~NRK~
Ippan hummed as she helped Tooru take a shower.
"Are you alright, Tooru-chan?" She asked the space of the water that had it crashing around her form. "I guess this is pretty tough, huh?"
"I-I know how to wash! Mom taught me everything," the invisible girl explained as Ippan nodded curiously.
"So, wait, are you able to see yourself, Tooru-chan?"
"Yep, me, mom, and dad could see each other just… I-I think they said it's because of waves or something?"
It took Ippan a couple of seconds to get what she meant. "Wavelengths," she realized as Tooru blinked… presumably.
"Wave-what?" The girl asked as she scrubbed up. "Oh, that smells good!"
"Did you not have good soap at your old home?"
"U-Um, well, mom and dad always bought no-smelling stuff," Tooru explained as Ippan blinked. "I-It was the… t-their job things?"
Ippan tilted her head. 'No smelling… oh!' Oh, now she got it. "Well… we have a ton of different smells," she grinned in a strained fashion. "Go and try one."
"Okay!"
As the girl cleaned up, there was a knock on the door.
"... Tenko-kun?" Ippan said curiously after categorizing the lightness of the steps behind the door.
"Nii-chan says we should go and eat brunch," Tenko said through the door. "I don't know what brunch is."
Ippan grinned at that. "Well, it's a type of lunch-breakfast thing some people do. Mostly the wealthy," she said as Tooru gasped.
"I-Is Obito-nii rich, nee-chan?!"
"Well… he's doing alright even though he doesn't work a normal job, Tooru-chan, Tenko-kun," she explained. "Obito is a rather smart guy, too, so he knows how to make the money work from past experiences, he said."
The boy had gone so far as to give her little tips with her weekly pay.
Places to invest it in, different companies that might get big, and crypto. Obito had shown her where he had, and even put some of, his money and Ippan had gobbled that information up.
In the past two weeks, some of her funds were up 15%!
"So, he's just super-super smart?" Tooru asked and Ippan chuckled.
"Yep."
~NRK~
Sitting in the kitchen in their 'going outside' clothes, Tooru gasped in some black sweatpants and a pink shirt, a pair of plastic gloves on her hands, and a pink hairband in her hair.
"Whoaaaaa!" She squealed a bit as chicken, pasta, and cheese were served. "CHEESE!"
"Hm, hm," Ippan giggled a bit as Obito put down the large pan still full of food. "Obito-kun's cooking is something else."
"You're not that bad yourself," Obito praised as she blushed a bit before she smiled. "I've been able to work with all forms of ingredients, you seem to have some sort of innate talent."
"Hm, hm, hm! Thanks."
As they all began to eat, the four, even the baby Eri, noted how curious Tooru's eating was.
"So, it's everything within and on your surface that hides from view. I see," Obito said as Tooru giggled.
Then Hokei came into the kitchen with a grim expression before it cooled as he came towards the group.
"How's everything?" He asked with a strained smile as Obito got up, gesturing to the food.
"Food?" Obito offered and his grandfather partook in their secret chat. "... here," Obito plated him out some food before slipping a fork, and a folded piece of paper, into his hand. "This should be interesting."
"Thank you. Take your time, I need to go and read in my study," Hokei said with a smile as he left. "Honestly, you all should probably stay here for the next few days. The last thing we need is a bright couple of minds disappearing."
"Yes, sir!" Tooru said and Hokei let out a genuine laugh as he left. "Hmm, that's your grandpa? He seems nice!" The cheerful girl declared as Obito chuckled.
"I'm sure he's glad you like him. Now, come on, let's finish up. I do have more documents to look over before trying out a new idea."
"?"
~NRK~
Obito finished up four hours later, all suitcases taken out of the room by his men before he turned to find the 'quirky' side of the area watching TV with Ippan doing some extra credit.
"...?" She looked up as her ears twitched before Ippan smiled for him. "Finished?"
"Yes, with the geolocational items, at least. I've still got to look over the fine print on every one of the documents about the businesses I'm dealing with," Obito said as Tooru, Tenko, and Eri stayed entranced by the TV. "Hmm," he stretched, back cracking as he did. "Sniff," he smelled his top. "And it's time for me to take a shower," Obito said as Ippan blushed but nodded.
Going around and getting underwear, a new dark blue yukata, and a pair of black pants, Obito went to the bathroom.
As he did, Ippan blinked.
"Is your arm alright?"
"It's fine," he said through the door. "I'll probably need to re-wrap it when I'm done."
"I'll help," she said as she put her laptop down and got up, heading towards the first-aid kit. "Clean well!" Ippan blushed at her words but giggled all the same at his vocal huff.
Back in the bathroom, Obito stepped into the shower before turning it on, not fearing the cool water that easily transitioned into hotter temperatures.
"Haaa," he breathed out in relief, rubbing his injured left arm, blood washing away with the thinner scab. 'Assassins. I didn't think they'd be that bold,' it was rather concerning.
What else did they have planned for him? Also, his quirk-hating parents hired quirk-having assassins? So, when they hated their own children enough, they'd work out their differences? That was some bullshit.
Obito cleaned himself, being gentle with his arm, before noting his hair's vision-blocking bangs.
'I need to get it cut,' he thought as he lifted them up, noting that he could a fair bit. "Geez," Obito huffed a bit, slicking his hair back in a way that he was sure he looked more like his grandfather than he ever had before.
Five minutes later, he was washing away all the soap and shampoo, rolling his warm shoulders as he nodded, getting out of the shower and drying off.
He wiped his mirror and nodded to his body, even if it wasn't as defined as it would be in his full maturity, he wasn't afraid to say he had a killer's body.
Not to be confused with a 'killer body'. Those were very different.
The definition was good, the young man's lack of body fat to his specification before he dried up, dabbing at his still bleeding wound with a wet rag.
"Haa, Ippan?" He called out.
"Yes?" She answered back, by the door.
"I may need to get this wrapped up before I put on a top."
"I've got the kit whenever you're ready."
Obito nodded, drying off as best he could before putting on his underwear and pants. He left his kimono on the back of the bathroom door when he opened it, Ippan smiling at him even as her cheeks reddened a fair bit.
"R-Ready?!" She asked and he nodded, the girl noticing his hair. "Your hair's getting really long, Obito-kun," Ippan noted with a bit more interest. "It looks good on you!" She grinned as he blushed a bit.
"Yes, well, I really want to cut it."
"R-Really?! Why?" She pouted as he huffed.
"It's gonna get in the way."
"Why not do a ponytail?" She challenged with a blush as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Can we re-do my bandages, first?"
They did, the fox girl marveling, not for the first time, Obito's sheer muscle.
As she dried the wound, she ran her fingers over his bicep's firmness before finishing up, wrapping it up.
"T-There, done!" She grinned with a red snout as she held his arm, Obito rubbing the back of his head with a nod.
"Yes, well… back on my hair, I don't know. I don't usually keep it long, you know?" Obito diverted the conversation. "Besides, the upkeep will get old fast," it's why he'd not kept it in his previous life.
He didn't need that much of a purchase trial and the need for good hair care was something that always evaded him.
"I-I could help!" Ippan said quickly as he huffed again, the girl giggling a bit. "Come on, it'll be something good and new compared to most of the recent events of our lives."
"... I cut it if I'm really not feeling it anymore, deal?"
"Nice!" She grinned, getting up and hurrying over to the chest that he'd given to her to put all her things in, the girl taking out several different bottles of hair care products. "Me and Kiruka-chan went to her favorite beauty store next to the c-clothing store! I have just the perfect thing for you!" Ippan said as she grabbed the three bottles she needed before coming back over.
Obito's eyebrow twitched as she sat him down in the seat by his desk before grinning behind him in his mirror.
