Sometimes, he really wonders if he really is suited to be in the role of a mentor.
"-if you are still unsure of what to do, just wave and smile, wave and smile. You need to act the part of a hero because it is you that the public is entrusting their safety to."
The intern that had been shadowing him nodded like a timid little chipmunk, obviously still nervous and unused to having to deal with the public's curious stare. Oh well, that's what he is here for anyway, but goddammit, wasn't the job of teaching the interns supposed to be thrown at the newer staff? Why is it him that gets the short end of the stick every single time?!
"Oh hey, it's Spinner! Hey Spinner!"
Spinner waved back at the boys waving at him from the other end of the street who like him, all possess Mutant type quirks. Mutant type quirks don't necessarily have the best rep because humans are judgemental creatures. The moment you are born with a Mutant type quirk that makes you hideous looking enough to be shunned by everyone around you, you will be discriminated against by society, and Spinner knew from experience how easily it can make a person spiral down into the deep end from thereon.
So, even when he is still struggling to get his life straight and figure out how to live as a decent human being amidst all the hate and prejudice, he has to continue to smile and wave, to stand proud and tall for being who he is because he is born this way. He is slowly becoming a role model for children with hideous mutant-type quirks alongside the likes of Gang Orca, much to his inner apprehension, but Dabi said that it might just be a way to help kids who were once like him to be able to find the strength to face the scorn from the uglier side of society.
Thus, he had long since decided. If becoming a hero with his ugly quirk that he had been so ashamed of can help one person to embrace their hideous mutant quirk, even if it is just only one, he will continue to do so even if it is taking all of his willpower to not wilt away in some unseen corner. He really cannot deal with being in the spotlight and showered with so much attention, that is more of Jin's thing.
He showed the intern around their assigned area in Hosu, bumping into other local heroes along the way and introducing the new intern to them so that they can all watch out for each other. News were exchanged too, like "There had been increased cases of robbery in District blah blah blah" and "So and so hero would be dropping by on so and so date". This is not something you can learn in schools -even in hero schools- but information is key to crime management. Oh sure, everybody would say that this is common sense, but what nobody would ever teach is how to gather said information.
From his experiences in his line of work, whenever he asked any interns or hero graduates about how they should go about collecting information for whatever purposes, their default answers would be to access the Hero Network, and that would always make him roll his eyes without fail. He swears, heroes nowadays only know how to rely on the internet. Sure, he admits that the internet is useful and extremely handy, but in their line of work if any heroes want to go deeper, they need to be able to gather information outside of the Hero Network. They need to be willing to get down and dirty because that is where all the shady things that villains thrive in takes place.
Spinner had taken this intern for patrol for about two hours already. At first, he couldn't understand why the intern looked so scared just by stepping into their agency, although he kind of guessed the reason when the intern mentioned that he was part of the batch that was being tested in the latest Provisional Hero License Exam where the Dabi Agency were the ones being chosen by the HPSC to be the "villains". Spinner could admit that they might have been a little too absorbed in playing the role of the villain and gone a little overboard during their little act but hey, if the hero wannabes could not even handle a few pretend-villains in a controlled and absolutely safe setting, then they would never last long in this industry.
Seeing that the intern looks as if he was about to drop dead on his feet, Spinner decides to call for a short break and let the intern get a cold drink or two to cool off, something which he happily did. Spinner looked around to see if there was a public bench available for them to sit on, spotted one, and was making his way there when he felt a child bump into him.
"Hey, alright there? Should watch where you are running."
The little girl that bumped into him would have fallen onto the ground if it wasn't for his fast reflexes allowing him to catch her before it happened. He frowned when he took in the ragged appearance of the little girl, wearing only just a plain and dirty tan coloured short-sleeved dress. Her long gray hair looks as if it hasn't been washed in ages and she is really too thin even when he compared her to the kids at the children's home he often visited. What really caught his attention are the bandages wrapped around her arms and legs. With the emergence of quirks, it is not uncommon for people to wrap themselves in bandages for various reasons and it is still sometimes viewed as a fashion statement, but somehow, Spinner has a nagging feeling that this is not it.
What gave it away, you ask? The expression on the little girl's face says it all.
"I am a hero, do you need help? Where are your parents?"
If the reason why the girl is wearing this rag is because her family is too poor to afford a proper piece of clothing for this girl, he is sure that someone within the agency would be able to find a way to get the girl and her family some financial help, but if there are other reasons…
He will need to step in, because that is what heroes do, or at least that is what Toya did when he pulled him out.
