Chapter 30: A Particular Encounter
Ryo was walking in the middle of the street, wearing a black leather jacket with a hood that covered his head to the point that his face couldn't be seen unless someone was incredibly close to him.
In those last two days, after killing Shocker, he had done nothing else: stay hidden, walk in the middle of the road and so on.
He no longer turned into Venom to keep a low profile, because if he came out immediately he would be surrounded by god only knows how many Heroes.
And although he was sure of his abilities he didn't know if he could fight a large number of Heroes at the same time, so he preferred to stay on the safe side.
But not turning into Venom meant not hunting for Villains and criminals.
Not hunting for Villains and criminals meant he couldn't eat them.
And not being able to eat them meant that V was getting hungrier and hungrier.
"I'm hungry, Ryo." V said. In his voice he could well hear the hunger, the desire to feed... and even a little bit of irritation.
"I know well, V." Ryo murmured. He usually responded to V mentally, especially when he was in the middle of the street full of people like in that moment, but in those last days he sometimes ended up answering him verbally, even if he tried to speak to him in as low a voice as possible to not to be heard and to not to be mistaken for some lunatic madman "But we can't go chasing Villains and criminals. Not immediately at least. The Heroes would be on us immediately.".
"We can defeat them. We can stand up to them like we did in the UA dorms.".
"In that case there were few. But now everyone knows what we are capable of after what we did two days ago, and if we show ourselves immediately after what we did we will not have to deal with a few Heroes, but with a large number of them.".
Ryo could feel his body shudder due to a rumble generated by V's grumbling.
"Calm down, V. We have to keep a low profile. Not only to avoid getting caught… but also to create a plan that will allow us to kill Bakugou. After killing Shocker, only Bakugou remains the only one to take revenge on. So we should be stealthy. Silent. Don't get us noticed right away. Or for us it will be...".
Ryo was so caught up in his own speech that he didn't even realize he was walking right towards a girl, consequently bumping into her.
V, just then, made parts of himself appear on the soles of Ryo's feet so as not to drop him and keep him attached to the ground.
Ryo managed to regain his balance and while all this was happening he saw who he had hit: a girl of his own age, 16, with short brown hair, holding a trolley in one hand and a phone in the other, which had slipped off her hand after bumping into him and was now falling to the ground together with its own owner.
Ryo was on the verge of taking both the phone on the fly and preventing the girl from falling, but she was able to immediately regain her balance and immediately recover the phone before it touched the ground.
All in an impressive speed and in a short time.
The girl composed herself and only then did she notice Ryo in front of her and she remained still, motionless, without saying anything.
She spent a few seconds in silence then interrupted by Ryo who simply said "Wow.".
The girl seemed to recover and then said, "Oh, man, sorry I didn't see you and I bumped into you! I'm so sorry!".
"Oh, uh, don't worry," Ryo replied, pulling his hood slightly forward so that he could hide his face even more. Judging from the trolley, the girl had just arrived from outside, but from her facial features it really seemed that she was Japanese. She might not recognize him but it was better to be on the safe side, it was better this way "But I have to be the one to apologize. I was too busy with my… thoughts to notice what was around me. " he could hear V grumbling in his head, almost offended by that "So, in a way, it's my fault I ran into you and you were about to fall to the ground."
"Ahhhh don't worry" the girl laughed gesturing with her free hand "The important thing is that we are both alright and that we have not ended up on the ground. Great reflexes, by the way. You managed to block yourself before you fell. You almost seemed to be attached to the ground with your feet.".
"Uh..." Ryo jumped. Maybe it was better to have fallen, maybe then the girl wouldn't have wondered about how he got stuck as he fell. "Thanks. You too had some great reflexes, though. You managed to stop yourself from falling and grab the phone in no time.".
Ryo noticed how the girl seemed to jump, and V seemed to notice that too since let out a curious gurgling.
"Oh? That, you say? Oh, look, it's just a matter of habit." The girl laughed nervously.
"Habit?".
"Yes, habit.".
"Are you telling me that it is customary for you to end up against other people and fall to the ground?".
"Mhmh, I'm really careless" the girl nodded, continuing to laugh nervously and scratching her head embarrassed "Only in this way I was able to regain my balance and pick up the phone in such a short time.".
Ryo raised an eyebrow "If you say so.".
"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you dear stranger." The girl said putting the phone back in place and picking up her trolley in her hand "But I'm in a hurry, so I have to go. I have a family appointment, ya know?".
"I understand" Ryo replied, an amused smile that appeared on his face "Then I won't hold you back any longer.".
"Perfect. See you then." she said while waving and then walked away.
