'WHAT!' nine voices echoed in Guild Chat, our combined volume loud enough that I worried the clamour might be audible in the real world.
'Two large men in nice suits threw a bag over my head and forced me into a car,' Mom explained, 'They haven't said or done anything. And it is a very comfortable car. So there is a chance this is a prank; my coworkers have a ritual of throwing an elaborate surprise party when a new employee lands their first big contract. This could just be a very poorly thought out and timed version of that. But it is probably the criminals who hurt Eri.'
'Aren't you scared, Inko-san?' Ami asked.
'I am,' Mom answered, 'But at the same time, I can talk freely to all of you. And Izuku can monitor me for any changes to my Health or status. If they do try something, he can pull me into a Dungeon instantly. That's why I am waiting to see what they do. Where they take me, and if I can get any information out of them.'
'So hot,' Kyoka's thoughts leaked into the chat.
'So what do we do?' Ochako asked, 'I feel like I need to do something.'
'Izuku, add Cassandra and All Might to your party, if they aren't already there,' Momo said.
'What for, young Yaoyorozu?' All Might prompted, even as I did what she suggested.
'I was thinking about what Izuku told the yakuza yesterday, about triangulation,' she said.
'Of course,' I realized.
'I see,' Ami said.
'What?' Tsu, Ochako, and Kyoka said, almost at the same time.
'Members of the party can tell each other's direction,' I reminded them, 'If All Might and Cassandra spread out, they can figure out where Mom is relative to them, so we can determine where they are taking her.'
'But you are faster than I am,' Cassandra pointed out.
'Yes, but young Midoriya needs to go some place where it is quiet and he is secure,' All Might explained, 'So that he can concentrate on Inko, and so we won't be seen when we exit this Dungeon. I suggest my office.'
'We seem to be stopping...' Mom said, 'No, just a traffic light, I think.'
'Young Cain, head southwest,' All Might said, as the four of us reached the entrance to the teachers apartment building, 'As quickly as you can. I will take young Midoriya to my office, and young Uraraka if she likes. Then I will run due north. If the rest of you want to come back to campus, we can make sure you are let in.'
'We'll come back,' Tsu said, 'We all went to the mall together to to look at kids' clothes, so we are close by.'
'Oh, and I should tell Principal Nezu,' I realized, 'He's in the Party right now, and I wouldn't want to surprise him.'
'WHAT!' nine voices echoed in Guild Chat, their combined volume loud enough that I worried the clamour might be audible in the real world.
'Did I forget to mention that?' I realized with everything that had happened with Eri and the yakuza, it may have slipped my mind.
Rough hands pushed her firmly down into a very soft chair. Then they pulled the bag off her head. Inko didn't flinch or blink. She calmly smoothed her skirt. Only then did she look at the man opposite her.
He was above average height, and had a wiry build. He wore a very expensive dress shirt and pants in deep burgundy, and a light grey silk tie. The nice, professional aura of which was spoiled by the olive green bomber jacket with a purple fur ruff he wore instead of a suit coat. He had short, dark brown, nearly black hair and yellow eyes. Inko almost thought he was attractive, except for two things. The first being the look of barely contained violence and madness in his eyes. And the second was that from nose to chin his face was concealed by an ornate red and gold plague doctor's mask.
Inko glanced around and noticed that the other four men in the room all wore variations of the beak like mask. Except the other men each had a full-face mask. Even the two men who had taken her had put on such masks at some point.
"Well," she said, "Given I don't see the president, section manager, or Nemuri, I'm guessing this isn't my surprise party for securing the Midnight account."
The man in the partial mask, who Inko suspected was the leader, had a tremor above his right eyebrow as she said that.
"Midoriya Inko," he said, "Your son has stolen something from me. I intend to have it back."
"Oh dear," Inko tilted her head down and frowned, "That doesn't sound much like my son at all. He wants to be a Hero after all. He is even attending UA. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. What do you think he took from you?"
"My daughter," the man answered, "He took my..."
"Bullshit," Inko cut him off sharply.
"What?" the man in the white hood and brown and copper mask blurted out suddenly.
"That's bullshit," Inko said calmly, "Even if through some chance you are Eri's genetic donor, you are not her father. After what you did to that child, you have no right to call her your daughter, Chisaki Kai."
As soon as her mask had been removed, Inko began to describe the men holding her, over both Guild and Party chat. Nezu had been able to confirm their leader, and gave her a probable identity on the big one with the wild red hair sticking out the back of his mask. Nezu could not help with the one in the hood, the largest man, nor the one who looked more like a small child or doll.