'I may have made a mistake,' he thought as her clawed fingers combed through his hair with ease. "... you're really good at this," Obito said, surprised, as she grinned, her claws not snagging or cutting his hair in the least.
"I've learned a lot, living on my own, ya know? With my own hair, I realized how delicate it is," Ippan said as she stopped and turned around before lifting her hair up.
Obito blinked at some scars around her roots.
"I had to be extremely careful when I'd keep picking at it when I was a kid. My own strength was so much that I'd keep hurting myself a-and, well, I had to learn how to really take care of it. I like my hair, a lot."
She turned back around before pulling up one of her bottles.
Ippan sprayed the nice-smelling oil before working it into his scalp.
Tooru turned around before gasping. "You're doing his hair?!" She squealed as Tenko blinked, looking away from Eri between his legs to see what the invisible girl meant. "Let me see!"
The kids got up before hurrying over to see Obito getting his hair done.
"Mmm, nee-chan's really good at this," Tenko said to Obito as he held onto Eri. "She said she'll do my hair when I'm older," he smiled as Obito hummed.
"I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, it is quite relaxing," Obito said as Ippan giggled a bit.
They watched the fox girl snip some of the boy's hair before adding more of the second spray bottle.
The kids were easily able to watch Obito get his hair done for the twenty minutes it took for Ippan to finish.
"And done," she grinned as Obito's eyes opened before his right eyebrow rose.
She'd cut his hair, at least, allowing two longer bangs than usual to sit on the sides of his face down to the top of his cheeks. His hair was slicked back a bit and Obito noted that there was a worrying resemblance to Madara but it wasn't as strong as he'd thought.
"... Fine, fine," he said as Ippan giggled. "I'll keep it but remember our deal."
"I will! It looks great, Obito-kun!" She said as he rubbed the back of his head. 'His hair's so interesting,' it was something she didn't think Tenko, Eri, or Tooru could copy.
Feather-like and yet slightly thick, it was so interesting to mess with.
"Hmm!" Eri reached out for him and Obito chuckled before picking her up and settling the baby into his lap. "Mmm," she smiled around her pacifier as Obito hummed, rubbing her hair.
"We'll likely have Ippan do your hair when it's longer," he said as the girl behind him grinned.
"Sure! I could try and do yours, Tooru-chan!" Ippan said to the squealing invisible girl.
"I-I can help make it easier! My body's weird but if we have a black light, we can see me!" Tooru said, surprising the two.
"Really?" Tenko blinked. "That's so cool."
"I'll purchase a few of them," Obito said as he got up before placing Eri in Ippan's claws and going to grab his kimono off the bathroom door. "One moment."
In seconds, he was dressed, the young man nodded to his left arm. "Alright, time to test some things."
Forty-five minutes later, Obito had a black light their forensics medics had, a thread-making kit, a clothing-making kit, several large buckets full of water, and a bottle of hair-increasing elixir that Obito got from an embarrassed bald member of their forces.
He didn't look down on the man in the least even if Tooru and Tenko giggled at the idea.
The target of the tonic? Ippan, the girl who he'd asked for a decent donation of fur before having Kiruka come in and help with a full-body shear and application of the elixir.
Ippan blushed as they came out, Kiruka looking envious but with a small bag full of teal and white fur.
"I need to drink more milk," was all the hardened hair quirk user said as she handed the now-blushing Obito the 'goods' before whining in a corner on his futon. "That's not fair!"
"... right," he didn't look at the remarkably smooth-looking Ippan. "Ahem, ignoring that for now, I want to see how this method works," Obito said as Kiruka kept whining. 'She's gonna be like that all day,' which wasn't a lot but it'd be there.
His eyes flicked to the blushing Ippan before they went back to the fur.
'Don't give it too much thought, do not,' he told himself before setting the bag down and messing with some of the fur within, the fox girl's face glowing a brighter red. 'It's soft,' not surprising, he'd been picked up enough by Ippan to know that her fur lining was short but cushiony. "..." he put the bit he had down and looked at what he had to work with.
"What kinda thing can ya make, nii-chan?" Tenko asked as Tooru's hairband went up and down.
"Yea! What can ya make?" She reiterated.
"... I don't know," Obito realized. "I'm just testing the process. The assassins didn't know the process, they just knew they used their DNA in the creation. It might very well be that they have someone who integrates their cells at a rather tiny level or they just threw it on some gear, I need to test. Besides, I don't even know what'll change when I do this. I'm gonna have to test this whole thing out."
Ippan, regaining some of her composure, wiggled in her clothes. 'I-I feel so sensitive,' she burned.
Was she going to have to deal with this until her fur grew back? O-Oh no…
'What if Obito-kun notices?!' Her core burned at the idea of him noting her sensitivity. 'T-That'd be the worst-best case outcome!' No more thought was given to 'worst-best', not in the slightest. "S-So, you'll have to make some out of my fur?"
"Hopefully not, I'm not trying to put you into a more awkward situation," Obito said, not looking at her chest. 'So, her fur acted as mound rounders did they?' He groaned mentally, knowing that this would make his life hard.
He washed it in boiling water and soap, waited half an hour, and then took it out while draining as much water out of it.
With the rather large clump of wet fur on a rack, he dried it with a small bucket-like flaming grill and spit, turning the wet fur on a large stick for even drying.
Finally, he carded it.
Eri blinked before reaching out for the carding tools, her place in Kiruka's arms not giving her any room to move.
"Nope, not for you," her cousin said as the baby kept trying. "Hmph, so after this, it's The Wheel," Kiruka grinned as Obito nodded while Ippan and Tenko blinked, trances broken.
"H-Huh?!" The girl blinked while Tooru giggled by the TV. "O-Oh, I lost myself for a second there…" Ippan looked back at Obito working, the boy's confident work, focused eyes, and well-practiced movements surprising her even still. "You did this before?"
"A few times with Akane-obaa-chan. She owns a farm and I've worked on it on weekends before," Obito admitted as Tooru came over.
"Really? Did ya like it?" She asked him and Obito shrugged.
"It was honestly some of the calmest work I've had outside of fighting the bucks and bulls for supremacy."
Tenko blinked. "You fought cows?"
"... on occasion?"
Once he was finished, Obito received a large wheel-and-thread machine-like item and started feeding the fully processed fur into it.
Fifteen minutes after, Ippan gasped with the others san Kiruka, the sight of teal and white thread on a relatively medium-sized spool the target of their awe.
"There," Obito said as the sun's lower position reached them. "Hmph, let's eat first."
The group got up before moving out of the room and went towards the kitchen… only to blink as they saw Hokei outside the room.
"Ah, I take it you all were about to eat?" The grandfather of the three said, confusing them.
"Yes, is something wrong?" Obito asked before Hokei hummed with a nod. "... alright, you all go on ahead, Rappa should be in the kitchen now, he's a surprisingly amazing cook in protein-based items," he said as Kiruka nodded.
"I'll take 'em to the kitchen before joinin' you two," she said as Hokei smiled and Obito nodded. "Come along, ladies and Tenko, let's get to the kitchen."
Watching them go, Obito and Hokei went in the opposite direction.
They walked for three minutes before reaching Hokei's office, the old man letting Obito in with a frown.
Within? Kai frowned on the couch ahead of Hokei's desk with one other individual next to him, looking down as he gripped his knees.
He was of average height with fair skin, large circular black eyes, and notable straight teeth currently adorned in a frown. Wearing a pair of dark brown slacks, black loafers, and a black changshan with a tan fur vest around his torso, he looked up to Hokei and Obito before looking back down.
"Good evening, Boss, Young Boss," he said to them as Kai frowned next to him.
"This isn't good, Young Master," he said to Obito who frowned deeper as he saw the new addition.