"What a weird girl..." V said while Ryo just watched the girl go away for a few seconds, and then start walking away.
"Not that we're better, V." Ryo answered.
"In any case, as I was saying before all of this, we will have to go unnoticed in the coming times. I know it bothers you…".
"You don't have the slightest idea, Ryo. I am hungry. I haven't eaten for two days! I need phenylalanine to survive, and you know it's found in both brains and chocolate! So if we really can't eat brains, let's get some chocolate.".
Ryo sighed as he brought two fingers to the bridge of his nose "Oh yeah, sure, and how do you think we can get some chocolate without a penny? I'm sorry V but we will have to make do, so have a little patience.".
Another gurgle.
It was very rare for Ryo and V to argue, but when they did, V would end up in silence without saying anything for quite a while. This was one of those times.
Ryo heaved a sigh "Listen V, I would like to hunt for Villains and criminals as much as you. Who knows what would happen without us on the streets, but we will have to be patient. So we're going to have to stay hidden for a while… and not on the street like we've been doing for the past couple of days. We have to find a place where they would never think where we could be.".
"... like what?".
Ryo froze for a second, staring at the ground thinking... and almost with nostalgia.
After several more moments of silence Ryo breathed a sigh saying "I think I have an idea. Hoping that someone doesn't live there after all these years.".
Miki continued to walk straight towards her destination while thinking back to that encounter with that boy a few minutes earlier.
She almost let herself be discovered, and she had just arrived.
She had to be much more careful in keeping her abilities hidden.
She thought of that boy: just before she bumped into him it seemed to her that he was talking to someone... but who?
Then she also wondered why she was hiding under that hood. Sure, it wasn't one of the best disguises, as she could see his purple hair and eyes of the same color up close, but she still wondered why? Was he ashamed of how he looked like her or something?
Miki simply shrugged and increased her pace, headed for the hospital where her aunt and her teammates were staying. She had to be...
"Bingo." She said to herself after finding herself in front of the hospital that had been indicated to him by Koda.
She entered and found herself in front of many people talking to each other, or they were sitting on chairs waiting their turn to talk to the hospital reception or doctors and nurses who went from one side to the other.
She was about to head to the reception to ask where her aunt and her teammates were, but she froze when she heard a familiar voice behind her "Miki...?".
The girl turned to find herself a few meters from two figures that she recognized immediately, one small and one larger.
A big smile appeared on her face but she couldn't even open her mouth that the smaller figure ran towards her screaming "MIKI!".
"Hi Kota! How are you, little brother?" Miki said, taking her younger brother in the air and holding him in a hug that was immediately returned.
"I am fine! I'm so happy to see you, big sister!" Kota said smiling as tears of happiness fell from his eyes "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Kota." Miki answered while lowering Kota to the ground and stroking his hair.
"Long time no see, Miki." said the voice of the second figure who approached the two.
"Hi, Tomoko. How are you?" Miki said, immediately hugging the woman who returned the hug with a smile.
"Me? Very good, all in all. Of course I will no longer have a Quirk, but on the other hand I continue to work from the office." the woman replied with a toothy smile and a chuckle from the brown-haired girl.
Once she stopped laughing the girl's gaze became more serious and, after heaving a sigh, asked "How... how are Aunt Shino and the others?".
Kota and Tomoko looked at each other with worried looks and the answer came from Kota who said "Ryuko and Yawara are fine... but Aunt Shino... she... she hasn't woken up yet.".
Miki pointed her gaze towards Tomoko asking "Is she in a serious situation?".
"Well... the doctors operated on her and luckily everything went well... they just told us that we will have to see how things will go in the future.".
Miki nodded again and then asked "Can I... can I see them?".
The three, in no time at all, headed for the room where the three official members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats were.
As soon as they entered Miki could see the situation well: all three were lying in their beds with bandages everywhere, but if Ryuko and Yawara were awake, Shino was not yet.
As soon as they saw Kota and Tomoko enter with Miki, the two awake Heroes opened their eyes wide, surprised expressions that painted their faces.
"Hey there, people" smiled Miki spreading her arms "Did you miss me?".
"Miki!" Ryuko said as a smile formed on her face "You are here!".
"When you said on the phone that you were coming here, we didn't think you meant it." Yawara said, smiling in turn.
"Are you kidding, right? You are practically my family, did you think I would stay in New York while you stayed in this state?" Miki answered, arching an eyebrow.
Her gaze then shifted to Shino's sleeping figure and, with a sad expression, she walked over to her bed.
She took her hand while Kota walked over to Miki and squeezed her free hand, as if to comfort her older sister.