Then the doll like one surged forward, over the table between her chair and their couch. His left arm grew to the size of a normal adult arm, and was holding high-caliber semi-automatic of some sort.
"What did you say to Overhaul, bitch?" he demanded, pointing the barrel against her temple. Then Inko opened her left hand. The pistol was wretched out of his hand and landed in her palm. It didn't seem to be coincidence that it was pointed at their boss's chest. After a tense moment, Inko leaned forward, and very carefully and deliberately set the gun on the table. One of the yakuza removed it an instant later.
"I have no illusions that I will make it out of here safely if I do something stupid," she said, "Though you might want to instill that lesson into your... action figure."
"Ha!" the red-head behind her barked once loudly, then continued chuckling.
Overhaul blinked. He was not sure what to think. His Eight Bullets had made mid-level Heroes, stone-cold killers, and giants of industry wet themselves in fear. According to the information the Hassaikai had obtained, Midoriya Inko was little more than a housewife. And a timid one at that. She dropped out of college due to her pregnancy. She let herself go and couldn't keep her husband. Only in the last year had she gotten back in shape, divorced, and gotten a job.
Of course what he couldn't know was that Inko had not gotten in shape by dieting or going to the gym. She had gone face to face with a 500 kilogram kobold wielding a hammer that weighed more than she did, a flame spewing cast-iron golem, and a selection of random Villains from All Might's Rogues Gallery. Just for starters. And that's not considering the countless goblins, orcs, skeletons, wolves, lions, tigers, bears, and the like, that had been the mobs in the Dungeons. Inko was not unafraid. But she had seen worse and knew better than to let her fear show.
"That's enough Mimic," Overhaul said. The doll backed down, his arm shrinking back to its previous size.
"I take it that means you won't help me get Eri back?" the yakuza leader asked, slightly less calmly.
"You assume I know where she is," Ink countered.
"You don't?" he pressed dubiously.
"I met her on Saturday," Inko said, "but the police did not tell me their plans for her. Why would they?"
Overhaul sighed and sat back, "And what about your son?"
"Does he know where she is?" Inko clarified and Chisaki nodded, "Maybe. I would not be surprised either way. But he didn't mention it."
"Why don't we call him and find out?" Overhaul gestured. The man with the hood took Inko's purse and rummaged around until he found her phone. Then he tossed the bag onto her lap.
"Why are you doing this?" Inko asked, "What could possibly be worth hurting that sweet little girl?"
"We are going to fix this infected world," Overhaul said, insanity creeping into his voice, "And Eri's power is the key."
"So you are the ones who hurt her," Inko insisted.
"Sacrifices must be made," Overhaul shrugged.
The hooded man wiped down Inko's phone, first with a sterilizing wipe and then with a microfiber cloth. Only then did he offer it to Overhaul. Who, Inko noted, was wearing white cotton gloves anyway.
"Locked, little surprise," he said. Then he glared at Inko, "You can either unlock it, or we can make you."
Inko nodded and extended her hand.
"And don't think of tryin nothing," the biggest man told her, "We've been scrambling your phone since we nabbed you. So no GPS, no emergency apps, and you ain't makin any calls."
"Please call your son," Overhaul contradicted his underling. Despite the phrasing, it wasn't a request.
"I don't suppose, if Izuku does help you, that you will just be letting me go unharmed," Inko paused to ask.
"Your son did steal from me," Overhaul said, "I cannot let that go unredressed. There must be... balance."
"In that case, I think I will take my leave instead," she told them glibly, "I would say it has been a pleasure gentlemen, but I'm trying to avoid lying."
Then she pointed her hand at Overhaul's face. The plague mask pulled away, straining against its straps. Just before they broke, Inko vanished.
"Yow!" Overhaul shouted reflexively in pain as the mask snapped back into place.
"As amusing and cathartic as it may having been, that may not have been wise idea," Nezu warned Inko. But the broad grin across his face was at odds with his words.
"They kidnapped me, threatened me, and admitted what they did to Eri," Inko looked pleased with herself, "He's lucky I couldn't do that to his brain, and that his goons were smart enough to hide their guns after the first one."
"So what are we going to do now?" All Might asked. They were back in his office, after their quick jaunt into the Pencil of Solitude. The rest of the Knights were waiting in 1-A, All Might's office not having seating for eleven people. And space would have been tight if they had dragged extra chairs in.
"Well, I am of the opinion that the Midoriya family should move into the teacher's apartments for the immediate future. Midnight and I can talk to her manager about having her work remotely."
"That was not what I meant," All Might said in a deeper tone.