"Deidoro? What did you find?" Obito asked as he and Hokei got seated, his grandfather behind his desk and Obito in a seat by it, turning it to face the fur-vested man.
"It's not good," Deidoro answered. "Real not good, Boss, Young Boss, there's some fucking lunatic out at night like ya said and I learned that he's destroyed so many gangs in the wards of Tokyo!" He said quickly with a slight lisp.
"He matches the description you gave us," Kai picked up. "That guy seems to have no criteria or anything, he just attacks whoever he feels like and he's done in more than a few."
The door opened to reveal Kiruka, the young woman frowning as she stepped in and closed it behind her, coming over to sit next to Obito. "What's going on?"
They informed her of the conversation so far and she grimaced.
"Will this need all of us to get together to handle it?" She asked them but Obito shook his head. "Don't think so?"
"It's clear that he moves on his own, there's no organization backing him, he attacks too indiscriminately for that. No, we need to prep a strike team for the eventual confrontation with us," Obito clarified. "It's only a matter of time, I'd guess. From here on out, we can't have people leaving this place on their own. I doubt he'll… fuck," he groaned after freezing for a moment, the group looking confused. "Kai, explain to Kiruka, about how I and Ippan met."
He did, realizing slowly what Obito was getting at as he finished.
"He's seen her face, hasn't he?"
"Yes, unfortunately, her and Tenko's eyes along with her fur. It'd be damn near impossible for Ippan to get away from someone who was focusing on her face for too long. I'll need to prepare to fight this man, eventually," he said as Kai groaned while Kiruka hummed.
"You probably could just drop her off in another city, you know? It's not like you have to stick your neck out for her," she said as Obito hummed with closed eyes. "She's not a bad gal but I'd rather you not get into a fight with some maniac with a justice-fetish than her being safe."
It was the cold hard truth. Kiruka felt for the younger girl, she really did, the redhead had lucked out with her quirk's easily hidden nature, Ippan didn't have that. Blatant and unfair, she didn't feel great about saying it but it needed to be considered-
"I won't be doing that," Obito said as she sighed but shrugged all the same. "I don't think I could call myself a 'man' if I did. We have our honor, we stand by our own, it's not to say she's that involved but I involved myself in her life, I can't go back on that, much less my own sense of righteousness."
"Hmm, well said but I feel like there has to be a way to solve this situation, Young Master," Kai said.
"There likely is but it won't involve me abandoning people… and that's the path to solving this is finding this man. Deidoro, did you get a name? Anything about him?"
"Hmm, well," the spy frowned. "Oh! There is one thing! He named himself Stendhal or some shit, he started namin' himself and all that."
"... it's likely because of the recent hero situation," Hokei said as Obito nodded while Kai's eyes narrowed.
"Heroes…" He spat the word like it was venom while Kiruka shrugged. "We should snuff that out before it becomes a problem."
"... I get where your head is at, Kai-kun, I do but that's not gonna help," she said as he frowned. "Do you honestly think you'll solve our situation if you went on a nonsensical killing spree? No, we don't need to really do anything," Kiruka said as he blinked.
"I don't follow. They're heroes without a sense of what is the proper amount of right or wrong, they're like viruses on society!"
"It's not wrong to say that, this is all new. There are bound to be many a 'hero' who'll try and take us on thinking they're the toughest thing around," Hokei said nonchalantly. "It's only a matter of time before things revert to how they are now. Heroes are essentially just superpowered cops, we cooperate with cops, it's nothing serious."
'Don't they understand?!' Kai wanted to shout but he knew them, these smart individuals weren't wrong in the small picture… but the big picture was the problem! 'If one hero becomes strong enough to lead the charge here, it'll be the end of us,' forced into hiding by the government, not just heroes.
Obito's eyes flickered to Kai for a moment before he closed them, crossing his arms in the process. "... if he's going to come knocking… I think it'll be me who answers," he said as they looked at him. "I told you, didn't I? He's strong and capable, he's not afraid to attack in the night. He'll attack in ways that'll make the safety of our surroundings impossible to secure. That's why I need to go into this task force, I'm the best-suited for assassination-style fights."
"... true," Hokei sighed. "Still, we don't know much more about him. If Deidoro-kun is right, he's not stationary and he won't just stay in one place."
"He won't… that's why we need to lure him is where you're going with this, isn't it?" Kiruka said to Obito who nodded.
"The thing is, there's an easy way to solve this," Obito said as his eyes opened. "Release rumors about my visit to Naruhata," he added as their eyes widened while Hokei grimaced. "I know, jii-chan, but if we want to know where he'll be, it has to be in a place where he's most likely to show up. The home of heroes, Naruhata."
"Vigilan… oh, shit," Deidoro began to say before realizing what he meant. "I think I need five drinks right now."
"For tonight, then I want you to go and be sober for the rest of the week," Hokei said as the young man whined. "If we're to set this up, I want no chances. We're trapping this bastard."
~NRK~
Ippan was enjoying steak for the first time in her life when Obito came in with Kiruka, Deidoro, and Hokei.
"Hm-hmm!" She waved at them while Rappa grinned at the stove. "Glp! It's amazing! I didn't know you could cook like this, Rappa-san!"
"Hehe, gotta keep up ma gains," the young man flexed while Obito snorted before coming over. "I made enough steaks for everybody! Damn, Dei! When did you get back?!"
"Aaahhhhhh!" The young man whined as he hobbled to the fridge before slamming his face into it. "BOOOZEEE!"
"... uhhhh."
"He's having withdrawals," Kiruka smirked as the brawler made an understanding sound. "He's gonna be sober for, like, the next four days."
"Don't remind me, ma'am!"
"... damn, dude, tough life," Rappa said with a shrug. "But for the Bosses!"
Obito sat next to Tenko while Eri reached for him from Ippan's chest.
"Hehe, she's missed you," the fox girl said as Obito nodded, taking her from the baby carrier.
His knuckles brushed past her chest and she flinched with a shaky grin, burning bright red as she hunched a bit.
"Y-Yep! She missed you!" She squeaked as Obito raised a brow at her while Kiruka snickered.
"Indeed," he shrugged as Tooru raised her clearly stained cheeks up at him. "Hmph, eat, I know."
"Hmm?" Deidoro blinked at the additions, downing several bottles of alcohol in his arms. "Ahssss, hccp, I'm good!" He said cheerily as Hokei smirked.
"I'm sure you are," he said as he noted the invisible child. "... I'll say nothing, you know how to deal with your situations, Obito-kun."
"Thank you, jii-chan, I do. Tooru-kun is no danger," he said as Kiruka shrugged while Rappa blinked.
"Wait, I thought you guys just ate fast," he said.
"You completely forgot, didn't you?" She asked.
"... crap."
"It's fine!" Tooru giggled as Obito cleaned what looked like stains on her cheeks. "Hehe~"
"Where's Kai?" Rappa asked Deidoro who shrugged.
"Don't know."
~NRK~
Kai frowned as he worked in the forensic labs.
'There has to be something,' he thought as he kept messing with some things. 'Think, think,' how could he stop 'heroes' from becoming a thing? '... quirks,' Kai looked down at his hands.
His had come in handy to help and protect those who'd helped him and had given him a home, he couldn't say his quirk was of little value… but those outside their yakuza?
That was a different story… but then that still left him with nothing to handle the 'heroes'.
"... if you want to stop a hero," he whispered to himself as he looked at a vile of drugs that they'd been deconstructing as of late. "You need a villain, right?"
Hadn't there been something about drugs in Naruhata?
~NRK~
As Obito, Ippan, and the kids prepped for sleep that night, the two teens getting three large futons so they could connect them into a sort of mega-bed, Obito blinked.
"Huh," he looked up at the window with a frown in only his black shorts. "...?"
