HAPPY ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PORTAL PANIC!
Juicy chapter this time~!
Super excited to share it! I absolutely love how it turned out, and I think it's just got a ton of interesting things in it! Thank you sooo much to my friend who spent hours work-shopping what to write with me! :D
This is a fantastic milestone and I'm so proud of myself! Especially because, despite all the curve-balls the characters are throwing me, I still love Portal Panic just as much as when I started!
As a treat for the versary, I made artwork! Which can be found on deviantart (username weshney). One is just a layout map thing for the final scenes, but one is actually from the final scene!
Gonna do a chapter of Tech. Difficulties next, since I've neglected it to get this posted for the versary. Wish me luck!
Audiobook version can be found on YouTube by searching weshney.
Shout Outs this Week-
-The two people who read through Quality Over Quantity! I legit ask myself who has the patience every time I see full views. You are saints. XD
-Death Fury for adding me to your fav author's list. 3
-CRUDEN for your interesting comments every single chapter. :D This last one had me chuckling.
-Sreym Sallad for letting me know you binge-read through. That's always cool to hear. Interesting info on the radiation, too! I'm definitely interested to see what your theory is.
-As always, thank you so much Death of Snipers for your input! You inspired many scenes this chapter from previous comments.
Up to 125 favs and 177 follows!
All scenes with only MHA characters will be written in English, for ease of reading, but the characters are actually speaking Japanese to each other.
If a scene is being translated the entire time, and there are no language issues anywhere in an entire scene because of a translation device, the scene will just be written as normal. But you know who speaks what. I believe in you.
Friday, September 14th
4:42 pm
HUUaaagggHHHH!
Sharp, acidic vomit slicked a normally elegant boy's throat as he hung over one of class 1B's dormitory toilets. Gone was the well-built teen's typical pretty-boy status, eaten away by dark circles around his eyes and a sheen of oil covering his skin. Ironically enough, the very same orbs that stared in misery at the toilet seat were, at the moment, his most striking feature, their blue-grey irises emphasized by his sickly, ashen tone.
Neito Monoma groaned, bonelessly sliding off the side of the porcelain. He needed to get back to bed, but the thirty feet of flat, hardwood floor between him and his mattress might as well have been a sheer cliff.
This flu had really laid him out flat.
Literally.
The cool tile of the bathroom floor soothed his overheated body, the nausea finally ebbing under the reprieve. Monoma rallied, rolling just enough to get his knees and hands under him.
A crawl seemed doable.
Starting in the direction of his room, the feverish teen squinted against the bright lights of the hallway.
What he couldn't figure out was how this bug had just come out of nowhere. No one he knew was sick right now and everyone had been stuck on campus for lockdown. Just how the heck had he gotten it? And why the heck wouldn't his shoulder stop itching?
Scratching at the stinging ache for what felt like the hundredth time today, Monoma finished a slow, three-legged shuffle into the bedroom. As he approached his pillow-top destination, the tinkling of wind chimes caused him to look over at his nightstand.
His phone.
Wow. How long had it been since he'd looked at it?
He drew a blank, the answer eluding his befuddled mind.
Most of the last twenty-four hours were just a blur of crazy dreams and people coming to check in on him.
Hauling himself into bed with his arms like some great, winded ferret, he flopped over, grabbing his cell and opening his class' group text thread.
Handful of Fun
I still can't believe he got kicked from the hero course. The faculty knows how much he's been through lately. It doesn't seem fair.
Vine Priestess
Life is not always fair, but it is what we make of it. Perhaps God has a plan to help him move past this. I will pray that he learns to embrace this hardship and come out better for it.
Man of Steel
I feel bad for him. Kirishima-kun got worried enough that he canceled our endurance spar today.
Haxorus 2.0
I don't feel bad. Karma just finally caught up with his crappy attitude.
Monoma jolted forward into an upright position, sickness completely forgotten.
What!? Somebody got kicked from the hero course?!
Gentle Giant
Isn't his mom going to be staying on campus?
And someone from Ojiro-kun's family, too?
Maybe that will help cheer them up.
You Give Me Split Ends
What? No way! Are they gonna be staying in the dorms?!
Man of Steel
Just a sec.
Man of Steel
Okay, thought so. Kirishima-kun says Ishiyama-sensei and him were up all night working. It looks like they'll be staying in a small duplex in front of his dorm.
Thumb jerking down, Monoma watched the comments whirl away, rapidly replaced with older texts.
The antagonistic teen's eyes took on a manic sheen and a massive smirk split his face.
Scrolling down, a short giggle startled from his lips like a thunderclap, antagonizing his lungs and sending him into a coughing spree.
Two students from 1Ahad been dropped from the hero course?!
AND ONE OF THEM WAS THAT COCKY BASTARD BAKUGO!?
Tossing back his head, Monoma's hand rose to wipe sweat-plastered bangs from his brow.
Another fit of giggles burst forth, quickly ramping up into full-blown hysterical laughter.
Suddenly, he just felt soooo much better.
Friday, September 14th
5:09 pm
"Oi, Slouch! Your muscles are strong enough to hold up your angst, I know they can lift some furniture. Get off your ass and grab the other side of my dresser!"
"You'll have to wait a fucking second; I'm busy!" Sitting in the middle of a brand-new dining room floor, a cross-legged Katsuki Bakugo sneered at the screwdriver in his hand. "You know, Old Lady, if you'd just accepted UA's offer to furnish the apartment, we wouldn't have to be doing this shit."
Behind him, what was essentially a middle-aged, gender bent version of the boy soured and glared hard.
