A day after the entrance exam, Izuku and Ayaka met up at the mall for Ayaka to look at a few jobs she could do considering they still had a month before their life in U.A. would start.
After finding a job as being a simple cashier in a popular fast-food chain, Ayaka went over the day learning and receiving instructions. A day later and she went to work in the modern world for the first time.
Fortunately, she didn't need to deal with troublesome customers. Due in part to the fact she was already used to talking to people so it wasn't that hard for her to adjust to her new workspace.
Then came Sunday, the day when she would get to Yokohama. There were too many unknowns, she trusted Izuku's detail at looking through what the internet had but the information present was limited.
It was a frigid morning, Ayaka felt the breeze but not its chill, something she would have realized if not for her subconscious telling otherwise. She waited just outside the vicinity of a ticket machine after going through her preparations beforehand.
She checked her phone to see the time it took her to finish from early morning. '7:00 am. It is my first time using this form of transportation, bullet train was it? Supposedly it goes fast so it should only take a short time since it's Musutafu to Yokohama.'
The ticket machine dispensed her ticket as she took it and started heading for the platform. Sooner than later, the bullet train arrived at blistering speeds.
'Amazing… if only we had this kind of technology back in Teyvat.'
She waited for the passengers to depart before going inside. Ayaka was almost in constant wonder even if it was a regular scene for a Japanese person, as soon as the train closed its doors it sped faster than Ayaka thought possible.
It was almost as quick as she entered the bullet train, she soon reached her destination and the atmosphere change was felt immediately by Ayaka.
She exited the platform and made her way outside where she could see the more numerous blinding lights that dotted high buildings that almost reached the sky.
More people were traveling around, packed more together as streetlights dictated the mass of people moving forward while cars were like a flowing stream on the road.
'Right, I'll have to ask around for the pro hero. There should be Salione's agency north from here, I'll just follow the road until I find it.'
Her plan was simple if every Hero worked for someone or created their own agency, then going there and asking around for details was going to be her best bet.
Though the next two were going to be harder, past victims saved, their last known whereabouts, police reports, and other sources of information were going to be limited online.
The Fatui may be considered an 'evil' bunch but they were still human. Separated from their original world would make them rely on their true motivations.
Ayaka considered that whoever came from Teyvat, Fatui or not, would want to lay low. For now, all she had was a Delusion that suggested the existence of someone who sent it.
All she had to go through was that someone had control over a single specific element. From Villains to Heroes and even Vigilantes, Ayaka's conditions were that the quirk could be mistaken for pure elemental control and that they were operating in Yokohama.
It didn't matter to her if it was unlikely someone from Teyvat would reveal themselves to the public or draw attention to themselves. Anything would be a good lead at this point, Ayaka had something and that was enough for her.
Salione's Quirk of needing salt in his body would easily be mistaken for pure Electricity creation if it wasn't publicly known he needed a source of salt.
Ember's could be mistaken for producing flames out of nowhere, though it was just the highly flammable gas he can breathe out or so how Ember's Quirk supposedly works.
Finally, the unnamed Vigilante's theoretical Quirk was controlling wind that already existed around him, essentially redirection of already moving air. There was a caveat, no one actually knows if that is what the unnamed Vigilante's Quirk is.
'First one is Salione, he's supposedly injured so I have to ask around his agency for where he is and possibly ask for his history.'
For a few minutes, she continued walking north, in the direction where she found Salione's agency on the internet. She stood still right on a turn where she looks around after her map stops tracking.
She calls attention to a bystander staring at his phone. "Excuse me, where can I find Salione's agency? My map says the location is supposed to be somewhere around here."
The middle-aged man looks up from his phone. "Are you not from here? Salione already packed up shop after his injury. Laid off some of his sidekicks and let them go."
"That's a shame, a hero shouldn't get pushed to disband his agency. Do you know anything about him? I was not aware he had already had his agency defunct." She replies.