"I-I'm fine! I-I…"
The girl's red eyes were frantic, she did not know where to put her hands. She is sweating and shaking and Spinner knows that there is some story behind the girl that he does not know.
"Do you, need help?" Spinner knelt down and asked once more, repeating his words slowly. His sixth sense is screaming at him that something just isn't right, so he subtly glanced around for any suspicious individuals that might be lurking nearby. He could handle himself, but he is not as confident when there is now a civilian child involved and also an inexperienced intern that could be returning anytime now.
'Better safe than sorry,' he thought to himself when he pressed a button on the buckle of his belt. He pressed twice in quick succession, which would send a signal back to the agency which translates to something like Something might happen, prepare to send backup to my location.
The girl seemed to be frozen in place, as if unable to decide what to do. Spinner was about to just take this child with him back to the agency before ringing up the police when he heard it.
"There you are, Eri, you shouldn't be running off like this."
Spinner looked up, spotting a pale man of narrow build and short auburn hair walking up to them from the nearest dark alley. The eye-catching part of his get-up would be the weird thing he wears over his mouth like a bird's beak, but Spinner is not one to criticise another for their fashion tastes. His eyes went back to the little girl beside him, then back to the man, as he assessed the situation and quickly made a few mental notes based on his observation thus far.
1) The girl's name is Eri, and she and this man know each other
2) Eri seems afraid of the man
3) From the man's attire, it doesn't seem like they live in poverty but seeing the girl's dress... Possible signs of abuse?
4) That bird looking mask looks really familiar, will need to ask around after getting back to the agency
No, Spinner is sure that he had at least heard about some sort of bird mask get-up before, be it from prior to becoming a Pro Hero or after becoming one. He just couldn't remember right now what it was supposed to mean.
"You are…?"
"Ah, I'm this child's guardian. Sorry if she obstructed your work, hero-san, I will make sure that it will not happen again."
"Guardian?"
"Her parents entrusted her to my care."
Spinner's eyes shifted from the guy to Eri, then back at him. From how Eri is tightly holding onto his clothes and trembling, not even daring to look in the direction of the bird guy, something is really, really wrong.
"Come here, Eri, stop throwing a tantrum and come back here. Mr Hero has work to do."
Spinner can feel her grip on him getting tighter and tighter, he could hear how her breathing quickened almost to the point of hyperventilation. That is the last straw, something definitely isn't right here.
"Sorry, bro," Spinner replied as he protectively held Eri with one arm and stood up, angling his body in such a manner so that if the worst were to happen, he could at least use his body to shield her. "Doesn't seem like she's willing to go back. I'm from Dabi Agency, by the way, and we almost always have kids at the place since some of our colleagues bring their children to work. We don't mind having another, so if it's fine with you, she can play there and you can collect her later?"
Spinner would definitely look up Eri and this man the moment he gets back.
"Now, I wouldn't want to trouble-"
"Oh, it's no trouble, Eri is a nice child. Let's see, how about-"
"Spinner!"
Three heads turned into the direction of the voice that interrupted the conversation, and Spinner spotted the intern who just returned with drinks in tow. Oh great, he just has to choose to return now of all times.
"I got the drinks! Oh, who's this little girl? Uh, you look thirsty, you can have my drink?"
Damn intern and his inability to read the mood. Right, he is an intern for a reason.
"Haaah," The suspicious man let out a long sigh as Spinner's attention snapped back to him. "I know we look suspicious, and I really don't want to say this because this is embarrassing so if you don't mind, we could discuss this somewhere out of earshot?"
Spinner looked at the dark alley the man was pointing at and immediately came to a decision. Yeah, no thanks, bud. He had been in the wrong company for long enough to know what it means to be invited into a dark alley. Only naive idiots like the intern beside him would ever agree to that sort of thing.
By now, Spinner's body is already tensing up into a fight or flight mode. He's far from being the best combatant in the agency; his forte is reconnaissance, but he is at least confident enough in his ability to run away with a civilian in tow. The only problem would be the intern, because it doesn't seem like the dense knucklehead reads the atmosphere properly and is sipping on that damn drink without a care in the world.
He's definitely getting a one-star rating from him afterwards, definitely.
"Hey gecko, whatcha' doing?"
Spinner let out an inner sigh of relief when he spotted Crystalman and Pickpocket walking up to them. They must have been sent here after the agency picked up on his signal. Spinner was about to try and find a way to convey his suspicions to his colleagues without outright offending the man, but stopped when he spotted the frown on both his colleagues' faces.
"That mask… Shie Hassaikai?"