The explosive teen was in the process of reattaching a leg to a disassembled table. The ungainly thing hadn't fit through the front door, so they'd had to temporarily amputate.
"Get over yourself. If I'm gonna be here babysitting your dumb ass, I'm gonna be comfortable doing it." Swaggering up behind her son, Mitsuki smacked him hard over the back of the head. "Now, I asked for help; and as you so kindly pointed out, I'm old. So suck it up, Buttercup. The table can wait."
"Fucking slave driver." The room abruptly smelled of heavily burnt sugar as smoke sizzled off Bakugo's hands, but he set the table leg (now with a blackened hand print charred into it) down, teeth grinding as he jolted to a stand. Stalking over to the small nightstand that his mom "couldn't" carry on her own, Katsuki reached over to heft it up, grumping, "Where do you want it?"
Even with the tension flickering through the boy's muscles and the upside down v his lips made, Katsuki's ruby eyes were softer than they had been in weeks.
Friday, September 14th
5:21 pm
"You really think your mom's going to make you drop out?!"
Two gen ed students sat together on a dorm couch, their feet just shy of touching as they angled toward each other on the green cushions.
"Maybe." The second speaker, a small girl with dark braids woven into her curly brown hair, hugged spindly legs to her chest and peeked up at the masculine female in front of her. "She's just so upset about everything that's happening. You know that petition to make a faculty oversight board? She drafted it. And I know she's been to at least one protest." Burying her face into her knees, the teen whined, "Our teachers are going to hate me."
Saline coated a set of thick, furry lashes and gorilla-like hands reached over, picking up and cradling the smaller girl's in solidarity. "Our teachers aren't petty. They won't hold what your mom's doing against you."
"I really want to tell her off—you know how hard I worked to get into UA—but all these attacks on campus kinda prove her point." The feminine brunette shrunk down, hands still held in her friend's grasp and air leaving in a whoosh. "Maybe I should transfer."
"But you can't just leave me here by myself!" the beefy girl cried in response, "I only came to UA to follow you!"
"Then come with me again!" Seafoam eyes brightened at the prospect and the petite kid yanked one arm back, repositioning it so their mismatched hands were clasped instead of her own just being cupped. "How about Ketsubutsu Academy? They have a pretty good general studies program! We could go there?"
"Pfft. You'd be stupid ta transfer," a lilting Kansai accent piped up behind the couch, scaring the two commiserators. Ignoring their shouts of surprise, the tall, musical boy wrinkled his nose. "It ain't gonna be safer somewhere else. Or are you forgettin' Shiketsu? More than jus' hero studies have been gettin' hit. At least UA's kicked that green monst'a lady to da curb both times she showed up without ah single death." He eyed the girls, raising a brow when they winced. "Ya think anywhere else could throw hands with such a' overpowered Nomu and win?" The teen scoffed in a way that sounded almost like a strummed banjo. "As if." The eavesdropper turned, head shaking as he sauntered back toward the kitchen.
Trading looks of trepidation, the best friends wilted.
"At least now you've got a decent argument to use against your mom."
Friday, September 14th
5:45 pm
Jazz glanced at the library's clock.
Fifteen minutes until closing. She'd have to sign off for now.
Surfing the web for an hour had been a fortuitous, if tedious, endeavor. Despite needing the Gabber App to read most of the sites she'd visited, she'd managed to gather a decent amount of intel.
Like how to earn money without an ID.
The first option she'd found in the classified ads of an online newspaper. A local school's English teacher had been bad enough at his job that it had caught the attention of several parents. Outraged, they'd taken matters into their own hands and were trying to set up after-school study-pods, going so far as to shell out good money for a private (preferably native-speaking) tutor.
The other option she'd actually come across in a TEFL blog. The most recent post had been filled with recounts of the writer's early days in Japan, a time where job stability was a myth and loitering in bars was the best way to make extra cash. Supposedly it was not uncommon for a flustered businessman to approach in hopes of practicing English, more than willing to pay premium for the opportunity.
Both options seemed reasonable, but the bar might require ID just to prove she was over twenty, and a tutoring job had more consistent income.
The rest of the computer time was spent looking into support companies that specialized in communication (in case the Fenton Phones stayed nonfunctional), a few local laws and customs (apparently not carrying a passport could be grounds for arrest—yikes), and some basic history. (Luckily, her prior knowledge on that last was already pretty solid—thank God for Hagakure-san's chatty nature).
New information swimming in her head, Jazz got up, getting a drink from a water fountain before casually wandering over to one of several reading nooks. The one farthest from the help desk.
Ducking into the squirrely hole, she wedged herself between a bean bag chair and several square pillows, rearranging them so that the squishy seat was between her and the "door".
She waited, pretending to read a book.
After a bit, she checked for onlookers before burrowing under the cushions like an octopus into sand.
When the "lights out" call came just five minutes later, she was well hidden. Going perfectly still, breath stalling, the loiterer easily escaped the notice of a person making final rounds.
Everything plunged into shadows, helped along by the setting sun, and Jazz heard keys jingling in the front door before the entire library fell silent. Dark shapes loomed at her from beyond the small room, their full-bodied, ink-and-paper scent reminding her of their status as bookshelves, even as they gave the impression of stalagmites in a high-ceilinged cave.
It was bitter-sweet. It reminded her of Amity's library. But more than that, it made her miss Ghost Writer's. There was something incredibly charming about work tables closed in by walls of hundred-foot, floor-to-ceiling shelves. Knowing that flight (which was possible for humans in the Zone) was the only way to access its treasures made its appeal just that much greater.