"Yes," Nezu nodded his understanding, "We will need to work with the police, but thanks to the location you and Cain-chan pinpointed, as well and Midoriya-san's potential testimony, we will be able to move on the Hassaikai. And we should probably do so as soon as possible."
"Will this help?" Inko reached into her skirt pocket and took out a black plastic stick.
"Is that a digital recorder?" All Might asked.
"Actually, it is a micro-analog recorder," Inko said, "The company likes to make sure we have the clients' exact words, in case they dispute a design. And the micro-analog sticks aren't damaged by magnetic fields or the like. I didn't think they would let me do anything with my phone, so I turned this on. It has our whole conversation."
"Yes," Nezu said regretfully, "I'm afraid whatever virus they used wiped your phone's data for the last twelve hours. Thankfully Midoriya-kun thought to have me check it while we were in the dungeon. Otherwise they would have found out you were here."
"What happened?" Overhaul demanded dangerously. Rubbing his face around the mask.
"We don't know," Chronostasis admitted, "She is not anywhere in the base. And her phone must be off, because we are not getting a signal from the tracking worm."
"It could be a teleportation Quirk," Katsukame Rikiya said slowly.
"That isn't her Quirk," Rappa countered, "it was that pulling thing. And that's what the spying guys said she does, too."
"There could have been some other kind of marker on her," Mimic suggested, "We should have given her a more thorough searching."
"You would say that," Rappa said.
Then the argument stopped as Sakaki Deidoro meandered into the room.
"We think we go something, bossss," he slurred slightly.
"What is it?" Overhaul held up a hand to the others.
"There's been a lot. Like a lot, a lot, of Amazazon bokshes going to UA yesterday and today. But yeshterday was Sunday, so why'sh dat? Maybe the needed a bunch of shtuff?"
"That gives me an idea," Overhaul said, "But we will need to move quickly. Even if we jammed and bugged the old woman's phone, we should assume that whoever got her out of here will have some way to track it back."
The black gate opened. The man who called himself Stain stepped through, followed closely by the person who had identified himself as Kurogiri. Stain immediately took stock of the situation. He was in a run-down bar, and his ride stepped behind the titular piece of furniture to his left. To his right and behind him there were two young women seated at a table. Both of them were watching him carefully, and while each had very different hair, their locks were quivering with nervous energy. And the remaining three stood in front of him. A woman, dressed like a clown or playing card with bi-colored hair, was the only one who wasn't showing any reaction to Stain's arrival. A lizard like man, who was barely containing his excitement. And a tall slender man covered dismembered hands, who was barely concealing his rage. Though if Stain was right, that was his normal mood.
Stain had wanted to test this 'League'. To press them and see how they reacted. But now he was outnumbered six to one. Or, best case scenario, five to two if the lizard man took his side. And that was assuming they didn't have others in the back, traps or automated weapons, or other hidden advantages.
"Can I offer you something to drink?" the entity that called himself Kurogiri asked.
"I'll take a beer," Stain accepted, "Whatever you've got in a bottle."
The brown-haired woman raised an eyebrow, because it was just after noon on a Tuesday. Kurogiri placed a bottle on the bar and reached for an opener. Before he could, Stain grabbed one of his combat knives and sliced the brew open. The League watched, and gave him various reactions. Impressed. Nervous. Nonchalant. Annoyed.
"Why did you ask me to come here?" Stain asked after taking a swig.
"We are similar, you and the League," hands-guy said, "You hate these selfish, cowardly 'false Heroes'. We hate the results of this Hero Society. Where we can't use are naturally born powers without a license from the government, and are even branded as criminals for doing so. Where the majority worship these so-called Heroes, despite all their failures and hypocrisy."
Stain nodded slowly. The words were precise, rehearsed. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth, either.
"So you want me to join your little group?" Stain asked, taking another draw on his beer.
"No," hands-guy said with a slight smirk, "At least not yet. You prefer to work alone, otherwise you would have reached out to Spinner here, or your other fans for help. And if we stay separate, if the police take us down they won't get you, and vice versa. I'd like us to be allies, but separate."
"You are Spinner?" Stain looked at the lizard man, "That one from Hero Buster?"
"Hero Breaker," Spinner corrected, "Hero Breaker dot net. I'm a huge fan, Stain-sama."
"Hmm," Stain relaxed further, "So then what would this alliance entail."
"Nothing formal," hands-guy explained, "Mostly a promise not to interfere with each other. The occasional exchange of information. But we have noticed that since you took out Ingenium; nice job with that by the way..."
Stain recognized the compliment was the most earnest thing the League's leader had said.
"Since then," he continued, "The crappy Heroes have been working in packs and carrying emergency beacons. That has to be making things harder for you. And we would like to help. Kurogiri?"
