in the underground of the Amagi compound. Monitors lined the entirety of one wall, each one showing key points of Amagi territory. The casino and the main compound were the most heavily monitored, but there were a few cameras in the fight club and a few more in the red light district. The ones that kept drawing Izuku's attention were those placed at the bridges. Historically, the Amagi Group and the Tokyo Clan had been divided by a large river, though at times that border had shifted a lot.
Thanks to Tanaka, the historical riverside border had been restored.
A long table sat in the center of the room, and sitting at the head was his grandmother, a deep frown etched into her normally lively face. Wakan sat near her, arms crossed over his chest and a deep scowl pointed towards the phone. Beside Izuku sat Sho, who looked like a ball of fury about to erupt at a moment's notice.
"How did this happen?" Hanabi said in a voice that sounded like the crackling of embers before they sprung to life once more. "This was a meeting on your terms, at your facility. So how?"
"Ahh, well, we were able to confirm that it was largely a coincidence."
"An ambush like that was just a coincidence?" If looks could kill, Rikiya would have been brutally murdered through the phone. "Are you taking me for a fool?"
"Sorry sorry! I should be more clear. Allow me to explain. After reviewing the footage, we found that several of the Tokyo Clan Members had scouted the building over the week prior. It's likely they just happened to be robbing the place when our deal was about to begin. My employee said that he greeted the man with purple hair, asking if he was with the Amagi, but after that his memory was foggy until you saved him." Rikiya paused for a moment. "His phone had been stolen as well; it's likely that they found out about your meeting through that."
Izuku gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Luck. They had a fight like that due to dumb luck?
"He leaves his phone unlocked?" Wakan asked.
"Probably not." Sho answered, "From what I understand of Hitoshi's quirk, he can give you commands. Unlocking a phone could be easy, depending on how it was locked."
"Shin had a biometric as his only lock," Rikiya confirmed. "I might have to require my employees to have a code as well."
"That's fine and all," Hanabi growled, "but how are you going to compensate us?"
"Another deal of course, one that's more favorable to you. We at Detnerat are always innovating and pushing the bounds of illegal support items."
Izuku looked towards his grandmother, eyebrow raised. Was this a sales pitch?
She scoffed and shrugged, both hands going up in pure 'done with this shit' energy. She sighed and glared at the phone again. "And what about the items that were stolen from you. Those weapons that are now pointed at us?"
"Oh, we have no intention of retrieving those support items." Rikiya's attitude shifted from placating to dismissive in a heartbeat. "Really, it doesn't matter who gets these items so long as they're not heroes. Because of Tanaka's unique Meta Ability, as well as Izuku's, I'm not too concerned about your ability to weather this storm, and I'd prefer us to be allies in the future."
"Then why aren't you—"
"Because I don't want to shut the door on the Tokyo Clan, now that it's clear they have some form of organization." Rikiya cut Hanabi off with the firmness of his voice. This wasn't like the police who had to do anything because of the laws. This was a man that knew his exact position and all the chips he held. It was kind of frightening. "Look at it this way: through Detnerat, you'll have a third party that'll assist with a peaceful avenue should you wish it."
A pause filled the room.
"We'll be in touch."
The line went silent.
Sho was the first to stand, and he took a few careful steps towards the fire extinguisher.
"Sho, you best not touch that thing." Hanabi growled. Her fists were balled so tightly that the white of her knuckles were visible. "If I want to burn the whole damn house down, I'll let you know."
"But your hair's on fire."
"Sho…"
"Right, right." Sho rolled his eyes and sat back down.
For a long time, the room was filled with a silent rage while everyone digested the conversation. Detnerat still wanted to do business with them, but they were now playing the double-sided role of a proper arms dealer selling to both sides. From what Izuku understood, there was nothing they could really do about it. Fortunately, it was far more Illegal to use support items in a fight than it was for quirks to be used, so what Hitoshi could actually do with them was actually limited.
Any large-scale conflict could have the Tokyo Clan become rebranded as a villain group in the snap of a finger. Then it would be game over for them.
"We'll just have to keep relying on Tanaka," Izuku said and folded his fingers in front of him. "I told him about Hitoshi's quirk, so he just said he'll keep laughing when he fights against the Tokyo Clan."
"That's good." Sho leaned back, a smug grin on his face. "It means that they'll start to shit themselves whenever they go to a comedy."
Given the amount of fear that Ori's tattoo caused him to personally feel, Izuku had to agree with that possibility.
"Alright!" Hanabi clapped and stood, a wide smile on her face. "I'm done with this shit. Izuku, pack your bags."