Jazz shook herself out of her thoughts. She needed to set up shop for the night, not indulge minor homesickness.
Grabbing out her phone, she checked the top right corner.
Only ten percent battery, even with power saver mode enabled. Looks like charger setup was top priority. She only had a little juice left before the cell would take away flashlight rights.
The reading nook lit up under the glare of LED's and Jazz flipped the phone over, leaving it screen-down on the carpet. Next, she pulled her charm bracelet off, squinting her eyes against the omni-directional blinder at her knees. Speaking the magic words, the ring shone green, and she passed what looked like a cat-o-nine tails wrapped around an emerald broach through the opening.
Hooking the now-full-size ecto-battery up to the many-adapter charging cord, she plugged her phone in, ignoring when the device gained its own viridescence.
Okay, now she could check the Fenton Phones.
Hand grabbing into her chest-pocket, Jazz pulled out the communication system.
Dead silence was the answer.
Double checking that the Fenton Phones themselves were fully charged, Jazz tried changing a few of the settings.
Still nothing.
Crud.
Danny might have been able to get them to work, but Jazz had never been all that mechanically inclined. Unlike her brother, she'd inherited Dad's clumsiness, not his handy-man skills.
For all she knew, the Phones were working fine, and this place just didn't have a permanent connection to the Ghost Zone.
Uuuugh. If she could just talk to Danny, she could prevent his inevitable melt-down.
Jazz tossed the Phones to the side, and they landed on the nearby bean bag chair with a small pufft. Both palms sliding down her face in exasperation, she groaned. As they continued down and flopped uselessly into her lap, the throaty sound morphed into a sigh and she leaned over to grab up the charm bracelet.
It was a great Christmas present, but even Mom couldn't have accounted for this.
Still, Jazz plucked off another charm, this one in the shape of a capsulized drug. Peeling off the outer of its two shells, she dropped it on the floor before unplugging her phone and using its light to guide her to the drinking fountain. Coming back with a loosely cupped fist, she stuck the hand out over the capsule and unrolled a finger.
A single drop of water trickled off, landing neatly on the pill.
In an explosion of purple polyester, a sleeping bag materialized on the floor, filling roughly half the reading nook with its size.
Just because Mom couldn't predict every mishap that might befall her children, didn't mean she didn't try.
Taking off her coat and plugging her phone back in, Jazz retrieved one of her rice balls and settled onto her side. Idly chewing, she also pulled a nearby throw pillow under her neck.
Several hours until bedtime with no games or internet.
This was gonna be a long night.
Rolling so that she faced the nook's exit instead of the wall, Jazz peered out over rows upon rows of books.
Or maybe not.
Friday, September 14th
6:12 pm
Hagakure snuck a glance at Danny where he hunched over his homework on the coffee table. She was currently tucked up on the Fenton's curved couch with a tablet, one ear half-listening to English through an earbud, while the other focused on the living room around her. Had she been paying much attention to the subtitles in her lap, she may have laughed at the Impractical Joker's antics; but as it stood, her thoughts were too busy crowding each other like rowdy, shrine festival attendees.
Danny was Phantom.
There was no doubt in her mind now.
Nearly getting iced to keep him from exposing that secret during a panic attack was admittedly pretty stupid, but it was obvious how much stress he'd been under. It wouldn't have been fair to have Kamada find out when his mind was already tearing apart at the seams.
Distracting the support student from the literal fire coating Danny's arms had been trickier, but apparently she'd managed, seeing as Haru had yet to comment. Thank Kami-sama the portal gave off a distorting light of nearly the same color.
The real question was, what did she do now? It was one thing to have something resembling a conspiracy theory floating around in her brain, but another to have it proven right. Should she confront Danny about it head on? Passively let him know?
The UA girl glanced down the couch again. Her host just continued to stare with glazed eyes at his chemistry worksheet, foot perpetually tapping. Beyond him, Tucker pressed against Danny's side in silent support while rapidly typing away on a laptop, a pair of gloves covering his most-likely burned hands.
No.
He was obviously trying his best. It wasn't like her officially knowing about Phantom really changed anything. She'd just continue to play it cool. Pretend she didn't know anything for his sake. He had enough to worry about.
Mind made up, Hagakure zeroed back on the tablet in her hands, staring hard at the corner for a moment while a dull pressure rolled up her body and out her fingertips.
The small spot became fuzzy, as if the black edge was slightly out of focus, and the highlight darkened, shifting a few millimeters up.
A grin blossomed on Hagakure's face and she looked up excitedly.
She did it! Jazz was going to be so proud of—!
The smile withered and died.
Friday, September 14th
6:12 pm
-Simultaneously-
Danny was PHANTOM.
HOW HAD SHE NOT NOTICED THAT?!
It was so obvious, in hindsight. What with how fast he was, how silent he walked, how unnaturally still he could be.
Then there was how evasive the Fentons were about meeting him.
And the things Danny'd said on his birthday.
How he'd reacted to the shot-glass.
How awkward he was talking about Phantom.
OH KAMI-SAMA.
Haru had been obsessing over him. All week. TO HIS FACE.
Toru-san had even called the hero hot. And Haru had all but agreed.
Horror tore through the shy girl, the heat of her cheeks threatening to melt her into a puddle.
Danny looked nearly IDENTICAL to Phantom.
How on Earth was she ever going to look him in the eyes again?
Kamada fixated on a set of complex schematics in front of her rather than risk a peek at either the object of her anguish or the black sweater and jeans half-reclined on the couch next to him. Moving her phone's camera right, she watched the Kanji on the screen shift and jotted something down in the notebook beside her on instinct, the entry coming out shakier than its forerunners.