At the call, a portal opened. It deposited a hulking brute with grey skin, wings, and an exposed brain behind hands-guy.
"This is one of our second generation Nomus. You may recognize it from the one we used in the USJ attack."
Stain studied the thing, but couldn't get a read on it. Even though it was breathing, it was more like a statue than a living creature.
"We will have seven more completed in about two weeks," the talker continued, "When they are ready, we were thinking about sending four or five of them to attack the Heroes. We could easily do that in Hosu. Create a distraction, to allow you to do your work in peace. We even have a stealth model that we could send with you as backup."
He held up his real hands when Stain frowned.
"It would hide and do nothing, until you told to to," hands-guy insisted, "But on the off chance your target has friends or lays a trap, a good, disposable bio-weapon could be just the thing to help finish the job and escape without getting caught."
Stain couldn't help but nod. His surveillance of his next target had been tough, for the very reasons hands-guy had said.
"Fine," Stain conceded, "When your monsters are ready, let me know. We can have a little trial run. If it works well, I could be open to an alliance. Otherwise, I'll have to cut ties with you."
Stain brushed his knife and katana hilts with his hands, implying that such a cutting of ties would not be figurative.
"Excellent," hands-guy said, but his eye twitched, "Then we should all have a drink, to mark the occasion."
"Actually, I need to get back," Stain said firmly, "I need to make sure my target is following his lunch pattern."
"Of course. Kurogiri, take him back."
The mist Villain came out from around the bar, and opened the gate.
"Spinner," Shigaraki said once Stain was gone, "If you are up for it, I have your first assignment."
"Really?" the lizard-man looked surprised, given he had just joined the group.
"Yes. Stheno and Mindy are going to talk to a couple of new recruits. Kurogiri will be chauffeuring Mindy, so we need someone to drive Stheno around. She doesn't know how to drive. I want you to not just drive her, but also assist her. I want your opinion of these recruits, too."
Spinner nodded.
After Stheno and Spinner left, and Kurogiri returned and picked up Mindy, Tomura dropped onto one of the bar stools. He leaned over the counter and fished out the first bottle he could feel. It was a cheap rum, but Decay couldn't be bothered to find anything else. He unscrewed the top and took a swig.
"I hate that Stain guy," he grumbled.
"I know, puddin," Harley patted his arm consolingly, "You did real good, not killing him."
He offered her the bottle, and she took a drink.
"It will be so worth it when all his fans find out he needs us to get anything done," Tomura smirked.
After lunch let out Tuesday, we did another quick round of Heroes and Villains, though this time it was just us from 1-A, and to make it random, we didn't find out which team we were facing until it actually started. Mo-chan and I lost to Mikoto and Koda-san, because his squirrels and wrens found the bomb easily.
After only an hour, we went back inside. It was time to start talking to the teachers.
"Young Midoriya," All Might called to me, "I would like to speak with you about your internship."
"Oh, okay," I was surprised, because I thought it was supposed to go the other way.
We walked to his office. I was carrying the packet, I had not had much time to look after it, after we got Mom back. There were hundreds of forms in the packet and that was after the teachers whittled it down multiple thousands.
"I am guessing you have not been able to look at all the offers, after everything that happened yesterday," All Might began, relaxing into his thin form.
"Yes," I agreed, "We had to gather up stuff to stay on campus for a few weeks, potentially. And even though she was acting strong, Mom was rattled. But there were a few offers I pulled out..."
I took the eight off the top of the stack. They were from six of the top ten Japanese heroes. All Might wasn't taking internships. Todoroki Enji had not sent me one. I wasn't sure if I was surprised or not; he had promised to be an 'ally' if I beat Shouto-san. Which I did, but not for him. And I hadn't made the best impression on him. I wasn't sure why Hawks or Best Jeanist didn't send me offers, but I wasn't going to worry about it.
"The top Heroes in Japan," All Might said, "as well as Seven Deadly Brothers and the Flash Agency. Certainly impressive, but..."
"I'm not considering most of them," I interrupted him, "I know the rankings aren't necessarily who is the best as a Hero, otherwise Ryukyu would be third or fourth. And as much as I would love to spend a week in Hong Kong working for Seven Deadly Brothers or Minneapolis with the second Flash and Ms Quick, I don't think it's a good idea for me to be that far away from Eri for a week. I pulled those out so that I could remember to write them a thank you note, for the offer."
"I am considering Edgeshot and Ryukyu's offers, though," I noted, "I am primarily an unarmed fighter, with some range attacks I have to hide for now, so Edgeshot's ninja style would be good for me. And Ryukyu's transformation is not unlike my ability to power up with TK Aura and Ki Reinforcement. Plus, her agency is very close."