Tomoko, Ryuko and Yawara observed everything in silence and with sad looks, saying nothing so as not to interrupt the moment.
Miki tightened her grip on Shino's hand even more: she wasn't dead, sure, but this reminded her too much of what happened to her parents.
When they were killed by Goto Imasuji, the Villain Muscular.
And she…
She was about to open his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a murmur.
A murmur that came from Shino's mouth.
Miki and Kota, who were closest, widened their eyes.
"I only heard that myself or...".
"No Miki, I heard too." Kota said.
"What exactly are you two talking about?" Ryuko asked, confused.
She received another murmur from Shino in response, this time a little louder than the one before and making herself heard by her three teammates.
"Aunt Shino!" Kota said "Aunt Shino, are you awake?".
"Aunt, it's us!" Miki said "Can you hear us?".
Shino slowly opened his eyes, but she couldn't see well.
She saw everything blurry.
While all this was happening, Tomoko had called doctors who had come as quickly as possible.
"Gentlemen, I think I have to ask you out." The doctor said to Miki, Kota and Tomoko.
"What?!" Miki said.
"But our aunt is waking up... we..." Kota tried to protest.
"And that's exactly why we have to go out." Tomoko said politely "The doctor will see how the situation is, and then we can talk to your aunt. All right?".
Kota nodded weakly while Miki snorted, but nodded in turn.
Once they were out, Miki was finally able to ask the question she wanted so much to ask first.
"Who was it to put them in those conditions, Tomoko?".
"Well… it's a long story.".
"I have all day off, so...".
"There's Kota here. It is a subject ... quite delicate.".
Kota snorted "Don't worry, Tomoko. You can easily explain what happened to Miki. I'll walk away so you can explain everything to her. She deserves to know." And having said that he walked away to sit in one of the nearby chairs, even before he could hear Tomoko's protests while Miki couldn't help but laugh.
Tomoko heaved a sigh "Well… if you insist so much, and since Kota has gone away… I can tell you everything. Your aunt and the others, two days ago, joined an operation to take down the Black Dragon gang.".
"The Black Dragon? That gang known for kidnappings all over Japan?".
"Precisely. The main goal was to capture the leader of the Black Dragon, Herman Schultz also known as the Shocker. With his capture, the fall of the Black Dragon would have been inevitable. Unfortunately, the members of the operation fell into a trap of the Black Dragon, and your aunt, Ryuko and Yawara faced Shocker. "
"So... was he who did this to them?"
"Yeah.".
"And… what happened to him? To Shocker, I mean? He was captured, I hope.".
Tomoko's gaze became more serious "Not ... exactly.".
"And what happened to him, then?".
"He's dead.".
A few seconds of silence passed in which Miki processed what was just said and then, with wide eyes she asked "Dead? Like… really dead?".
"Really dead," Tomoko nodded. "A Vigilante who in recent months has made himself known in Japan and who came to Musutafu not long ago interfered in the operation. He interfered in the operation and killed Shocker." she continued to explain as she picked up the phone. She turned it on and, finding the image she was looking for, showed it to Miki "The name of this Vigilante is Venom, real name Ryo Honda."
Miki observed the image. It was from an article with two photos showing the Vigilante with what appeared to be his 'costume' and his real face.
His... his costume was strange... it didn't even look like a costume, it looked almost as if he had been transformed: he was huge, with a black body crossed by white veins, big white eyes and a mouth bristling with fangs.
But what made Miki's eyes widen was the real face of the Vigilante: a sixteen-year-old boy with purple hair and eyes of the same color.
That face… that was the stranger she bumped into as she was heading here.
"Uh… Miki? Is everything okay?" Tomoko asked with a raised eyebrow.
Miki shifted her gaze from the phone to Tomoko and only two words came out of her mouth "Holy shi...".
"So ... is this where we will be staying?" V asked.
"Yes V... that's it." Ryo said as he looked with a sad and nostalgic look at the place where they would hide: his old house, the same house where he lived with his parents before moving to Jaku City.
"So this was your old house?".
"Yeah.".
"It looks bad.".
Ryo snorted "It seems obvious to me. Nobody lives here anymore. I just wonder why no one bought it when my parents and I left."
He went to the door and pointed the index finger of his right hand at the lock and a black filament stretched from it and entered the lock, using it as a key to break the door.
Hearing a *click* Ryo opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and looking around, his mind flooded with memories of him when he lived here with his family.
The evenings spent watching TV with them.
The days spent playing with his father.
The lunches spent cooking with his mother.
"Are you sure they won't come looking for us here, Ryo?" V asked.
"I'm sure, believe me. This place will be a great place to hide… and to plan a way to kill Bakugou.".