"Yeah a shame, he's a good man, some Villain fight happened, and got caught in it so suddenly. He was trying to help over at the park and got burned really badly when a fight broke out nearby. Hah... he has been volunteering for his old Elementary school for such a long time too. After the Villain's attack crippled him, he's been in the hospital ever since."
There was one thing Ayaka caught in that short exchange. The fact that Salione already had a long history in Japan. Only a confirmation was needed to clear Salione.
"I heard the burn was over an explosive, such a sorry state for someone doing good. Does he have any friends from his childhood from this elementary school you speak of?" Ayaka asks.
"Nope, just someone who keeps tabs on heroes. My kid wants to be one, sadly I keep seeing these incidents with heroes and all. You can ask his sidekicks scattered around."
"Where's the closest one?"
He shrugged. "Don't know much but if you want you could ask the local police. They worked with them for a long time for minor hero work."
"Alright, thank you for the help. I hope your kid does great as a hero, we may not be able to change heroes getting hurt but we can give them our support, the same way heroes help us."
"Thanks, good luck with your search, miss."
Ayaka bowed goodbye, customary for any interaction she does with strangers. After going through her map and locating the police station it took her a while to find and eventually reach the place.
It was way more significant than she thought, she'd underestimated how large such a building would be even though it was on a local level.
'I guess Yokohoma is a big city after all. It's right next to the fire station too. It must be hard to plan these kinds of cities.'
Ayaka enters the building while looking around curiously, an officer behind the front desk spotted Ayaka glancing around as if she was in an unfamiliar place.
"Good morning! Do you need anything miss?!"
Ayaka spots the woman behind the desk calling out for her with her hand way up in the air. Her colleagues snapped a look and stared at the woman who did the enthusiastic greeting.
"Hi, my name is Kamisato Ayaka. I'm looking for Salione's sidekicks, I heard they worked here for minor hero tasks. I know I shouldn't bother anyone."
"Don't be! We're always accepting visitors here. Let me tell you something, my deskmate hides away all shy like when it's her turn in receiving visitors. I like to tease her by leaving for some coffee when someone approaches-ow!"
She suddenly gets smacked on the head by a folded newspaper, taped securely from the bottom. Its wrinkled and torn edges make it obvious it was used repeatedly for over a long time.
"Oi Yoshino, you're going off on a tangent again. Control yourself when in front of a visitor. Also, stop bothering Sasaki."
"Ehh... Anyways, yes we often get Salione's sidekicks here. Mostly ones who do cleaning and help out with community service. Do you need something with them?"
"I do, I'm just going to ask them about Salione himself."
"Ohhh? Something specific? You sound suspicious... a stalker maybe- ow!?"
Another solid smack from the back of the head and the baggy-eyed man rubbed his temples. "Yoshino, just answer the question. You keep doing this to everyone. I'm sorry for her behavior."
Ayaka waves her hands in reassurance. "No, it's okay. She's not harming anyone."
"What she said! Unlike you brute. You like being a sadist or something- ow?!"
The man now narrowed his dead eyes. "Just answer the lady's question before I make bossman let you handle deskwork for a week straight again."
"Okay, okay! Accel is probably the closest with Salione, he bounces around from part-time jobs now. He's the one who got affected most by Salione's crippled state."
Ayaka nods. "Where does he work now?"
"He works near SunYen, a coffee shop just turn around the corner and head straight, you won't miss it. He usually works there from morning until night."
"Thank you, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important."
Ayaka walked out the door but as she was about to head outside she heard another massive smack coming from the desk.
She giggled slightly before checking the time on her phone. 'It's already 8:00?, perhaps I've forgotten how long walks took.' Soon enough, she started to quicken her pace.
Salione was easier to confirm if he was truly not a Fatui member, the other two are harder since it was more difficult to get information on Vigilantes.
She wanted to do one lead at a time to make sure she wouldn't get sidetracked too often. Focusing on one specific person before going on to the next and then the last.
Ayaka arrived at SunYen, a coffee shop that constantly smelled like what it sold. She takes a deep breath and could smell the coffee inside despite her being outside with people still going on their commutes and daily activities.