"Shie Hassaikai?" Spinner repeated the name, being more alert than he thought possible. That name certainly rings a very familiar bell.
"He's a Yakuza. Both of us here almost joined at a certain point in time, that's how we know," Pickpocket quickly whispered as he callously pulled the clueless intern backwards, who is only now starting to realise that something isn't quite right. Yakuza? Nothing good ever comes out from that when they are involved and Spinner's starting to be convinced that Eri might just be a victim.
Crystalman subtly placed himself strategically in between the now identified Yakuza and them due to his quirk before calling out on the Yakuza.
"Hey you, Hosu is not an area where you guys usually operate. Care to make a quick trip with us to the police? They have some nice coffee there, bro, I guarantee it."
The Yakuza doesn't seem intimidated unlike the ordinary thug, but he made no moves to blow matters up. However, that stare of silent fury directed at them actually got him to feel a shiver running down his spine.
This Yakuza is no ordinary Yakuza.
"...Fine, bring her to your agency or whatever. I will collect her later."
He walked off and disappeared into the shadows of the dark alley which he originally appeared from. Spinner released a breath he never knew he held the moment the Yakuza was gone and he could tell that the same goes for his colleagues. For some reason, they felt the instinctive fear that this Yakuza could easily massacre them if they really came to blows.
Spinner was brought back to his senses when he felt the little girl in his arms trembling and sobbing.
"T-Thank you… T-Thank…"
"You are safe now, we are here," Spinner held her close as they all wordlessly walked away from the area, cautiously surveying their surroundings every now and then. They have mountains of questions that need answers but for now, the well-being of this girl takes priority.
Being a hero is hard, especially when you are staring face-to-face with a villain who you knew could easily take your life, but the feeling of being able to help change someone's life for the better is indescribable in a way that you could only know if you experienced it yourself.
He saved a little girl today, that alone made all the hardships he experienced in his life thus far worth it.
"Eri, huh?"
The frown on their boss' face is uncharacteristically serious, especially after the verbal report they had given him about the Yakuza they met and about what they know about Shie Hassaikai. Things took a more sinister turn after they had confirmation from the police that there are no birth records relating to Eri.
"Sorry that we weren't able to capture him, boss."
"Not your fault, we had no legal reasons to act upon it, merely suspicions. For now, it's good enough that we saved the girl from him, but if what the girl said is true…"
"Should we ask for help from the other agencies?"
"Please do. Inform them about the happenings today and share what we know about Shie Hassaikai on the HN. We need to step up patrols in Hosu if they have indeed widened their operations into our city. We need to make sure that Eri is well-protected as well since she is now under our care for the foreseeable future, and tell the working mums here to stop bringing their children here for the time being, for all we know they might just launch an attack directly at our agency just to get Eri back."
"That serious?" Setsuno winced upon the mention of such a scenario.
"Based on what Eri described her quirk to be and the kinds of things that Chisaki Kai subjected her to, Eri is a very valuable existence to them. Chisaki Kai would want to get her back using any means necessary so yes, such arrangements are necessary."
"Well that's fine and all, but… how are we going to take care of a little girl…?"
The group of crass men in the meeting room fell silent. None of them has any experience in taking care of a child, much less a victim of child abuse and inhumane experiements who is currently being hunted by a Yakuza group.
"I will get my sister to help me, she is a teacher after all, so she will know how to deal with children," Toya spoke up after some thought. "Security wise, if worse comes to worst, and as much as I hate to say this, I can place Eri in my father's home. That bastard is a Pro Hero after all, he is expected to do this even if just to boost his hero rankings, but the bottom line is, Eri will be safe with the Number 2 Hero around."
"But that is only if things really do get out of hand, yeah?"
"So let's do our best to prevent that from happening," Toya agreed. "Anything else anyone wants to bring up before I make some calls to other Pro Heroes? No? Then in that case, someone please help get Eri a new set of clothes and get her some food. Until we are done with this Shie Hassaikai case, never leave her out of our sights, clear?"
"Roger, boss!"
Shie Hassaikai
I don't remember everything, but I remember enough that Shie Hassaikai will grow to be a huge enough threat. I remember enough that they are the reason why an innocent little girl is crying for help as she underwent inhumane torture day after day for no other reason than to satisfy Overhaul's ego. I remember enough that good people will die on that day.
As a hero, that is more than enough reason for me to treat this matter with all seriousness. Fate had somehow led me to finding out about their activities sooner than what had happened in canon. I had never been a superstitious person and I'm definitely far from being a religious one despite my experience with reincarnation, but maybe this is really a sign that I am here to change things.