If Danny found out she knew, that'd be the end of her. She couldn't take that level of mortification.
OH KAMI-SAMA.
What if Hagakure found out?
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.
Only one week with Toru-san and Haru already knew the prankster would never let her live it down.
She had to keep the invisible teen in the dark. No matter the cost.
It was already an absolute miracle that the other girl hadn't seen the fire on Danny's arms, or the incriminating ice prints his shoes had left on the basement floor.
She could do this—she just had to—
Hagakure's frustrated cry tripped Kamada's racing mind as surely as if someone had shoved a stick between her running thoughts.
Shame churned in the quiet highschooler over her selfish musings and she forced her eyes up.
"If only we were at home!"
Huh? Toru was worried about going home? Right now? Did she miss something?
Noticing Tucker and Danny's startled looks, the teen's brow furrowed.
Apparently not.
Hagakure's sleeves lifted, shuffling back and forth erratically as if mussing her hair.
"I feel so worthless here!"
The shock left Danny's face and he immediately straightened, a mantle of calm settling on his shoulders. It was like watching one of the many videos Haru'd seen of Phantom just materialize before her eyes. The self-assuredness, the regal aura—Seriously, how had she not noticed?!—came as naturally as a breeze but was as drastic a change as a gale-force wind. "You're not worthless, so don't even talk like that. You know Jazz would be all over you if she heard."
"But I'm basically dead weight!" Hagakure gestured vaguely at the rest of the house. "I just sit around studying all day while you guys work on fixing everything. At least at home I could be helping you back."
"Hold up. You think you haven't helped?" Tucker piped in, looking at Toru like she'd suddenly turned visible. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to pull Danny out of a bad panic attack? And you did it in what—twenty seconds? You're worth your weight in gold, Toru-san."
Feeling her own vexation at the other girl's statement, Haru frowned and put down her phone. "Hagakure-chan. You talked me down from a panic attack when I first got here. And you know we haven't only been studying. We've been helping the Fentons in the lab and in the field. Did you already forget that you stopped the Doorway Detector from blowing up yesterday? Just because we haven't had good luck doesn't mean we aren't doing anything."
"But—urrgh!" The teen jumped up, tablet frisbeeing into her vacated spot before a sleeve rose like she was running a hand through her hair. "If we were home I could recruit people smarter than me to help. With better quirks than invisibility," she bit out. "Midoriya-kun would know what to do. Or Kocho-sensei! Yoayarozu-chan could make anything we needed. Or the support department. There's even someone from Isamu Academy named 'world' or something that has a dedicated tracer quirk." The sweater's woven collar wrinkled on the side closest to Kamada, and suddenly, Toru's voice projected more directly at her, "Let's face it, between the two of us, the only one who's going to help the Fentons make a breakthrough here is you, Haru-chan!"
Ehhhh? But Haru was nothing special. Toru was the outgoing, competent one.
The support student opened her mouth to say so, but Tucker was faster, "Hagakure-san, that's it!"
A guarded "What's it?" came from the empty clothes before the self-deprecator's arms lifted, crossing stiffly.
"Ghosts are basically our version of quirk users!" Tucker exclaimed. "We need to look for someone with specialized powers! A tracker, or something! Maybe Cujo can help sniff out Jazz!"
"Or Wulf! I—er—Phantom was already going to meet up with him tomorrow!" Danny caught the fervor, lunging to his feet to pick the invisible highschooler up and swing her around.
Seeing panic flash through Tucker's eyes in the background, Haru blinked.
HOW ON EARTH HAD IT TAKEN HER SIX DAYS TO REALIZE DANNY WAS PHANTOM?!
Friday, September 14th
9:17 pm Central (Illinois' Time Zone)
Jack felt a yawn crack his jaw as his bloodshot eyes passed over a nearby baggage claim. Promptly walking past it, wife at his back, he patted the thigh of an incredibly uncomfortable pair of jeans, smiling when the pocket jingled.
Fenton Tech was the best. Nothing compared to having all your luggage AND your gadgets (that never would have made it through security otherwise) fit in your pocket like miniature toys.
The smile faded as Jack furiously scratched at the neckline of a plaid shirt.
Now if only they could have worn their suits on the plane. He was already developing a rash.
Sighing as he shuffled onto a descending escalator (Maddie two steps up because of Jack's size), the man grabbed out his phone and turned it on.
9:17 flashed for a moment, before the screen turned more orange and the numbers changed to 4:17.
Gross.
How was he supposed to accept that it was morning when he hadn't even slept yet? He'd need a nap or this jet lag was gonna chop him off at the knees.
Constant vibration pulled Jack's attention back down to the phone. Service must have finally reconnected. The escalator bottomed out and he and his wife exited to the first floor, only for Maddie's cell to take up the chorus as she turned hers on, too.
Cold fear lanced Jack as surely as one of Danny's ice-spears as he met his other half's gaze. In a heartbeat, they were rushing to the side.
URGENT!
EMERGENCY!
Kidnapper took Jazz.
Call as soon as you land.
Friday, September 14th
11:56 pm
Mashirao Ojiro frowned out a window, arms propping the back of his head off a floor futon. He paid little mind to the night sky just barely encroached on by dark treetops outside, too consumed by vicious thoughts.
What was he going to do? He'd lost his spot in the hero course.
Everything he'd been working toward was gone. Destroyed in a single day.
And all because his teachers were tight-lipped, incompetent assholes.