'It smells nice, I wish I have enough time to visit something similar to this, I believe there's one back in Musutafu.'
She walked inside and approaches the counter with only an inquiry ready. "Hello, is someone named Accel here? He was a sidekick under Salione before he got kicked out."
The man behind the counter suddenly stiffens at the mention of Salione, his classic service worker smile fading instantly to a bitter look.
"Ah, Sorry dear customer. You shouldn't see anyone like this when asking a normal question." He raises his hand to rub the back of his head. "My hero name is Accel, what do you need?"
"Sorry for bringing something so painful. I just wanted to know if you or someone else has been acquainted with Salione. Again, sorry for bringing him up."
"...I'm sure he'd be happy to know someone was interested in what he does. To answer your question, I did meet his friend a few years before I graduated from the hero course. He's been with him since childhood, so it is safe to say we're all very known to each other."
Ayaka saw the sullen tone and decided to order something so the conversation wouldn't end in such a negative way. "Can I have a coffee? Anything would do, I'd like for you to recommend something for me."
"Ah... Sure, if you leave it up to me then I'll gladly tell the barista to make something good."
Ayaka ended up staying at SunYen for nearly 30 minutes, mostly because she was satisfied with the atmosphere and because she stayed behind to refresh her mind on the next person she would need to find out more about.
Ember, a recently arrested Vigilante, public records were not disclosing anything too personal even after his arrest.
Ayaka wanted to get more out but she wasn't sure how. Nothing too incriminating was on Ember himself. Just a mugshot of a younger-looking adult, he could be mistaken for an 18-year-old but he was in his mid-twenties.
'I can start asking around where he acted in, maybe if I went to the police... Though if I went inside again and started asking for an arrested Vigilante then it might be too risky. I should leave as less of a track when pursuing each of these. Keep it to a minimum.'
She needed somewhere to start, anywhere would be good but she shouldn't just ask anyone on the street where most crimes happened. Then she remembered a place mentioned offhandedly.
'The park... it's something to start with. If I don't find anything there, then I will start wandering around until I find something.'
Before she left she went straight for Accel behind the counter. "The coffee was exquisite, I wish you fortune in the future. I'm sorry about Salione."
"No worries, I won't blame anyone, it's just saddening to know my friend and mentor has the possibility of not being able to be a Hero anymore."
The park Ayaka arrived in was a sharp contrast to the bustling street. Even though it was still occupied by a sizeable amount of people, it was quieter and the environmental change was more than welcome.
The people around the city park were off in their own world. Few on dates from what it looked like to Ayaka, some roaming around just to relax, and even people taking pictures of the scenery.
'There should be maintenance workers who work on the park, maybe the manager themselves.'
True to Ayaka's assumption, about a dozen people were roaming around cleaning up fallen leaves, clipping overgrown shrubs, and watering parts of the park not reachable by the sprinklers. One person, in particular, was the one organizing the maintenance which Ayaka took note of.
With a nudge from behind, the park manager turns around to see Ayaka bowing her head slightly forward as a greeting. "Excuse me, sorry to bother your work. I just have a question, are Villain fights and attacks common around here?"
"Oh? Yep, been trying to quicken up our duties because of it. Used to be only 6 of us until about a year ago. Though you won't see many outside robberies, more indoor ones became more likely around here. Police have been dealing with both Vigilantes and Villains."
Ayaka took in the new information. 'So a year ago was when crime started to pick up here? That's certainly something to take note of.'
"Anyone, in particular, you remember about? Maybe a Vigilante?" Ayaka asks.
"A Vigilante... Oh, I remember from the news that someone named Ember was released, he looked so young too. Thought it was a kid going off on his own way. He's been around here for a while not much else though. Ah! But I should mention something."
"What is it?"
"Back when it was only 6 of us here, I remember a robbery going on where a group started stealing bread, of all things. Why go through the trouble am I right? They lost the police after a chase ended up inside a club. All that for a piece of bread."
Ayaka nodded. 'Nothing more on Ember himself but I need to write down what details I could. The off-hand talk could serve me well eventually.'