"Boss?"
"There's no need for you to starve alongside me, Jin. Go eat your lunch."
"I'm not hungry at all- Yes I am! I mean, for you to ditch your lunch means that this is really important, right? What can be more important than lunch?! Argh! Shut up! No you shut up!"
Ignoring Jin's weird habit of talking to himself, I continued to stare at Shuichi's report that I held in my hand. I could still remember how he came to my office, holding a scared Eri in his eyes as he quickly gave me the rundown of his encounter with Chisaki Kai. I cannot be more thankful to whatever deities above that they all returned alive.
Eri's testimony allowed us to learn of the existence of the drug business the Shie Hassaikai had been involved in behind everyone's backs. Through our further investigations, we had successfully identified Shie Hassaikai to be the distributor of a large batch of illegal drugs and while there is no concrete proof that they are the ones doing the selling, there's also nothing to show that they are totally unrelated to dealing and distribution of illegal drugs. Furthermore, there are hints of a new brand of quirk destroying drug being circulated if you know what to look for within the very minor details of the investigative report I just received from other Pro Heroes after I asked for their assistance to look into Shie Hassaikai. The details within the reports are things that I would definitely have missed as well if it wasn't for my foreknowledge.
I can do with this.
I picked up my phone and dialled a specific number. I wasn't kept waiting for long.
"Oi, raptor."
"Yo Frankenstein! Wassup?"
"I have something that I need your help to investigate. Free to talk?"
"Nah. Things to do, places to fly-"
"KFC. My treat."
"I will be there at your agency in the evening. Around eight."
"Damn raptor."
"Hey if I'm gonna help you with your work it better be worth it, you know? Of course I'm going to milk you for all it's worth! And I want-"
"One entire bucket. I get it."
"And another bucket of it after we are done with whatever thing you want me to help investigate."
"Cheapskate."
"Miser," There was a brief sound of something sharp cutting through the air from the other end of the line. "Well, see you in the evening Frankenstein. It seems that I have a runaway thief to catch."
"Fine, bye. Hope you crash through a window or two."
"Don't jinx it man. The last time you said that- woah! What the hell?! That almost came true!"
"Ah, good."
"Is that something a hero should say?!"
I decided to ignore the raptor and hang up the call, leaving him to catch the runaway thief that he was yapping about. I turned to face Jin, who is still self-absorbed in his one-man theatrical play of arguing with himself.
"Jin."
"Heya boss! Are you done with work? Since when is the boss done with work? Can we have lunch now, pretty please?"
"Help me give her a call. There's something I need her to investigate, pull Manami and Danjuro out of whatever they are currently busy with to assist her as well. The Shie Hassaikai case takes priority." I spoke as I slowly stood up from my seat and headed for the door, intending on getting my lunch. It's high time for that woman to stop operating independently and come back to the agency for once. It took me nearly everything to pull her out of jail, it's about time I cash in on her abilities for a worthwhile cause.
"Her…? HER?! NO WAY! THE LAST TIME WE MET SHE NEARLY BLEW A HOLE IN MY HEAD!"
"Then wear a helmet."
"You know full well that won't protect me!"
I habitually tuned out Jin's ramblings as we walked into the room where Eri is said to be resting in. I peeked my head in, spotting the little kid that Spinner had saved and who I once vaguely remembered reading about in a life long past when she was just a fictional character. She's sitting beside Setsuno and eagerly licking on a lollipop that Setsuno had given her. Someone had also given Eri a change of clothes seeing that she is no longer wearing rags.
"Eri, am I right?"
Eri tensed up and subconsciously curled up into herself, trying to reduce her presence and size. It's an obvious sign of trauma, one that I recognised spotting in my siblings once before. Seeing that, Setsuno immediately tried to resolve the awkward atmosphere.
"Hey Eri, no need to be afraid. Remember what I told you about our boss? That's Dabi, our boss. Yeah I know he looks scary, but he's really nice."
"He's Dabi?" Eri asked softly from where she is timidly hiding behind Setsuno, sneaking curious yet wary glances at me from time to time.
"Yep, that's me." I affirmed as I took a few steps forward and stopped at a distance just close enough to not let her feel uncomfortable. At least she's not screaming her head off at the sight of my disfigured looks, so she's already a lot braver than other kids her age.
"So, we were thinking of going out for lunch. Want to come?"
She still looks apprehensive, so I decided to throw out another offer.
"There will be sweets."
From how her eyes practically sparkled at the mention of sweets, that sealed the deal.