"Huh? Why?"
"We're going skydiving in Tahiti. After that you, and Ori can fuck off and discover why you shouldn't fuck on the beach, while I pretend to be a normal-ass grandma that wants to do boring shit all day."
Wakan snorted. "By that she means put everyone younger than her to shame."
"Not my fault everyone over thirty acts like they'll break going down stairs." Hanabi crossed her arms and pouted. "Wakan, you're in charge."
"Hai hai, I'll make sure no one tries a coup while you're gone."
"Fuck that, encourage it, give me something fun to do when we get back."
"Wait, are we really going now?" Izuku stood and asked. "But, Hitoshi? The Tokyo Clan? Those Nomu things?"
"Ehh, things will be fine." Hanabi waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. "That Hitoshi boy is smart enough to know he shouldn't start an all-out war with us, and if we leave now, we'll be back before I-Island when the heroes and police are most active. Really, even if we did stay, there'd be nothing to do. Perfect time for a vacation."
"But—"
Hanabi placed a bony finger on his chest. "And you need to take a break to clear your mind off this bullshit."
Izuku gave a light wince. Honestly, going to a fun sounding place like Tahiti sounded like a great trip for his eighteenth birthday. Living alone with his mom, they barely had enough money some years to have fried chicken on christmas. A trip out of the country was never really in the books. "Don't I need a passport?"
"Already taken care of." Hanabi glanced towards Sho, who gave a small thumbs up. "Eva too, that girl's been training nonstop and she needs a break."
Wakan gave a light grunt in confirmation. "Just don't throw her in the water."
"Why? She can't swim?" Izuku asked, "I mean, I could teach her and—"
"Her body is too dense. Humans are barely able to float in water as it is, but if you throw Eva into the ocean she'll sink like a rock, and no amount of swimming would be able to save her." Wakan grunted and then shrugged. "And no, floaties wouldn't help. Be like tying a rock to a balloon."
"Got it, Eva doesn't mix with water." Izuku nodded and looked back towards his grandmother. "Why Tahiti? Why not Okinawa?"
"Half the places in Okinawa won't allow people with tattoos." Hanabi placed her hands on top of his arms, a sad smile on her face. "If you go there, you'll be stared at, jeered at, and people will avoid you just because you've turned your body into a work of art and self expression." Her eyes twinkled as she looked up at him, a kindly smile that seemed to be perfect for a grandmother gracing her lips. "I know you have tough skin, but I want you to experience the outside world."
That grandmotherly smile was replaced with one that belonged on a hellion. "Besides, Tahiti is more fun."
"Do try to make sure Hanabi doesn't start…" Wakan paused and twirled his hand for a moment. "An incident."
"You hush." Hanabi threw up her hands and walked past Izuku. "I'm too old for this shit, let's get going! Woo!"
Izuku watched his grandmother leave before he turned to look at Wakan, who had yet to really move from his seat.
"Your grandmother has ants in her pants." Wakan kept his eyes shut and sighed. "Once she wants to do something, there ain't nothing on earth that'll stop her."
"You got that right!" Hanabi's voice drifted from down the hall. "Now come on!"
XXXX
Izuku stared down at the expansive blue lagoon that was filled to the brim with warm water and pure white sandy beaches. Just the view alone had made the plane trip worth it, though he had barely gotten a moment to enjoy it before his grandmother had grabbed him by the arm and loaded him onto a much smaller plane.
It took him about six seconds to realize that he was about to go skydiving.
Which gave him plenty of time to deal with the fact that he was going really really really high up in the air.
"You wanna know what the best part about Tahiti is?" Hanabi all but shouted as the plane door opened, allowing the wind to come rushing in and smacking both of them in the face. Before Izuku could answer, she peeled off her parachute and headed towards the door. "The quirk laws!"
With that, Izuku watched as his grandmother jumped out of the plane, her body taking to the air like a piece of paper on the street. She glided effortlessly, flipping, turning, and dancing in the air, before she ignited. A mixture of orange and blue flames engulfed her, forming the vague shape of a bird that soared through the air.
"She does this everytime!" The skydiving instructor Izuku was currently strapped to gave a small sigh. "If she didn't pay so well, we'd have banned her. Oh well, you ready to go big guy?"
"Do I jump?"
"Or fall, both work."
Izuku took a step out of the plane and found that rush his grandmother had been talking about. Plummeting towards the earth had its own unique set of charms to it.
AN: VACATION ARC Ya'know before shit hits the fan.