"Has Ember been active for a long time? Maybe you've seen him since his teenage years?"
"Hah! I'm not that old... am I?" he asked Ayaka. "I do vaguely remember him commuting to and from the Academy, it's been maybe 7 years?" the man pauses. "Crud, I just realized how long I've been working on the park."
"Well, a service like yours is certainly an important one. The cultivation and maintenance of a sizeable public park is hard and tedious work. Though despite that you still have enough good in you to keep doing a great service to Yokohama."
"Heh, I'm not quitting anytime soon. Just surprised time goes by fast, if you're still looking for something on Ember he frequents that same bar I mentioned, even before he went to jail."
"I'll be on my way. I appreciate you listening to what I was asking about. Do you mind pointing out where this bar is?"
"No problem miss. Here give me your phone. It's right over here, not that far. Just take a left and then turn right. You'll see a narrower street eventually and the bar's over to the left side."
"Thank you."
Ayaka was now on her second lead, Ember. Based on the conversation right before, Ember could have been suffering through something, maybe a death, a grudge, or anything that might make him into a Vigilante. It's what Ayaka thought up from the conversation.
Other than that, she'd need to enter a bar or ask around the bar. It's not like she could pass as legal drinking age anyways nor could she prove her age by using an ID. Lacking every form of document imaginable was going to get iffy for Ayaka.
'I could wait at the entrance for an employee. Then again, I'm not confident that I'm the type of person anyone would see standing in front of a bar.'
The bar was half full with patrons drinking their sorrows away or drowning in success. To anyone, it would look like both when you realize half of the patrons were drunk as a sailor.
A barman stood silent in the alcohol-ridden place. He twitches his eye as another drunkard fell to the ground with liquor in hand. Someone taps his back and he turns to see his fellow bartender off shift.
"Hey, I think the same person is heckling someone outside again. I'll handle the bar counter." his coworker said to him.
"Why is it always him." the barman places down what he was using and goes outside, ready to give the drunken patron the boot for bothering someone. He was about to reach the door, he opened it to see a young lady talking to the drunkard.
The drunk man was at first shouting something incoherent, the girl just pats his back and talked in a comforting tone. 'She's talking to him?' the man starts to stagger and fall to the ground with his hand around his head.
The girl starts to crouch down, talking even more as the drunk man begins to nod. 'What's happening right now.' the barman thought. The drunk man suddenly stands up with vigor as he shakes the girl's hand before moving away.
Ayaka finally realized the barman was watching her the whole time. She started to walk speedily towards him, not missing the chance to ask about Ember. "Excuse me, have you heard anything about Ember?"
The barman feels his hands tighten "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just concerned for the city, Heroes and Villains aren't the only ones being hurt when conflict arises. I'd like to know if Ember is alright."
"Look kid, you're too young to be caught up in something like this." he starts to move away from the door.
"Wait, I might not be in the best position to say this but as a future Hero, I'd like to at least know more about the society I'm going to protect. See the whole situation from another perspective, just so I can be prepared."
The barman furrows his brows and drags his palms to his chin, he looks at Ayaka who wore a genuine looking curiosity and determination for her cause. He finally relents and ushered Ayaka inside.
"Get in, we shouldn't talk right outside. I'll see if he wants to talk."
Ayaka went inside, and the atmosphere took a turn for the worse, at least for her. Unlike the other locations she went through, this one might be the worst. The strong smell of different kinds of liquor almost made her wince but she shouldn't be doing so in public, she thought.
"Come you'll talk to him in the break room. He's off shift anyways."
Doing as he said so, Ayaka followed where the barman pointed and saw someone inside a small room. She enters it and recognizes the man. "Hello, sorry to-"
"Just get on with the questions, no need for formalities. Especially for someone like me." Ember interrupts.
"Well, if you say so. Have you been a Vigilante for a long time? Did something happen for you to change?"