'It is unfortunate that he feels so beholden to young Eri,' All Might thought, 'but I can not effectively refute him.'
"Well, I can help you go through the rest of these," Yagi-sensei told me.
"I have already separated out all the ones that are foreign, or even not on Honshu," I told him, splitting off the bottom half of the stack. I saw the top one, 'Joe-Valk Hero Company'. I had been considering that one, but for another reason.
"That's good," he said, "If you have decided not to go too far afield, that makes it easier to cut the list down."
Then he flicked through the ones from the main island. And All Might pulled out one and handed it to me.
"Torino Agency?" I read it, confused, "I've never heard of it."
"That's be..ecause it clos...ed ten years agao," All Might explained. His speech was unsteady, and when I looked up, he was shaking in fear.
"All Might is something wrong?" I asked, "Should I heal you? Or get Recovery Girl?"
"No..oo.." he took a deep breath, "This is just a psychosomatic reaction."
"Somehow that makes me think I should reject this offer," I looked at the paper again nervously.
"No, at least let me explain, first," All Might shook his head, "Rejecting this offer would be both wise and foolish, but rejecting it without proper knowledge would be the epitome of stupidity."
I nodded, set the page down in front of me, and focused on All Might.
"You may recall that I spoke briefly about the mentor who sent me to America to keep me away from All for One, until I was ready? That mentor was Gran Torino. Even a Hero fan like you probably has not heard of him, because he preferred to stay out of the limelight. And he retired ten years ago. Semi-retired I should say, since he was there when I got this injury. Indeed, if he had not carried Knighteye and myself to an ambulance after the battle, I might not be here. He is also one of Japan's first generation of Heroes."
He paused for a moment, letting me take that in and considering his next words.
"Gran Torino is a very strict mentor," All Might continued, "His methods instilled a fear in me down to my core, but without them, I would not be alive or half the Hero I am today. And he is aware of One for All and my condition, so you would not need to keep my offer or your plan to help me a secret. I am not sure why he is interested in you, young Midoriya, but he will certainly make you a better Hero."
"He is interested in me?" I asked. Which was stupid, because he had apparently come out of retirement to offer me an internship. He wouldn't do that if he didn't have some sort of interest in me.
"Yes," All Might confirmed, "He sent out three internship offers. And then he called me personally, and told me to tell them to accept his offer. But he did not say why."
I looked at the form again. All Might's secret mentor. A man the number one Hero owed his life to, in more than one way.
"Can I ask who the other two are?" I queried.
"No," All Might said, "You can ask your schoolmates, but it is up to them to decide if they want to share what offers they received. Most won't care and will openly share data about the potential internships. But according to the rules I'm not allowed to divulge any specifics without their permission."
"That makes sense," I agreed, "Though I would think connecting those of us with the same offers, so we can share information more easily, would also make sense. But I can see how it would be bad if someone were pressured into or out of taking an internship. Thank you, All Might, I will consider this. Now, about can you tell me anything about the "Fat Gum Company"? I was thinking his Quirk is a good analogue for TK Armor and TK Aura..."
"Good afternoon, Midoriya-san," Nezu inclined his head towards the younger woman, "Thank you for coming."
"Of course, Principal Nezu," Inko said.
"Please, have a seat," he waved to the chairs.
"Thank you," she complied, "I was a bit surprised you asked to see me again. Is this about the yakuza?"
"No," Nezu told her, "Everything is still on track for tomorrow. But at the same time, this is not an unrelated matter."
Inko just observed him, curiously.
"I ask for your forgiveness in advance if I ramble," he said, "It is a bad habit of mine, but I wish to properly set the stage."
"I am the mother of Izuku," she said wryly, "I doubt you can match one of his mumbling fits, but I look forward to being proven wrong."
The mouse/bear/dog/cat/animal laughed lightly at that.
"Well, then, I may just take the shortest course, to avoid outdoing one of my students. I suppose the short version is, would you like a job as the dorm monitor of the first year hero course dormitory?"
Inko's eyes widened and she blinked at him owlishly. He smiled.
"Fine, a longer version. I have wanted for years to convert UA into a boarding school. I feel it will better serve the students to live together in equal accommodations. I know you are aware that two class members of 1-A are current living alone. And that until they became Knights, their access to training facilities was far behind some of the other students, particularly the ones who are children of top Heroes or major companies. 1-A is not the only class with such a disparity."
Inko knew who he meant, and nodded. She didn't like that those girls lived alone.