Searing rage for the faculty burned up Ojiro's body, sending him into a cold sweat.
UA'd been lucky. If the League had truly wanted to kidnap anyone else, they would have done it by now. The ease with which the Nomu trespassed on campus was a glaring sign of just how true that was.
The school's security was an absolute joke.
Just like him.
All that anger redirected, turning inward and amplifying as self-hatred.
He'd royally fucked up capturing the Nomu, spending almost ten minutes fighting an enemy that'd already left. It was laughable.
How the hell was he even supposed to help Toru-chan at this rate?
Ojiro wracked his brain, trying to come up with anything, absolutely anything that he could possibly do next.
The martial artist grit his teeth and the end of his tail tapped little thwacks of agitation onto the floor beyond his feet.
He could ditch lockdown and make a trip up to Kanagawa. Maybe he'd find something out in person that his internet searches had missed.
From what he'd read, there wasn't anything noteworthy going on at Detnerat, despite Midoriya-kun's theory. Clothing and accessories seemed to be the company's main focus this quarter.
It was possible, however, that whatever had snared the League of Villain's interest wasn't public knowledge or was still in its infant stages of development. (If Shigaraki had engineered a distraction just to steal self-repairing denim, Ojiro was going to tear out his hair.)
Mulling the idea over a bit, the blonde frowned.
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to sneak off. A single trip that would probably get him expelled wasn't worth it. Not when he was set to transfer into support, anyway.
If he was going to hear anything about up-and-coming technology fresh from Detnerat, it would be there. The whole department constantly had ears to the ground for gossip of that nature. Not to mention that it was possible he might overhear the faculty talking about Hagakure in or near the workshop. Power Loader hardly left his domain and was sure to be an integral part of Kocho's search, after all.
Maybe he should—
A small spot of green flashed in the sky behind the duplex.
Mashirao's focus slammed back into his five senses and the lean muscle of the boy's tail tossed him to his feet with as much effort as a coiled spring.
The far-off color winked out, locking all of the fighter's muscles in dread until he noticed a small glint of something plummeting toward the forest floor.
Mashirao made it three heavy steps toward the bedroom door before his brain kicked in and the teen stumbled to a stop. Kazuko was in the room next to him. He froze, listening hard for his sister.
As sweet as it was that she'd dropped her life to come be with him, the super-hearing of her Fennec fox ears was rather problematic.
Grimacing, he leaned over, palms touching down on the floor and tail sticking out behind him. Lowering the fifth appendage gently to the hardwood, he started crawling like some large, ungainly starfish. Upon reaching his shoji-style door, Ojiro slid it oh-so-carefully open and started out into the hall.
It was a good thing this was new construction. Squeaky boards were way less likely.
Saturday, September 15th
12:00 am
A buff, bestial man stalked the dark of UA's campus, unperterbed by the deep shadows cast over everything. Moonlight reflected off a layer of cells at the back of his black, lozenge-shaped irises, sending it forward into a set of inky slits that allowed him to see the row of dorm buildings on his left in fairly good detail.
Ryo Inui, also known as Hound Dog, was headed toward his on-campus apartment. As head of security, he had to be accessible; and what better way than to live right next to his charges?
Lifeless had relieved the hunting hero of his shift a few minutes early; but after the day he'd had, he wasn't about to quibble.
Removing the muzzle of his costume, the burly male rubbed at a sore forming along the side of his snout. All the extra shifts were brutal, but he refused to stop signing up for them.
What kind of guidance counselor was he? So many students had come to him terrified, angry and hurt today. And he had no answers for them.
A growl started at the back of his throat, building until it rumbled down through his chest, vibrating the man's whole body.
His pups deserved to feel safe, and he had to ensure that they were.
Bright green flashed in Inui's light-sensitive eyes, and his head jerked up.
What was that?!
Whatever it was, it was a ways off. And it was gone a second later.
The hero reached toward his waistline, only to grasp at nothing.
Grrrrr.
He hadn't made it home yet, which meant he didn't have any comms. He'd given his walkie-talkie to Lifeless at the shift change and had forgotten his work cell.
How could he be so stupid as to not bring a back-up?!
Teeth baring, Inui took off down the main path by the dorms, loping parallel to where he'd seen the now-absent light. He couldn't just cut directly into the forest or he'd lose his bearings. His night vision was good, but it still wasn't great for distance. He needed to keep his trajectory as reference until he got closer and had a better idea of his heading.
The striped man thumped down the path for a minute more, approaching both the general area of interest and the new duplex that'd gone up last night.
Well, that was as good a landmark as any to orient himself off of. Dipping into the forest, he dropped to all fours, running like he was made for the woods.
Until he nearly tripped on a root as a too-strong, familiar scent caught his attention.
Ojiro-kun?!
Bounding toward a pine, he threw his hands up and catapulted off of it, using its rough bark to turn on a dime.
The smell gained a sour, biting undertone and Ryo increased his pace. He'd been noticed.
Abruptly it lessened, the odor dissipating just a hair and the canine hybrid switched to a bipedal run, raising his nose as he went.
The scent became stronger.
Well-developed leg muscles bunched, sending Inui rocketing skyward and allowing him to catch a tree branch ten feet up. Pushing down hard, he launched himself over it and into an even higher position.
If his quarry was trying to escape by climbing, he'd follow.
The hunter gave chase, putting on more speed until not two minutes later when he started to hear the heavy breathing and wild crashing of panicked prey.
He was almost on top of the boy now, he could see it. Smell it. Practically taste the sharp, acidic fear in the air.