"...It was a long time ago, I had someone I liked back in my Hero training days. Used to visit me and my family too, she was sweet. Then, during our Hero-Work studies... she- she... died. The Villain attack was too much for the hero. Back then I wanted to kill the bastard that took her life. That's when I found this bar, a comfort I never wanted but life gave because I was too weak."
"I'm sorry for the loss, did you... kill the person responsible for it?"
"Hah... no... I couldn't take his life even if I wanted to. I'm just too damn weak! I left my hero studies to take revenge, it took me years... years! Yet I couldn't even have a strong heart to burn him alive! I turned myself in when I caught the bastard, I disappointed everyone..."
Ayaka tried to comfort his self-deprecation. "Don't be, loss is a hard experience to cope with. Believe me when I say I feel the same way."
Ember looks at Ayaka at her mentioning she felt the same way. "You love someone too?"
"Oh! I ummm... It's not like that I-" Ayaka tried to deny.
"Ah, I get it. A maiden in love, you like him but he doesn't see it?" Ayaka's usual profesional look breaks. "I think I hit the mark on that one. You seem great enough for anyone, he'll notice eventually. What happened though? You said you feel the same way."
Ayaka's heart tightens. "I... lost him. Far, far away from where he is, somewhere out there I can reach him but now I feel like he's fading away."
"Kid, keep yourself strong. If he's away then make the most of here. Just... remember something, from me to you, don't be like me. I should've been stronger to protect my love or maybe take revenge for her death. I know it's not right to be a hero that goes for revenge, which is why I want you to be stronger in that regard too. I regret everything because of it and now I'm just a bartender wasting away, lonely."
"Well... I'm sorry for bringing down your day like this. I'll leave if you want me to, I don't want to keep ruining your day like this." Ayaka started to get up from her seat.
"If you're thinking about my feeling more than yours then the guy you like is lucky. You seem thoughtful enough, anyways I'm already over her death. It's just that remnant of shame I can feel, please remember what I said. I hope you can be stronger than I was."
Ayaka left with a sadder look, not once was she usually displaying anything other than a cheery and likable persona. The talk was surprising to her, a Hero turned Vengeful Vigilante, something tragic. One that she hoped wouldn't befall her fate as well.
Ayaka rubbed the surface of the Anemo Delusion underneath her coat. 'Might controls everything; and without strength, you cannot protect anything, Let alone yourself.' She quoted to herself. 'Perhaps Ember is right, I should stay strong. The Traveler won't like me being weak nor will I from now on.'
She hardened her resolve, to her it was the right choice. But one may wonder; at what point will her desire for the strength to safeguard everyone begins to affect the same people she was going to protect?
Ayaka cleared the two leads, Salione and Ember. Both have a long history; with Salione being in elementary, backed up with testimonies from his sidekick, and Ember because he worked as a Vigilante long enough and that he also was studying for an extended period.
'I should move on to the last one, the most troublesome of all the leads. The one who originally owned this Anemo Delusion. There's nothing though, I shouldn't ask more questions to strangers. If the Fatui, when they are here, did catch wind of me looking around then leaving less of a trail would be best.'
Despite her previous limitations on questioning people, she was getting more desperate to find out. Even the menial information could prove useful, asking around was going to be her last option. Eventually, after hours of just searching around, she gave in and started asking.
Ayaka only hoped she could keep the people she talked with to a minimum.
She was going to try and find out her best, from the traffic enforcers to the shop owners and the patrolling Heroes, she was asking specific people who could know anything about a Vigilante. Of course, being unnamed, no one actually knew anything remotely important. No mention of their appearance or the clothes they wore.
"Sorry, I don't know anything about this wind Vigilante. First time I even heard someone was operating here."
"Don't know, ten months ago is a hard thing to recollect unless it was memorable. Nothing like that here though, as far as I'm concerned."
"Sorry lady, we seldom see Vigilantes or even Heroes in action in this part of Yokohama. Try the next store over there, they're at the limelight of seeing the action."
"We do see a lot of fights since it's a busy street here with a lot of commerce going around. Never seen the person you described though, it would be better if his Quirk wasn't so hard to notice when there's no wind here."