"Beyond that, there is security. The USJ attack revealed some flaws in the system, but at the same time, some of those flaws would not have existed if we did not have to make allowances for over five hundred students entering and leaving each day. The current kerfuffle with the Shie Hassaikai would also be less problematic if the students lived on campus."
"You think they will target Izuku, next?" Inko asked.
"More likely another of the Knights. Or Shimooka Hikari, Iida Tenya, of Hatsume Mei," Nezu countered, "Students perceived as being close to your son, rather than Midoriya-kun himself..."
"But back on topic. There has been resistance to the suggestion. Partly by parents. And partly due to the cost of building and operating the dormitories. Space, at least, is not an issue."
"However money is no longer a problem. A certain device that I created and Maijima-san built went on sale last year. I bequeathed the patent and all profits to UA, on the condition that eighty percent of said profits be used for dorms. Given what could be done with the remaining twenty percent, most resistance has faded. And when we discuss the safety concerns and new security features with the parents, as well as the facilities the dorms will offer, we don't think that will be an issue. Especially when we point out that this will be a requirement to attend UA."
"So then this job offer?" Inko prompted.
"Of course have forty to sixty teenagers living in close proximity without supervision is untenable. Some of the teachers and staff have agreed to live in the dormitories. To limit the shenanigans and make sure the students eat right. But we are still two short..."
"And given my knowledge of both All Might's current state and Izuku's unique abilities," Inko concluded, "I am the obvious choice."
"I won't lie, that is part of it," Nezu said, "Even a large part of it. But from what I have heard and observed for myself, all eight of the Knights seem to respect you. Even care for you. Having eight of the forty students already on your side will make things go much easier."
"And me being Izuku's mother may complicate things," Inko pointed out.
"I can't deny that," Nezu confirmed, "But I think the trade-offs far outweigh the issues. Also, let me point out that this will not require you to leave or even necessarily cut back on your current job. One could even argue that having increased proximity and contact with future Heroes would be advantageous."
"How long would I have to decide?" Inko asked.
"We are hoping to have the new policies decided on by the end of this month," he said, "If we can, we would break ground on the new buildings in June and approach the parents and students. And at the end of August, when the students return from summer break, they would move into the dorms. I would want your answer before the end of the term, the end of June. Otherwise we will need to pursue other options."
"And what about Izuku?" she asked.
"We won't be telling the other students until the changes are finalized," Nezu told her, "But your son has proven his ability to keep a secret. So if you wish to discuss it with him, feel free."
"Then I will tentatively accept your offer," Inko said, and Nezu looked slightly shocked.
"Pending a family discussion, of course."
"Ah," Nezu exhaled, "Of course."
I talked to All Might for almost an hour about the offers I had received and the Heroes he knew personally, I had rejected another hundred or so. And my top three hadn't changed.
Then I rejoined the others. Some were missing, talking to the teachers or other students. Not all the discussions were in private, I saw Kendo-san and Momo both talking to a distraught looking second year.
After some more research and conferring with the other Knights, the school day came to an end. And I hurried over to the teachers apartments. I dropped my bag off at our temporary home and changed. Then I went down one flight of stairs, to a door I was becoming very familiar with.
I knocked, and a moment later, the door opened. Eri was there, with Recovery Girl behind her. I guess Aizawa-sensei wasn't back yet.
"Hello, Izuku-nii-chan," she said. She still didn't smile, but there was relief in her eyes.
"Hello, Eri," I said back, "How are you?"
"Good," she said immediately. I glanced at Recovery Girl, who nodded.
"That's good," I smiled, "Do you want to color?"
"Can we play the city game?" she asked tentatively.
"Of course," I told. Still no smile, but she relaxed.
"You, too, Chiyo-baa-san?" Eri prompted her guardian.
"I might as well," Recovery Girl agreed.
Two games played, and Eri ended up taking a nap.
"We had to run some physical tests today. To see how the treatments are progressing. It's no wonder she's tired. But she wanted to be sure she didn't miss you."
We both smiled wistfully at the girl.
"Can I ask you something, Shuzenji-sensei? About Eri?"
She looked at me for a moment. Then she tilted her head towards me, telling me silently to continue.
"Given her power... Do you think Eri can help All Might? Can her Quirk restore him?"
I looked at her hopefully. I was trying, but I was worried I wouldn't be good enough in time.
"Maybe," she said thoughtfully, "It is hard to tell. Her Quirk only works on living beings, so it is difficult for her to practice."
"What about plants?" I said, "could we just get her some planted flowers and have her reverse the flowers blooming?"
"That could work," Recovery Girl mused, "Or not. We know it doesn't work on inanimate objects. But whether it is limited to animals or will also work on plants? We haven't tried that yet. But back to All Might..."