Ryo's unmuzzled jaws stretched out, intent on snapping shut over the goading tuft of yellow that flipped so tantalizingly in front of it.
Pupils shrinking at the last second, the man's gnarled hands shot out instead, closing around the thick cord of muscle that was Ojiro's tail and yanking it backward. Snatching the younger male into a grappling hug, Hound Dog inhaled deeply and landed with a resounding thud onto a thin floor of leaf litter.
Spicy. Tickling. Warm. Heavy.
The new aroma twirled and teased, weaving anger into the fear.
"What are you doing out here?!" Inui's own terror and rage barrelled forth, garbling his speech, "Couldjrooou get a'y more rrrreckless?! I can't believ—" his next words came out more akin to a rockslide than Japanese, growled as deeply as they were.
"Get the fuck off me!" the teen howled, voice nearly matching in timbre and roughness as he flailed hard against the canid man's steely arms.
Ryo tightened his grip, shaking his head against the ringing in his ears.
Did Ojiro just swear!?
Thick saliva developed at the sides of Hound Dog's mouth and he closed his eyes.
He needed to calm down.
Push away the instincts.
Whatever had caused the light might still be out here. His student was in danger. He had to get the pup out of here.
Bracing against a tail-whack, Ryo turned around, about to run back the way they'd come. Ojiro instantly shouted a protest and the hero shoved his hand over the smaller male's face.
"Quiet!" Inui whispered, a mini wire brush scrubbing asphalt. "It's not safe out here. There might be something dangerous nearby."
The sharp sting of a bite didn't deter the larger man as he continued to cover Ojiro's muffled curses, listening hard for any disturbance in the surrounding environment.
"Enough." Ryo's voice lowered even more, turning so deep a human's ears would have a hard time perceiving it, "I'll knock you out if I have to."
Suddenly, mercifully, the boy stopped squirming.
"Now," he breathed, "Do I need to keep you gagged, or will you stop giving away our position?"
A slow shake of the head moved the bestial human's hand.
This time, when the kid spoke, it was incredibly hollow, "You saw the portal, too, didn't you? You're going to take this away from me. Hide whatever you find. Leave me with nothing."
What? What on Earth was the boy talking about?
"I'll never see Toru-chan again, will I?"
A sudden clarity tore through Hound Dog's mind.
No wonder the boy was acting out so fiercely.
Ryo felt the air escape him, and he answered, "We can talk about this when we get back. I'll listen. But right now we need to be quiet and get out of here."
"There's no one here. No one came through the portal unless they were—" the teen's voice hitched, cracking over "invisible."
Tilting his head back, Inui took several rapid, short sniffs. Nothing.
Ojiro was right. If there'd been anyone within a five kilometer range, whether the wind was against him or not, he'd have known.
He'd let the chase cloud his judgment.
Feeling acutely embarrassed, the older male blushed, but refused to let go of his charge. The boy was still a flight risk.
Volume raising to normal levels, he verified, "You saw the portal form. That's why you're out here." Voice softening, he let his chin plop down on the tailed child's head. "You could have come to me, you know."
Heat crept back into Ojiro's tone, and he stiffened "No. I couldn't."
Forcing himself not to wince, the counselor rolled his options over in his head. He could turn the kid in, but then it would just cement Mashirao's distrust, ultimately worsening the situation. It was clear, at least to Ryo, that he wasn't some spy trying to wheedle out information for the League.
He was just a pup in pain. One with a big enough hole in his heart that he was willing to throw his life away for a chance to suture it.
This boy didn't need discipline. He needed to know someone was on his side.
Mind made up, the empath opened his snout. "If you speak a word of this to anyone," his toothy jaws slid off the top of Ojiro's head and down the side, clacking sharply together near the younger male's cheek, "We're gonna have a problem."
The boy twitched slightly in the large man's arms, but didn't protest, so Ryo took that as a sign to continue, "You're right. Hagakure-san was snatched by a portal. And not just any portal, an ectoplasmic one." Ojiro started shivering, the scent wafting off him hinting at extreme distress.
"We've been trying to piece everything together but none of it's adding up. Elite tracking quirks have been stumped. Everything seems to be related to some English speaking benefactor. Ectoplasm is being used in ways previously thought impossible. We can't tell if our opponent is sloppy or a genius. It's like we're trying to put together a puzzle, only to realize that there are three different sets mixed together, and some of the pieces are missing."
"Why are you telling me this?" The smaller blonde's words were choked.
"Because you needed to hear it, and I trust you." Shifting one of his burly arms to take the full weight of the teen when Mashirao turned boneless, Inui let his other hand settle lightly on the kid's head, petting softly. Ignoring the wracking sobs that started, the dog-hearted man murmured, "Just don't let me live to regret it."
After a while Ojiro relaxed, only offering an occasional hiccup and Inui let him go. Even as he was set on his feet, the child's tail stayed sagged, coiling just slightly on the ground like it didn't have the will to lift.
"Now, your turn." The hunting hero's voice was back to gruff. "You saw the green light. Well enough to identify it as a portal. Explain."
Ojiro's brows furrowed, but he didn't protest otherwise, instead offering, "It had to be a portal because something fell through it."
Inui wuffed the air, senses on high alert. Metallic. Citrus. Sterile. Chemicals.
Ectoplasm.
His body swung left, apricot mane bristling and arms positioning in front of him like a combative bear.
"I couldn't see it well, but it looked small and skinny, maybe forty centimeters long."
The smell was faint. At least a hundred meters away.
Too close to the dorms.
Mashirao watched Inui snarl with guarded interest, but the canid hybrid couldn't pay the emotion any mind.