That was all that Ayaka was hearing, in sharp questioning she went through maybe two dozen people she thought had something on them she can use. Nothing good though, it took so long that she returned to SunYen to drink and rest.
The sun was already past its peak, lowering down to the opposite horizon as the moon faintly showed through the reddening sky.
'It's so late now. I can't find anything on the person that held this Delusion.' she crosses off another location on her notes on the table. Ayaka was having no luck with the unnamed Vigilante. 'I think it's just time to go home. I'll be receiving my acceptance soon, I don't want to miss it.' Ayaka paused while looking at her notes 'Maybe one more, the industrial district is my last stop anyways.'
She picked up her things and placed them in her pockets before heading out to the far end of the city, where all the machinery and factories operated in. From factories to industrial hubs, it was going to be a new experience that's for sure.
Ayaka headed for the heart of the district, with no plan aside from speaking to a worker, she traveled through the streets and found someone lying on their back against the wall. Inconspicuously smoking a cigarette while looking through their phone.
"Good afternoon, I'd like to ask a question if it's okay with you."
"Sure, if it's not too hard I'll be able to answer."
Ayaka braced herself for another question. "Have you seen or heard of anyone with a wind Quirk around here? Maybe one that used it in public before."
"Not a thing about this person, I work here from 8 am to 6 pm. I should notice something during the day if I was to notice someone using their Quirks. Maybe ask for someone who works at night instead?"
"Thanks for the answer." she felt her body slacken as the answer came out.
Ayaka walked away with her mind disappointed at the lack of a real answer. She had continuously just been asking and looking around for anything remotely close to finding out the identity of the unnamed Vigilante.
She reached the corner before bumping into someone just as she reaches the end. She picks herself up and dust herself from the dirt and apologized heartily.
"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention much to where I was going."
The tall man angrily shouts. "Damn right you do! Just get out, I'm getting late."
Ayaka breathe out a big sigh, she was experienced with talking to rude people but it was the first time a stranger acted too aggressively despite most of the people she talked to being respectful.
'I'll just head home. I need to take a rest after today.'
Ayaka finished her investigation, other than clearing the first two leads, she wasn't closer to discovering the identity of the last lead. She went to the train station with her spirits down but was still hoping that the next weeks were going to be better.
After half an hour of just walking back to the train station, she saw the ticket machine. The ticket machine whirred and let out a ticket for her to use. She left for the platform and waited for the train to arrive.
The train opens its doors and Ayaka went inside and snoozed for a few minutes. It was a short ride but she was exhausted after walking around and asking people for a long time.
The train announced her stop, Musutafu, she yawned as she went outside and arrived back at the city. She looked at her phone after arriving. '6:00 pm. I spent so much time looking for the Fatui. I should get home and get dinner.'
Ayaka reaches her apartment and laid down everything she had before going to the small section of the apartment where she could cook.
After the meal, it was already 7:00 pm she spent her time looking through the news on her phone while eating. She finished up and cleaned the dishes before switching to her home clothes.
She patted her pockets before her eyes snapped open. 'Where is it? Did I forget it somehow?' she panicked. Her notes were missing. 'I think I left it at SunYen, I'll have to ask Accel if he had it. I'll return next weekend anyways.'
A man in a long coat scoffs as he takes off his heavy attire. He had been walking for hours, his body felt heavy. Not from exhaustion but from something else. Something glowed from his hip, hidden by the long coat he had been wearing. He tosses it inside a case he made and shut the lid with a firm slam.
"Ivan... what happened to you?" he shakily said out loud.
He shuffles his hand around the pocket of the long coat and pulls out a small notepad full of scribbles and notes sprawled on the surface. He felt sorry for following the girl around but for the sake of his own sanity, he needed something.
"I'll find out, starting with this."
He starts to flip over the notes and puts on reading glasses while he murmured to himself.
Inside the container; an orbed glowed and in its center was the deep blue glow of a Delusion. One of the seven elements, Hydro. While in another desk were the shattered remains of his mask, along with another one still intact beside it.