"Something wrong?" Ippan asked, sitting on her futon in her red pajamas. "?" She tilted her head as the sounds of sirens reached their ears for going farther away. "Huh? Did something happen?"
Obito frowned as he got up, leaving Eri to mess with his pillows in her white onesie, before turning on the TV.
He switched to the news as Tooru came into the room with Tenko, the two smelling like mint and wearing matching black pajamas.
"We're back!" They said in unison as Ippan smiled, turning away from the TV.
"Welcome-"
An attack on Miyuki Street?! Came the shout of an on-the-scene news reporter, the group's heads snapping to the screen in disbelief. This just in, eyewitnesses had attested to three mysterious quirk users coming attacking and destroying a home on Miyuki Street! No one's aware of the motives but the attack didn't leave much behind.
"H-Huh?!" Tooru gaped while Obito's eyes narrowed as Ippan covered her snout in horror. "D-Do you guys live there?"
"Yes," Obito said simply as he lifted up baby Eri while the door to his room opened to reveal Kiruka in an all-black outfit with steel-toe boots on, the girl looking alarmed and then angry as her hair sharpened.
"We're fucking somebody up, tonight," she said dangerously as Obito nodded, reassuring the seemingly curious but worried baby. "You, me, Kai, and Rappa."
"Leave Kai here, tell him to station himself near this room," Obito altered the plan as Kiruka hummed before nodding. "... Ippan."
"I know, I'll stay here with the kids," she said with a concerned stare as Obito kneeled to her level and gave her Eri. "... be safe? I mean it, Obito-kun."
"I know and I will, this won't end in a tragedy for us," he said before patting Tooru and Tenko on the heads. "You two do your best if something happens. I'll be back," Obito said as he got up.
"R-Really?" Tooru asked as Obito saw her raise a glove-covered pinky. "P-Pinky?"
'?' Why was she… 'Ah,' he locked pinkies with the girl and she sighed in relief, letting him know exactly what this was. "I promise, I'll be back," he said to her as she nodded before he got up.
Turning to Kiruka, Obito nodded.
"I'll be ready in five."
~NRK~
Two bikes left the Hassaikai estate in bright blue blurs, three cloaked figures riding them.
"Obito," Kiruka spoke to the boy on the back of her bike, Obito attaching an earpiece to her ear. "Thanks. Any idea on who this might be?"
"Only one and I don't know where they are anymore," Obito said. "A group from Ippan's time before we met, led by a man by the name of 'Victor' with a finger guns quirk."
"Hmm," Kiruka's phone was pulled into her hand within seconds, Obito reaching over to grab the unheld handle as she flipped through it.
"... got him! He's been seen in the left side of Mustafu!" She grinned wickedly.
"Got it!" Rappa shouted from his bike as the two of them swerved to the right at an intersection before slipping into an under-construction zone. "Heh," he smirked as he clicked a button.
A giant hole opened up within a section they slipped into, their completely dark bikes hard to see and even hear as they slipped in, the opening closing behind them.
"Hmph," Obito looked at the map that Kiruka sent him. "... we're going to hit the highway in a bit and head onto it, the amount of people on it is minimal!" He told them as they slipped into a hole that had a light at the end covered in light and emanating a large amount of sound.
Obito pressed a button underneath the left handle of the bike as they came shooting out.
The lights in the underpass went dark for three seconds before going back on, the two bikes already ahead of maybe two cars on the road.
They sped up, their white lights leaving trails behind them as they traveled, Obito leaning back as Kiruka regained hold of the handles while he messed with his phone.
He opened an app and sent the small amount he punched in. "There! We're good to go as fast as possible!" Obito declared as he pressed a button before tucking it away.
They went 90 in a 60 mph zone, bypassing several 'in the dark' cops on the sides of the highway without problems as they saw two flashes of a phone in the windshields.
"Man, this is why we work with the copz!" Rappa grinned as Kiruka smirked.
"Damn right!" She said as they revved their vehicles.
"PLEASE REMEMBER WE'RE DOING SOMETHING!" Obito shouted as they laughed.
~NRK~
Their joyrides came to a crawl as they rolled into that under-construction complex the bastards were seen by, their bikes' lights off.
"Hmm," Obito looked at the video footage of the three quirk users with a frown. "Something's off about them in the videos, they seem almost… unnaturally powerful," he whispered as they strolled into the street, bikes bouncing a bit at cracked pavement and cracks in the road. "... did they drug-up somehow?"
"If they did, it'd be rough. Finger guns, right?" Kiruka whispered as he nodded. "Then Rappa-"
"No, I'll handle Victor," Obito said as Rappa grinned.
"Gotta handle the boss with the Young Boss, ma'am," he said as she huffed.
"Fine. The other two seemed like a man by the name of Batto and a woman by the name of 'Hari'. One's bat-like and fast while the other is a woman with the ability to make her hair needles."
"I'll get the needle-head, then. You're the only one with shots at a flyer."
"I guess."
As they kept moving in silence, the three came to a stop at the sound of screaming.
"Quick!" Obito said as they hurried to the origin of the shots.
As they sped towards the location, the sounds of more screaming, cracks, the whistle of something sharp in the air, and flapping reached them.
"Sounds like our targets," Kiruka whispered as Obito nodded.
They came to a stop around a corner, getting off their quickly deactivating bikes and peeking around the side of a building.
"... what the hell?" Rappa's eyes widened as the two shorter teens balked. "Those are people, right?"
What had he meant? Well, it was only three seemingly outrageous monster-like individuals who were sitting inside a large hole of an apartment complex.
In a fucked up way? It was like looking at dragons.
One of them was a seemingly large monstrous female monster with a head of steel-like quills with a large tail with a bush of the same things on its tip.
Her body was still humanoid but it'd grown in size to fit her new number of natural weapons, the only thing that still fit on her frame being the gray sweatpants she had on and her barely holding bra.
Above her, in the air, was what had to be Batto, the man's form big and hulking over, his skin altered in color to a dark blue hue. His arms had now become full-on bat wings while his feet became clawed and more bat-like as his extended snout and sharp fangs flashed in moonlight. The last thing had been his bat ears which went from slightly abnormal to outright freakish as they extended past his head.
Finally… The last one, Victor, had become something else, for lack of a better word.
His normally short form had erupted into some hulking giant of a man who stood at a seemingly London bus-sized height compared to his comrades, his form now lacking everything but pants. His head had elongated slightly but retained enough of a humanoid shape with more hair to make it still look like him as a person compared to his comrades.
His finger guns were now, seemingly, finger gun gauntlets, the metal on each pipe-thick finger shooting up to the back of his hands before forming an extra set of guns that jutted out of his skin.
Below him, a pair of a mother and her child shrieked as he drooled lecherously at them, Obito's eyes narrowing as his group leaned back.
"Yeah, uh, what the fuck?" Kiruka asked in disbelief as she looked back again to be sure. "T-The fuck?! Are those fucking dragons or people?!" She hissed in disbelief as the males frowned.
"They doped up, right? That's all I can think about," Rappa said with a frown as Obito nodded.
"That's the most possible answer… so it's time to sneak around," he said as he pulled up a mask up to his nose. "Time to end them," the Uchiha declared as his fellow Family members nodded, doing as he did.
They snuck around, leaping onto windowsills, grooves in brick, and shingles to reach a nearby apartment building whose level matched with that of 'Hari'.
Kiruka's eyes narrowed as she pulled a collapsible bow out of her pouch, shaping some of her hardened hair into a thick but streamlined projectile.
"Prepare for this to get loud," she said as the boys nodded.
She took aim and fired.
Down below, the woman held onto her daughter in pale horror as she kept trying to scuttle away on the ground.
"Anyone?! HELP ME!" She shouted into the air as she scrambled to her feet, running away from that perverted monster. "Oh, God!"