She paused and rolled up her sleeve. She showed me her left bicep. And a four by two centimeter acid or fire splash scar.
"I got this three years ago," she told me, "When I startled a student I was treating. And even though my body has regressed more than four times that long, I still have this scar. Similarly, my memories were not lost. Eri is not actually rolling back time. It seems she can heal open injuries and make people younger. But more permanent damage remains. That may change with practice and as she gets stronger. So she might be able to help All Might, at some point in the distant future. For now, however, whatever this crazy plan you and Nezu have will need to do the job."
"What plan?" I asked evenly. I had seen enough movies not to get baited into proving something someone else suspected.
"I'm not entirely clear," she sighed, "Because Nezu refuses to tell me the details. Just that in early July, you two are going to try something to heal All Might. Because Nezu wants me on hand, to help supervise and as backup."
I nodded. And felt slightly more secure, knowing that Recovery Girl was on board.
Makoto suddenly felt woozy. She had only been drunk twice, but it felt like that. Except she rarely drank, and never on the job. She carefully, or as carefully as she could, pulled van over to the side of the road. She took a deep breath, but it didn't get better. She almost vomited. Then she heard a knock on the window and looked up.
There was a handsome, white-haired man looking at her in concern. She rolled down the window, and felt a little better. But not a lot.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, "You were weaving a bit there."
"Sorry, I feel a bit sick," she told him.
"That's worrisome," he frowned at her, "Sick how?"
"Almost like being drunk."
"That could mean that there is exhaust leaking into the cabin," he told her. Mikoto looked down at the dashboard.
"Why don't you pop the hood and let me take a look, and come outside to get fresh air?" the man suggested. Mikoto was having trouble thinking straight. She decided his suggestion was reasonable. She pulled the latch, turned off the engine, and stepped out.
She was a college student delivering packages while she worked on her law degree. She didn't know enough to realize that electric vehicles didn't have that kind of exhaust. Any leak from this engine would be different and more dangerous. But even if she had known, she was still not thinking straight.
Her head did feel better. But the lingering pain, combined with the noise of the bystander in the engine, meant she didn't hear when a pair of expert hands quietly opened the back door to the van.
"Here you go," he said loudly, "Something crimped a hose and that loosened the seal. You must have hit a rock or a pothole. I straightened it out and tightened it. I would wait a few minutes, until you feel better. And then I would keep the windows open for a while."
"Okay," Makoto said with a weak grin, wishing she had painkillers on her, "Thank you."
"Just make sure all my orders get delivered," he smiled kindly.
Mimic merged into the back door of the Amazon van, letting him pop it open.
Overhaul slipped in, and found the box. One touch unraveled the tape. A second touch merged the device in his hand with the item inside. Then he restored the tape. And finally his touch changed the label to match one of the other boxes in the truck.
Wiping his hand thoroughly, he replaced his glove. Then they slipped away, dragging Sloshed with them, since he could barely stand.
"Another round of packages," Shuzenji muttered with a soft grin, "Those kids have far more money than I did when I was their age."
She looked over the stack of boxes that had been delivered to the infirmary, all with Eri's name on them.
"I suppose she does need the clothing," Recovery Girl admitted to herself.
"Eri, there are more boxes out here for you," she called gently to the girl. Eri came out of the office, into the infirmary. Recovery Girl cut the tape on all the packages, and then placed the scalpel to the fingerprint locked box to be sanitized and resharpened later. She looked in the boxes, and didn't see anything out of place. Of course they had already been scanned in the mail room for chemicals or explosives, before they were ever sent to her office. But Recovery Girl wasn't quite ready to let the girl use scissors to open them. She also wanted to check that Izuku and his friends hadn't accidentally selected something that might upset the girl.
"Let's take these back into the office, and you can take a look at them, okay?"
Eri looked up at her and nodded. Shuzenji lifted the boxes, and carried them into her office. Eri walked back to the chair she always sat in, the book she had been reading left open on the table. Recovery Girl put the bookmark in, closed the book, and then placed the packages before the chair.
"I will be right next door, if there is anything you have any questions about," the doctor told her ward.
"Thank you," Eri said simply.
The first box contained a rain jacket, clear with a pattern of daisies.
The second contained a grey blouse and blue jeans, as well as a book about a young girl and her dinosaur friends.
The third box contained a teddy bear.
The fourth box went unopened. Because as she set the bear aside and reached for the next delivery, an electronic hiss started.
"Eri," a familiar and sinister voice emerged from the plush. The girl's eyes widened in terror. Her back locked up.