Slitted eyes jerked back and forth between the boy and the scent before the hunter demanded "STAY!", dashing in the direction of what might be a bomb.
Saturday, September 15th
12:02 am
Danny, sitting with one leg tucked sideways under him and the other splayed out on the floor, leaned forward to accept something that Tucker dug out of the Ops Center Weapons Vault.
Vault was a bit of a misnomer, as this particular stash was just a bunch of cabinets cram-packed with FentonWorks gear, but it did have some weapons in it.
Not that those were what the pair was after; they were looking for anything that might be helpful in finding Jazz.
A collection of rejects already fanned out behind the ghost boy, a testament to the fifteen minutes they'd already spent sorting.
"Fenton Skateboard?" Tucker asked, tugging particularly hard on the edge of something flat and silver. When it suddenly dislodged, he lurched backward, arms pinwheeling to catch his balance.
Danny's hands flew up, pushing against his friend's back to steady the other male. "No." Plucking the childish invention out of Tucker's bandaged grasp, the halfa rolled it toward the bathroom.
"Fenton Foamer." This time there was no question, the combination carpet-cleaner/goo-gun immediately heading for the discard pile.
"Boo-merang?"
"Doubt it," the gloomy hero huffed, begrudgingly accepting the obtuse-angled tracker known for knocking him around. "Jazz would have to have something with an ectoplasmic signature on her. Which means not only would we have to find out which signature to look for, we'd also have to figure out how to key the Boo-merang to it. You know how many times we've tried to reset this stupid thing."
Tucker's brief smile flickered and vanished. "We could check your room to see if she left her bracelet behind. I bet she has it with her; she wears it all the time. Maybe we can track it with the Finder. Doesn't it have an emergency beacon built in?" The darker man leaned back down, ducking his head inside the cabinet while the lighter male grabbed up a screwdriver, using it to remove a side panel from the faintly glowing "weapon".
"Yeah, it does! I forgot about that! Let me just fix the Boo-merang real quick and we can go look!"
An errant wire poked from the circuitry in Danny's hands and he lifted it up, rubbing the frayed end between his thumb and forefinger until it twirled more tightly around itself. Wrapping it back beneath the conductive screw where it belonged, he tightened the fastener down.
A burnt plastic smell wafted from the Australian-style device a second before it caught fire.
Danny yelped, tossing it forward like a hot potato and flash freezing it with his eyes, missing the green mist that swirled at his back and whisked an old Thermos away.
Thump!
"HhhhSSSSHHHH!" sounded just after and Tucker clasped the side of his head, the white of gauze-wrapped fingers stark against black hair as he stumbled back from the cabinet.
"Oh, jeeze; are you okay?!" Jumping up and grabbing his friend by the shoulder, Danny led the smaller boy over to his sleeper pod even as Tucker tried to push him off with a long-suffering "I'm fiiiine."
"Maybe we should call it quits for tonight. It's past midnight and you look like you lost a fight." Danny's gaze magnetized to Tucker's hands, guilt churning in his stomach.
"I'm sor—"
"LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" To emphasize his point, the technogeek covered his ears with the flat of his palms. "LALALALA—!"
Danny grimaced, then sighed. "Okay, I get it. No more apologies."
Reading the halfa's lips, Tucker lowered his hands with a cheeky smirk. "Good boy. I'll have those excessive 'sorries' trained out of you yet. Now let's go track that beacon."
Saturday, September 15th
12:21 am
Stay?
Stay?!
Not likely.
Mashirao took off after Inui-sensei, the other animal-hybrid practically melding through the trees in front of him. It was obvious the man was in his element.
But so was Ojiro.
The tailed boy threw himself at the nearest elm, swinging up into its branches. It was a blessing that so much of the campus forest was old growth. A smaller tree would have snapped beneath him.
Ears straining hard and focus dead set on keeping up with Hound Dog, Ojiro's reaction delayed when the adult skidded to a stop, spraying pine needles and semi-orange leaves into the air. Hand jutting out, he managed to grasp a trunk, but the kinetic energy was so strong it nearly dislocated his shoulder. Biting down hard to keep from crying out, the teen watched through heavily shadowed branches as the vague shape of UA's guidance counselor crept forward.
If only he had night vision. It was too bad Howler monkeys weren't known for it.
What was Inui-sensei looking at? It was obvious that the older man was stalking something, but what?
Ojiro wished he could get closer but knew that his presence hadn't gone unnoticed. If he approached without permission, Inui-sensei might really just knock him out.
Well, there was no one else around.
"What is it?"
A sharp growl responded, and the boy suddenly felt less sure of himself, flinching back.
Hound Dog hadn't been wearing his muzzle. There was a reason the man had it.
The golden tuft on the end of Mashirao's tail twitched as he remembered just how close he'd come to losing it.
Maybe expulsion wasn't the only thing he should be worried about.
The rumble got louder.
Which could have been because Inui-sensei was furious, but more likely had to do with him flying straight at Ojiro.
Jerking back to the point where he almost fell out of the tree didn't stop a clawed hand from wrapping around his face, holding him out over the edge like some weightless mannequin. It was only his prehensile tail, hooked around the branch in front, that made the pressure on his neck bearable.
Great, partially yellowed teeth glinted in the hint of moonlight, only so visible because of proximity.
"I—rrrrr—sajed," spittle flew directly into Mashirao's left eye and he blinked rapidly, "—SHTAY!"
Grasping tight around a striped arm for leverage and starting to sweat, the boy's weak voice refuted, "I'm going to be expelled anyway. Things couldn't get any worse."