Victor made to move, his form crouching low before he let out an unintelligible roar that the random woman jumped at before the sight of spurting blood came into view, the transformed man hitting the ground on his side as she finally made her move.
And ran like hell! "S-Shh, Itsuka-chan!" She whispered to her orange-haired, green-eyed, daughter who swallowed before nodding, covering her mouth with her hands.
But the young girl still looked back as she saw them.
The shadows descending onto the scene.
Her eyes shined.
Rappa slammed into Hari without hesitation, tackling the female monster out of the building and into the street below.
He straddled her waist as much as he could before his fists reared back.
"WHOOOAAAAA!" He unleashed thunderous bullet-like punches into her face, time and time again, as Batto cawed from above, his form shooting off the roof of the apartment to come down on the two only for a kunai to slam into one of his wings that was quickly followed by series of thin, red, needle-like projectiles that hit his chest.
The bat quirk user tumbled out of the air as Obito and Kiruka came gliding down on a ninja parachute.
The moment his feet touched, Obito lunged at Victor, bandage-covered sword drawn out of a random sheath he'd taken up for the sake of secrecy.
Victor clearly heard him, turning his monstrous head to see the quirkless boy's rather fast charge.
He roared, hobbling on a dime to face Obito and swinging out with one of his trunk-like arms.
Obito hopped onto it as it scored the ground before he stomped onto the elbow with all his force.
It folded down as the monstrous Victor hit his side before Obito lunged at his face.
The tip of his weapon thrust out and slammed into the middle of the monster's head, sending it slamming into the ground as the yakuza child jumped up, blade held high and above his head.
He brought it down.
Rappa kept slamming his fists into the delirious Hari's face before she slammed one of her palms into his side, the young man grunting before he grinned and kept wailing on her.
"I get hit like that no problem!" He roared at her before being tackled to the side by Kiruka as Batto came flying overhead. "H-Huh?! Shit!" Rappa choked before jumping to his feet and carrying the redhead away as Batto came shooting back for round two, missing them by mere feet as he crashed through a storefront.
"Hold steady!" Kiruka told him as she leaned out of his arms with another patch of her hair in her bowstring.
She shot another 'bolt' of red that slammed into the chest of the getting-up Hari, the female needle monster writhing on the ground once more while trying to claw at her wounds.
"Nice!" She said before a shadow shot above the running teens, Rappa skirting to a stop in time to dodge the crash of Batto's form against the street. "Tsk!" Kiruka took aim only to be thrown into the air by a leaning back Rappa.
Batto came screaming between them at a speed that alarmed the redhead.
"Shit!" She cursed as Rappa caught her before putting her down. "... alright, switch," Kiruka said as she and he clapped hands before running off towards Hari.
"Hmph!" Rappa slammed his metal-plated gloves together before charging Batto. "I'm right here, ya fast bastard!" He rushed the bat monster with his guard up.
He skidded to a stop before weaving out the way of a fast swing of the monster's damaged wing before slamming his fist into the chest wounds of Batto.
The bat screeched, sending the brawler off his feet in disbelief.
"T-The hell?!" Rappa covered his ears as the windows around them cracked, Batto's 'attack' dazing him. "T-The fuck-?" He began to say only to be slammed into the ground by a claw. "Oof!"
Obito looked away from the crater around Victor's head, eyes locking onto the stumbling Hari whose eyes landed on him.
She screeched at him before running on all-fours towards him as he held his blade at his side, walking towards the charging female.
The moment she was but a breath away he vanished from her sight, leaving the female monster to tumble into her leader, Victor roaring as they went tumbling into the side of a building with a large crash.
"Idiot," Obito huffed before hearing Batto's screeching even from here. "Tsk!" He made to give chase only to roll out of the way of a crater-making trio of needles, Hari's form rushing out at him as Victor scratched at his barrel-like chest with his gun fingers, dislodging several of her leftover needles.
His eyes narrowed as he got to his feet before stepping in and out of shooting needles, Hari's form jumping high into the sky to come down on him like some sorta feminine meteorite.
Obito jumped back without issue, her impact crater sending up dust and stone.
The female monster swung out at his sharp whistle and cleaved the smoke to find nothing-?
A blow to her chin sent her head up before a kick at her neck sent her onto her back, lodging many of her needles into the ground.
Obito looked down at her before skidding to the side of her head, katana raised only for the sound of whistling to reach his ears.
He barely swung in time, form twisting, shoes skirting the ground, and blade swinging to slice through the glowing white projectile that had been aimed at his head.
By his original spot, Victor stood up to his full height with his guns raised and glowing white.
"Oh no," Obito hissed before a shower of red hair-thin projectiles shot past him.
Victor's arms quickly crossed to cover his chest, the shots coming out of his gun fingers going high into the skies, away from any buildings.
"Get him!" Was all Obito needed to hear before he rushed Victor's growling form, his hands coming back down to level glowing white finger guns at him?
'They need to charge and they're not bullet speed,' he realized as his free hand slipped into one of his kunai pouches before a throwing dagger flew through the air and slammed into the creases between one of Victor's thumbs and fingers.
The creature stumbled, shots going offline from the charging Obito who reached the wounded monster, forty meters covered within two seconds.
His blade flew, slamming into a raised arm before Obito jumped atop the limb and slammed his foot between the eyes of the monsterized Victor, sending him onto his back. With his foothold gone, Obito descended onto the man's thigh and stabbed into it with the tip of his weapon.
The roaring creature, it was barely a man in his eyes, swung out at the easily dodging Obito who skipped back as he heard screaming from the female monster only for a body to come tumbling by, Rappa's form skirting to a stop as he landed on all-fours.
"H-Haaa, haaa, d-damn, he's strong!" He groaned as he stood up on shaky feet, Obito grimacing as he saw the older male's wounded sides, and biceps. "I'm good, I can still fight," Rappa grimaced as he took up his boxer's stance once more as Kiruka landed by him, looking at his state with a huff.
Four bands of red came out from beneath her cloak and she wrapped his biceps and stomach with them, hardening the large bunches of hair, much to Rappa's disbelief.
"Only you and Young Boss can handle his speed," she said as Batto came crashing down in front of them as Obito grunted.
"... I'm bringing out the real noise," he said as their head snapped to him, the fully standing Obito with his blade aloft and his other hand going into his kunai box to pull out four small black balls.
"R-Really? I didn't think you'd… I guess this is the time," Kiruka said, looking intrigued but knowing better to geek out now. 'The famous Precision Bomb style?!' She hadn't known Obito knew that style!
"Get Brawler out of here," Obito declared as Victor got up while Hari stumbled to her feet before crumbling to the floor. "I'll handle them," he said as he sheathed his odd katana.
She nodded but Rappa grimaced. "No, man, I stand here. Besides, I bet you're gonna need set-up time, I'll keep him busy," he declared as Batto's throat vibrated. "He's gonna scream again!" He warned them.
Obito's eyes flashed before one of the small black balls and a kunai flew in front of Batto's face.
An explosion rocked the surrounding area as the bat quirk user's form became covered in black smoke and bright red light.
"Go!" Obito ordered as he lunged at the startled Victor before tossing another pair of a kunai and Bomb Pellet. "Just bring them down!"
Another explosion covered Victor's form, the monstrous quirk user letting off shot after shot that whizzed past the group and into nearby cars, buildings, and the street.
"Tsk!" Obito jumped up once he reached the finger guns user. "First Kata: Precision." He held his blade above his head with the front of the blade in his other hand the moment he landed on the wailing Victor's arm.
His feet dug into the man's arm and Obito grimaced as it dropped while he sent forth his thrust.
Victor's head shot back for the third time that night, blood spilling past his lips.