"It's time to come back, Eri," Overhaul's voice was soft, it would have been a mumble even a meter away. But it was perfectly clear to her. She had been conditioned to hear his voice, no matter how quiet his strained whispers. To not hear was... painful.
"I'm guessing you think they can protect you. But we took Midoriya Inko two days ago."
Eri's mind raced. She hadn't seen her big brother's mother since Saturday. And he had said yesterday that he was staying here in the same building for a week or two. He promised to take her down to play his video game. Was that because he was alone now, too?
"If you don't come back, we will kill her. Then we will kill Midoriya Izuku. Then his other friends. We will take and kill one of them a day, until you come back. When you are ready to do the right thing, this bear will lead you to where we will pick you up."
Part of her wanted to throw it in the trash. Part of her thought she should tell Shuzenji-baa-san. Only what if the bear was listening? What if Inko-baa-san was killed because of that? Because of her?
Eri picked up the bear. She opened the office door as quietly as she could. And then she slipped into the hall.
"Is everyone ready?" Tsukauchi Naomasa asked. The building was surrounded by two dozen police, men and women he knew he could trust, all in riot gear. Mixed in were All Might, Eraser Head, Snipe, Midnight, Ectoplasm, and Advisory. In addition to the UA teachers, Ryukyu, Fat Gum, Kamui Woods and Godzillo were participating in the raid, again due to a combination of proximity and trustworthiness.
Receiving no negatives, Tsukauchi looked at Advisory. The All-seeing Hero's visor was currently completely transparent, and her jaw was clenched in pain.
"There are five levels below ground," she said, "despite what the official blueprints show. There are currently thirty-five people inside. And they don't appear to have noticed us, yet."
"Good," the detective said, "Let's go."
Many of the teachers were gone on a mission. So we were given the afternoon free, to continue to research out internships. I had rejected more of them, but kept coming back to what All Might told me yesterday. The idea of his mentor intrigued me. At the same time, All Might's fear of the man, and this Gran Torino's willingness to pressure All Might to get me to accept, gave me pause.
Since we were somewhat free, I decided to head down to the infirmary. Officially I was going to ask if Recovery Girl knew anything about Gran Torino. But if I happened to see Eri, too, that wouldn't hurt. I imagine she got bored, waiting in a teacher's office all day. Or maybe not. Sitting all day reading wouldn't bother me, depending on what the books were. But with Eri it was hard to tell.
I knocked on the door. And then again. When there was no answer, I opened it. Just a sliver.
But the office was empty. There were two stacks of Amazon boxes on the table. Three were open, and three had the tape cut but were still closed. But Eri was not in there.
A feeling of foreboding gripped me. I quickly passed through the hall slash storage room that connected the nurse's office to the infirmary. And briefly reflected that, even though she was a fully accredited doctor, she was still called the school nurse. The government bureaucracy of job titles was silly but also scary.
Recovery Girl looked at me in surprise when I emerged from the wrong door.
"Midoriya-kun, what are you..."
"I came to ask you something about my internship. And I thought I would visit Eri for a minute first. Except she isn't there."
Recovery Girl frowned.
"She may have gone to the bathroom," she said dubiously, "I have asked her to tell me, unless it is an emergency. Why don't you go back into my office, and I will go check."
"Sure."
I did what she said. Except as soon as I was alone, I activated Ki Detection. It had only been just over three full days, but I was more than familiar with her Ki. It helped that her Quirk was Ki based, making her signature both unique and strong.
Since my Ki Detection was level 40, my maximum range was eight kilometers. But the further I extended the radar out, the more Energy it took and the less precise it was. I started at four kilometers. I caught her for a moment, before she was out of range. So I jumped to five. And also narrowed it from a sphere to a cone.
She was moving away from UA. Towards the more questionable part of town. She seemed to be following the streets, but was also moving fairly quickly and very deliberately.
'Eri left UA campus,' I reported, 'I'm going after her.'
'Wait,' All Might ordered, 'Get a teacher first.'
'She's already four plus kms away,' I countered, 'And none of the teachers can keep up with me. Only Iida-kun could. I'm going to go get her, and someone else can tell the other teachers. Besides, All Might, you need to keep the Hassaikai busy.'
'Izuku, invite her into your Party,' Kyoka said.
'I can't,' I told her, not sure if we had ever explained it to her, 'I can only invite some if I have a clear view of them. Unless they are in the Guild, then distance and LoS don't matter.'
'I just realized,' Ami said, 'How will you invite Hagakure, if you can't see her?'
'Issue for later,' I responded, then said aloud, "Drive 4. Jet Set Run."
Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:
No major changes.