"Yryuuuuu don'tch shrrrink—" the already large whites of Inui's eyes increased in size as the adult's pupils shrunk down to pinpricks, "—irrrt crooourdrt harrve—" he started to shake, stopping twice to gnash at the air before gritting out his next words, "beeerrrrn WUUURRRSSSE?!" Finally, with a massive vein popping in his temple, the Hominidae Canis tossed his head to the side and took a giant bite out of the tree trunk.
Watching the man crunch the wood apart like so many toothpicks, Ojiro felt his stomach drop out from under him (more than it already had) and his instincts forced his gaze down.
It was the right move, because suddenly, he didn't feel quite like he was balancing on a razor's edge.
It was silent for at least a minute while Hound Dog's angry trembles and hyperventilation slowly dissipated, neither willing to speak a word.
Neck aching, Ojiro finally felt the world move and a branch materialized beneath his feet, the giant hand retracting from his face.
"I thourght—" Inui stalled, taking a slow breath. "I thought it was a bomb."
Ojiro couldn't breathe, throat swelling mostly shut.
What if he had distracted Inui-sensei?!
What if the man's worry for Mashirao caused him to make a mistake?!
What if it had been sound activated?
The young blonde's head swung left, gaping at the sable-shaded world like he could see the dorms beyond.
He could have caused the death of his friends.
…
Kazuko.
His sister.
"You finally understand." It wasn't a question.
Ojiro felt himself nod, but the feeling was far-off.
"Your teachers care about you. Enough to make the hard decisions." Inui's head turned in the same direction as Ojiro's, following his gaze. "If anyone was going to die tonight, it should have been me, and only me."
Vision turning blurry, Mashirao was vaguely aware of cold tracking down his cheeks.
"Let's get you back to the duplex. You've only got one day off to sort yourself out before your support classes start."
The smaller male stumbled over a stick and the larger one grabbed him by the back of a pajama shirt, only allowing a second for the kid to get his feet under him before letting go.
Author's Note:
Let me know what your theories are in the comments! I really wanna see how this story is being received. What's everyone's guesses? I love to hear theories. I'm really curious to see if anyone's even on the right track!
PS: I love comments so much, but I normally feel too awkward to ask for them. That's why you don't see reminders at the end of chapters. lol
Chapter Notes:
-The reason Monoma got sick was because he helped in the fight against LL's sausages, got bit and didn't tell anyone. Unlike Vlad, who got treatment for his bites, Monoma didn't think anything of a couple small scratches. Lol
-I got curious and I googled what nitroglycerin smells like. It said incredibly burnt sugar or caramel and that it tastes about the same as it smells. Which leads me to some horrible internal questions that I will not voice. XD
-Ketsubutsu academy is where Mr. Joke's class was from in the provisional license exam.
-Handful of Fun is Kendo (martial artist with big hands), Vine Priestess is Shiozaki (religious girl with vine hair), Haxorus 2.0 is Kamakiri (the tusked lizard looking guy), Man of Steel is Tetsutetsu, Gentle Giant is Bondo (the big glue user guy who's quiet), and You Give Me Split Ends is Tokage (the recommendation student of 1b that can split herself into up to 50 pieces).
-TEFL is the certification that English teachers have to get in Japan to be qualified to teach. Some foreigners that come to teach document their journey/travel/hardships etc. on blogs
-the whole "you could be arrested for being a foreigner without identification" thing is actually a real law in Japan.
-Sunset is 5:51 pm in Tokyo on September 14th. Yes, I'm that extra. LOL
-The pill that transforms into a sleeping bag is actually based off of the one in Fenton Menace. The only upgrade is an outer layer that is waterproof. That way if Jazz, for instance, walks into the rain, she doesn't have a sleeping bag exploding off her wrist. XD
-For those wondering why Jazz didn't charge her phone through the wall, it's because she doesn't know the AC level of the outlet or if her phone is even compatible with this world's electricity. Jack and Maddie had to make a special adapter to charge Kamada's phone. (Many countries have 220 AC voltage, and the US has 120. If you plug something into a higher voltage than it can take, it tends to fry the device.)
-The person Hagakure vaguely remembers with a tracking quirk is Kashiko Sekigai. The reason she thinks her name is "world" is because Sekai is world/Earth in Japanese.
-Jack not liking regular clothes because they give him rashes is established in one of the camping episodes.
-Kazuko is an older name (means peace child), which seemed fitting considering Ojiro seems like he came from a more traditional family.
–dogs can smell things 20 km away if conditions are right. I had Hound Dog's range be smaller to account for him not knowing if he was upwind of a trespasser.
-"We can't tell if our opponent is sloppy or a genius. It's like we're trying to put together a puzzle, only to realize that there are three different sets mixed together, and some of the pieces are missing." Heeeeeey. This sounds like it could be a quote by a reader. Hahahah XD
-I got a random head canon while writing this chapter and now I've decided that Ojiro's powers come from being a golden howler monkey hybrid. Since the Kanji of his name references monkeys. They tend to be stockier and have thicker tails than most, can come in gold, and their looks/build feel more like Ojiro than other monkeys to me. The fact that he's a quiet boy is the reason you don't normally hear his "howl" (which sounds like an angry hog) in his voice. Being caught by another animal hybrid during a stressful time was enough to set it off, though.
-the reason Ojiro feels like he's no longer on a razor's edge when he drops his eyes is because dogs see eye contact differently. When interacting with humans, they understand that our customs are different, so they make eye contact to be polite, but when they interact with other animals they only maintain eye contact to challenge another's authority.