"Dammit," Obito tumbled back before recovering into a roll as the sounds of punching, hair needles, and twin wailing reached his ears from behind him.
He lunged at Victor's collapsed form's head, skidding to a stop with his blade raised.
"Second: Focal Point."
His blade dropped, the very center of it aimed for Victor's neck, before the quirkless young man grimaced as he was sent flying by a punch from Victor, his form tumbling across the open lot they were all in before he skirted across the ground, on his side, to a stop.
"O-Ooohhh," Obito groaned before he opened his eyes to see the equally groaning Victor. "Ssssss," he hissed as he got to his feet, the flaring in his side noted. 'Maybe two more shots like that and I'm done,' but Obito wouldn't let that happen.
His left hand went to his box before it flared up, much to his horror as it trembled as he clenched his fist.
"Dammit."
Meanwhile, Kiruka slammed her feet into the chest of the female quirk user before allowing her hair to harden and shoot down into blade-like extensions that cut up her chest and arms.
The creature screamed as she kept it going before going limp as Kiruka slammed a pin from within her armband into her neck.
"Hmph, not so tough," she thought as she jumped off the female and hurried towards the barely dodging Rappa.
Rappa grimaced as he ducked, weaved, hopped, and rolled out the way of the bat's powerful and speedy claw swipes, the carved-up street not doing his footwork any favors. 'Dammit! I'm the only one who's fucking up!' The fact he was fighting the fastest of the three hadn't even been something to consider.
Obito could have fought this guy and beat him! So, Rappa couldn't allow some technicality to try and cheer him up! This was pathetic!
He growled as his fists lashed out at Batto's face at the one opening he saw.
"Tsk!" He skipped back once he stunned him. '... wait, why the hell am I skipping back?!' Rappa thought in disbelief.
A simple style, he didn't have any real speedy moves and the like… wait, no.
He had his Jab!
The brawler grit his teeth as he rushed the bat creature who recovered and swiped out at him, the young man ducking into Batto's personal space to see another raised claw.
Now or never! JAB!
There was a crack as he slammed his fist across Batto's chin and the bat monster flinched, getting a grin out of Rappa who chuckled ominously.
JAB!
Its form stumbled back but he didn't hesitate to step in again.
JAB!
He rocked its head to the side before grinning as he crossed its face in, sending it tumbling back.
"Haha! The powerful JAB!" He raised his hands in victory before a series of red needles slammed into Batto, nailing him down and sending the bat creature into coo-coo land. "Huh?" Rappa blinked as Kiruka landed next to him before pulling on his bicep.
"Come on, You-" She began to say before two pairs of explosions rocked the area. "Dammit!"
Moments earlier, Obito rushed Victor, the young man sheathing his blade before pulling out a pair of Bomb Pellets.
He tossed them at Victor who flinched as they thumped off his forehead before Obito's kunai knives came a mere second later, hitting the pellets with an almost supernatural precision.
Obito rushed the explosion's epicenter, blade in hand.
As he got close, his eyes narrowed as he jumped the moment he got close, dodging a gunshot before slashing at the fingers that tried.
They bent at the knuckles and Victor let out a wail before Obito's body twisted in the air, blade coming up to the monster's neck… which was then grabbed by a flaming arm before Obito grimaced as he was thrown across the street and slammed into the side of a building with his cheeks bulging a bit before he spat out some blood through his mask. 'Is he really not done?!' This was ridiculous!
What was driving Victor more than Hari and Batto?
"Grrraaaaa!" He roared before the flames and smoke were dispelled with his voice, much to Obito's disbelief. "No… I want my revenge!" Victor growled at Obito who blinked.
… something within the young man 'cricked' and his eyes closed as Victor charged.
'That was it… THAT WAS IT?' Black eyes snapped open as an ice-cold rage filled Obito's gaze. "Then die."
When he was but a moment away, Obito flicked the last Bomb Pellet at Victor's face with his trembling left arm.
"Explosion Slash."
His katana sliced out at the pellet.
One last explosion rocked the area around them, tossing Kiruka's hair around as she pressed her hand down on her hood.
"Yo?!" She called out as the heat, light, and air ruptures died down, leaving Kiruka staring in horror at a large hole in the wall of an apartment building. "Dammit! Brawler!"
"Coming, ma'am!" Rappa came running as they hurried inside the hole to find a limp-arm Obito standing above Victor's groaning, struggling, form. "... hey, man, do what needs to be done," he crossed his arms as Kiruka nodded.
Obito held his weapon in his hand before settling the tip above Victor's chest.
He dug the katana's tip into the disgusting creature's chest, blood spilling as he convulsed, before the bit of struggling came to a proper, final, end as Victor's arms fell limp.
"Haa… haa…" Obito grimaced before pulling his blade out of the bastard's chest and flicking the blood off it, sheathing it before Rappa caught him.
"Not feelin' so hot?"
"Fuck, I do not feel good," he answered as Rappa nodded, lifting him into his arms. "Let's get out of here, we can't be found and our bikes are probably super tempting."
Kiruka nodded before Obito beckoned her over.
She listened to his request and nodded, going over to the body before pulling out a syringe, scalpel, and petri dish from her back pouch.
Finished in twenty seconds, they heard the sirens.
"Alright," he pouched the items. "Let's roll."
They ran out, hurrying down the street and ignoring the flashes of cameras as they left the space.
When they reached their bikes, they found three groaning bodies by it and a familiar pair of mother and daughter.
"H-Heee?!" The woman jumped back while shielding Itsuka, Rappa allowing Obito to walk.
"Go home," he said to them as he hobbled over to Rappa's bike as his fellow yakuza nodded, quickly getting on. "Ugh."
"T-Thank you!" Itsuka said to him as he blinked at her, looking confused. "F-For beating the bad guys!"
"... it's fine, don't be out here so late," was all he said before groaning against Rappa's back. "I'm in need of medical, step on it."
They took off, leaving the mother and daughter to hurry across the street into an apartment building.
As they reached safety, quickly being embraced by a man whose arms they melted into, Itsuka's eyes still went back to the doubling-back bikes.
Her eyes caught black ones before their owner nodded.
'Heroes…'
~NRK~
Ippan gasped in relief as saw the livestreams and news coming onto the scene, the three bodies all that was left and not the three she cared about.
Then she heard the news about Victor and felt her body shudder in such relief, she held onto the three kids around her and cried.
Tenko, patting Tooru's shoulder, hugged her back while the invisible girl did as he did and Eri just pat Ippan's cheeks.
They stayed like that for maybe ten minutes as every bit of news about the situation was revealed.
Have heroes really come into Japan already? Did the rise begin?! Is THIS the age of HEROES?
She balked as she released the kids who all blinked.
"H-Heroes? But nii-chan's not," Tenko said as he fiddled with his bandaged fingers. "W-Well, he kinda is," he smiled as Tooru tilted her head of hair.
"... he beat a bad guy, right?" She asked Ippan who blinked her before nodding. "Alright," Tooru said as she leaned into the young woman's side, Ippan's eyes softening as she rubbed her head of hair.
"Still… Obito took so many harsh hits," the fox realized with more concern as both kids nodded. "... let's go to the medical bay, alright?" Ippan said with finality as they all got up.
They hurried out the door to find Kai and Hokei there for the second time that day, the man smiling in relief.
"They're back."
~NRK~
Obito groaned as Kai handled his wounds, wrapping them, and grimacing as he finished up.
"I'll get better at doing wounds like yours," Kai winced even as Obito nodded, the quirkless young man's torso covered in bandages. 'I was right,' this wouldn't stand.
To harm one of their own? And their Young Master no less? No, his mind was made up.
It was time to do something about everyone who'd get in their way.
Obito, meanwhile, got off the cot before looking at the thumbs-up-giving Rappa, the older male covered in a similar amount of bandages while Kiruka stood off to the side with a smirk.
"There, goal accomplished," she said as the group nodded. "So, what'd ya want to do with this, Obito-kun?" Kiruka asked as she presented the samples she'd taken.
Ippan looked surprised but not as disgusted as she thought she'd be. "T-Those are?"
"Bits and pieces of Victor's quirk DNA," Obito explained to her as she looked surprised before Kiruka grinned some more and brought out pieces of steel needles as well. "?"
"I was already planning on scraping some but got these bits before we left. I thought about the bat guy but his quirk wasn't really… applicable in that situation."
"Huh? You've been collecting pieces of quirks?" Kai asked as Hokei nodded with a raised brow.
Obito and the others told them about what happened as their men sighed in relief and left the room.
"Quirk-enhanced objects?" Kai blinked at the idea while Hokei hummed.
"... then you'll want to know something… a bit humorous," the oldest in the room chuckled as the group blinked. "Your reverse-blade, Obito-kun, is made that way."
All eyes widened as Obito pulled his weapon off the cot to look at its 'Unbreakable' kanji.
"I wasn't sure until I'd tested it but… this was made with someone's quirk?" Obito asked.
"Yes, the special thing about that blade is, it's one that your granduncle knew the creator of.," Obito blinked. "I didn't give it to you yet before you left but you and Eri received those weapons when she became one year old."
"What?" Kiruka balked. "Hold on, that guy knew someone who could meld quirks and normal stuff?" Hokei nodded. "That's a ridiculous amount of luck!"
"Sounds like ya gotta lead!" Rappa said as Obito nodded, looking at his weapon.
"Wait, it's a what blade?" Ippan blinked as Obito chuckled while Tenko blinked.
"This weapon's sharp side isn't on the front," Obito said as he showed her, running his finger along the front edge and showing no cut, much to their surprise. "I figured it out when I first got it, I thought it was a bit surprising, though, Eri's isn't like mine."
Hokei smiled softly. "A man 'protects' to the best of his ability while a woman will need 'extra force', it's a bit of traditional thinking that went into making them."
"Hmm," Obito looked at the blade once more. "... jii-chan-"
"If you wish to find him," Hokei interjected impeccably. "He's not a normal man, I'm pretty sure that my brother is the only one who knows him… so if you're going to find him… well," he grinned shakily as Obito blinked.
"Find his grand-unc?" Tooru asked as Hokei nodded. "Whoaa… there are grand-uncs?!"
Tenko tilted his head. "H-How does that work?" He asked as Hokei laughed.
"It's as simple as a grandparent having a sibling, Tenko-shounen," the boy nodded rapidly. "Hmph, it seems your mind is made up," he said to Obito who nodded.
"Do you know where grand-uncle is?"
"You wouldn't believe it," Hokei grinned nervously as the group blinked. "He's in Naruhata."
They all balked. "In the home of vigilantes?" Kai choked.
"He has a school nowadays, I've gone to see it once or twice over the past two years. He actually has an amazing student with six arms who handles six blades."
Ippan blinked while Rappa made a loud 'HAAAA?'.
"The heck?" They asked in unison.
"Talk about more coinqidinks," Kiruka said. "Still, that's a lot to take in."
"It's not too much," Obito said. "I'm not planning on going until the Summer. There's no point in chasing a lead when I'm not prepared or already have other things to work on. For now, we've tied up that loose end and only have this 'Stendhal' man to deal with."
"Hmph, Deidoro-kun is asleep, for now, do the same," Hokei said with a smile as Obito nodded, taking Eri from Ippan, the baby girl patting his cheeks without hesitation.
"Mmm," she stuffed her face into his neck and Obito smirked.
~NRK~
They laid down for the night, Obito resting on his side and playing a bit with the yawning baby Eri who grabbed his hand for security.
Ippan left the bathroom before hurrying over and laying down on the futon opposite his, the large 'mat' they'd made doing its job as Tenko and Tooru fell asleep already in the middle part, the invisible girl near Obito while the decay-hand boy was near Ippan's desired spot.
As she kneeled him, ruffling Tenko's hair as she did, Ippan turned her gaze to Obito, the Uchiha's wounds and yet calm demeanor giving her a sense of security.
"Are you really alright?" She asked him softly as Obito hummed.
"The painkillers have basically handled all my issues, I'm just going to be numb for the coming days," he said in a similar tone. "I'd rather ask how you feel about the news."
"... I'm happy," Ippan said to him as he nodded. "Thank you, Obito, I mean it," she smiled sadly at him. "I… Victor was a bastard in the worst ways possible and I know I shouldn't be happy someone died."
"It's fine, I understand the altruistic way of looking at this and then the human way," Obito reassured her. "It's not wrong to be happy that he's gone, I don't think so, at least."
She smiled more genuinely. "Thanks."
"No problem."
~NRK~
The rest of the week passed by uneventfully, thankfully.
Well, save for the news about the three of them and their fight with the 'Quirk Dragons of Tokyo'. That'd been the kick-off of… something that they really didn't see coming.
Back on track, that didn't mean they could return to their home, which was destroyed, so the group had to wait for the insurance company to handle it.
At that time? They were situated in a hotel near their school, one run by a family friend of Hokei's. The weeks passed for them, March passing, leaving them in their final month of school in April.
With Obito's help, Ippan had been able to bring up her grades to a solid B+ average with no Cs in her report, leaving her with damn near a 3.5 GPA!
So, the only thing left for them with all their projects done was their Finals.
Standing at the front of the school, lacking their kid-attachments thanks to Hokei, Rappa, and Kiruka, they stood there in their school uniforms, Obito with a working arm that still needed some bandages but was good enough for some swinging motions.
"Hmph, let's go," Obito said as she nodded, wearing a newly-revised version of her uniform now that he'd gotten more fabric and patches, the girl looking like the most comfortable quirk-user in the world in some new black tights along with her uniform. "... annoying."
The reason? The looks they got even as Ippan seemed to power through without too many issues.
"It's what it is, I guess," she said, holding her bag in front of her waist. "I only have Finals for the first three days of the week? You're the same, right?"
"Similarly, I did Summer classes often," Obito answered as she smiled, the two of them now in the middle of the schoolyard. "Honestly, I hope we can get through this-"
"Hello~" Came a voice from behind them as Obito groaned before he and Ippan stopped, turning to face the feminine voice. "Yo~"
Obito blinked thrice at the young woman before him.
She was of average height with pale-blue skin, green eyes on black sclera, and chin-length purple hair with one sole shoulder-length bang coming down from one side of her head. She grinned at the two, wearing her school uniform, before ignoring the murmurs around them.
"Hmm? Um, right, Kizuki-senpai?" Ippan said unsurely while the older senior smiled kindly.
"Yes, and you two are Ippan-chan and Obito-kun, right?"
"Yes," Obito said simply. "How can we help you, senpai?" He asked and the young woman looked a bit surprised for a mere moment before grinning wildly. 'Either she didn't expect a cordial response or she heard something interesting about me,' he didn't know which one but he hoped this would go well.
"Hm-hmm~ The thing is, I'd like to talk to you two about something after school is out," she said simply as they blinked. "Come now, you do know a face like mine, don't you?" She grinned, pointing at her cheeks and grinning visage.
"...?" Obito perked up and her eyes said it all, 'got him'. "You're from the Liberation Front Club."
"Yup! Ya see, I'd heard one of our head-honchos, Koku, told you guys about us. I wanted to follow up by showing you guys to the club."
"W-Well, we didn't say we'd join yet," Ippan admitted and the older female nodded.
"I get that but that doesn't mean you can't see how this all goes, yeah?"
"W-Well-"
"Yes, actually," Obito answered as both looked at him in surprise. "We heard about your mother organization, I was curious about something. They help make the lives easier for those with quirks, correct? How?"
"Hmm?" Kizuki looked surprised before grinning. "Oh? Well, I can imagine how you helped, rumors say that you helped 'adjust' Ippan-chan's school uniform. Is that true?" She asked with a curious look. 'If we could land him, it'd be interesting to have someone who's capable of making clothing for those of her size and situation,' it'd be a good booster to their morale and reputation, too.
"He did," Ippan grinned as she meddled with her skirt a bit. "Obito-kun's also helped by making clothing in my size," she admitted bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head.
Kizuki's eyebrows raised at the two, gaze shooting between them with a look of disbelief. 'Well… that'd certainly be the weirdest pairing I've seen in a while,' and they'd known invisible people!
Like, seriously, how did they see each other? Bah! She was getting off track!
"Hehehehe~ Well, we'll make that an agreement and meet in the club building after finals. When do you guys finish your Finals College Prep Exams?"
"In three days," Ippan said. "O-Oh! Wait, I mean, we'll be done around 12:30 pm. We lucked out and can do ours early."
"Huh? You can do that? I guess for those of you who have it online, it'd be different."
They nodded even as Obito noted that fact. 'How'd she know?' Obito didn't see her in his classes, was she in class 3-B? 3-C? Ippan knew her but it seemed to be in passing and not in the 3-A class.
~NRK~
With their Finals of the day handled, the two walked to the club building, a quiet conversation on their lips.
"What do you think?" Obito asked Ippan as they hefted their light book bags over their shoulders. "I'm going to see how they do it and then compare it to granduncle's friend's work."
"Well, I'd be happy for you to learn but you'd be involved, wouldn't you?" Ippan asked him. "Can you do that and still 'do work'?"
"I'm not going to join them if I don't have but I want to see how much I can see without being involved."
She hummed at that. "... so, what do you think about Tooru-chan's parents?"
"... it's a life they led, taking advantage of their natural abilities, I can't hate them for just doing their job."
"That's rather kind."
"It's really not, it's just knowing how the world I live in works."
Making it to one of two buildings behind the school, they went right to the Quirk club building.
As they did, they noticed the students outside just playing around, whether it was playing ball, sword fighting, tennis, or basketball, the many 'courts' around were in use by those with quirks and those without in other areas or those few that were here with their quirk-user friends.
Ippan looked around curiously at them all. "Honestly, I hope things are like this all over for the kids," she said with a soft look at a pair of catboys playing some kinda dance-version of double-dutch with a normal-looking pair of a boy and girl. "Tenko, Tooru, Eri, every quirk child."
"It's a world where we're teetering to the other end," Obito said in a similar manner. "It's only a matter of time, especially when people don't seem to realize the quirkless to quirk numbers aren't going to stay this way for that long. Those who don't care are going to mingle and they'll have children with quirks, most likely, since it's like a dominant gene," he shrugged as she tapped her snout.
"I don't want them bred out, I just think it'd be nice for the two sides to accept each other before something like that happens."
"Hmph, once again, you're far kinder than you think, you know that, right?"
"I sometimes think it can be a bit… w-well, gullible."
"You're not, you're just thinking like a mot-m-more peaceful person," Obito choked on his tongue as Ippan tilted her head while her cheeks reddened.
"I-Is that so? W-Well, thanks… I-I guess," she responded and he felt his brow twitch.
Now you want to read out sentences with your powerful ears?! Dammit!
"... yeah."
They ignored the students around them who shot them looks of confusion at their 'fluffy' atmosphere.
'The hell's wrong with them?' The student body sweatdropped.
Well, all good luck to their 'love' or whatever.
Inside the club building, the two blinked as they found someone… interesting, there.
Two of them.
The two turned around to face the duo… and Obito sighed as the animosity filled from the shorter of the other pair.
"Human-"
"Geten," the taller of that pair's members spoke, getting a flinch out of the shorter one. "Apologies, he's not had good interactions with quirkless people," the man spoke with a smile.
He was tall, the same height as Ippan's 6'6 frame, and with red hair like a rooster with a slightly receding hairline that had a widow's peak. His skin was fair and he had a prominent nose while his face was slightly long with a slightly square chin.
Wearing a green dress shirt with a lime-green tie, a pair of black yellow-pinstripe slacks, and a pair of brown loafers, his beady dark eyes looked at the two curiously.
'Geten', the young man next to him, sneered at Obito even with looks that left the Uchiha unsure of if he was a boy or girl if he hadn't been told.
He had shoulder-length white hair, peach skin, and a pair of heated blue eyes. Wearing their school uniform for boys, a shin-length blue fur coat, and a pair of brown boots, he looked more prepared for going to Antarctica than being in school.
"I don't hold it against him," Obito shrugged as Geten growled.
"As if you could."
"I'm sorry, that doesn't sound like it's productive to your cause at all."
"You-!"
"That's enough," Ippan said with a pout at Obito who sighed as Geten flinched. "He's probably a Freshman, Obito-kun."
"... I suppose," Obito rubbed the back of his head while the tall man grinned.
"Oh-ho! I didn't think I heard about such a thing on my former campus!" He declared happily while the two froze before blushing.
"I-It's not like that!" She squeaked while Obito cleared his throat.
"It's not," he re-clarified as the man laughed heartily. "Right, well, I suppose you're an alumni?" Change the conversation, dammit, man!
The man looked sly but caught on. "Alas, maybe someday," he smirked as the two burned a bit more. "And, yes, Rikiya Yotsubashi, at your service. I'm the head of the Meta Liberation Front organization."
Their eyes widened.
So, the boss had come to their school or, really, from it.
"Welcome, Chitose-kun told me a lot about you two," he smiled as they looked confused.
"Do we know someone like that?" Obito asked, internally suspicious.
"Hmm? Oh, well, Chitose Kizuki."
"Senpai?"
"Yup! Though, wait," he cupped his chin. "Aren't you all in the same year?"
"I'm two years ahead."
"O-One on my end."
The two looked surprised. "Well, that's impressive in both regards. Sixteen-"
"Seventeen."
"Seventeen and already prepared to graduate? And it's always impressive when a quirk person can excel though I do know that principal Kyu is a fair and equal man," Rikiya said.
"Kyu?" Geten asked with a frown.
"Kyu Kimyona, your principal? A man of 'nine oddities'! Hahahahah!"
"I-Is that true?"
"What?! No!" Rikiya sweatdropped. "N-No, Geten-kun, it's just his name."
"O-Oh," the boy looked embarrassed.
"He's still getting used to the outside world," Rikiya said sadly to the two who blinked.
Obito cupped his chin as Geten frowned at him. "... I see."
"I don't want your pity."
"You weren't getting 'pity' but 'understanding'," he shook his head as the younger male looked away. "Besides, a lesson, you interacting with every quirkless person you meet like that isn't going to end well, no matter how much good you do," Geten hissed. "You're clearly out of that situation, why in the world would you try to bring it back?" He flinched.
"I'm not doing anything!" He shot back. "It was you people!"
"I'm sorry, I haven't met you in my entire life."
"That's not the point!"
"Then what is?" Obito asked the cool-feeling boy who flinched but trembled in anger. "Do you honestly think that the world will bend to anger and pain? It won't, that's not how things are done, you need honor before you start trying to incite change."
Ippan smiled comfortingly. "You probably don't know this, likely no one does," she whispered as Geten frowned but listened. "Obito-kun helped me out of a similar situation in February," she admitted as their eyes widened while Obito simply crossed his arms, his katana carrier rustling against his back. "So, I've learned a lot about him in that time."
"... you live together?" Rikiya blinked in surprise as she blushed but nodded.
"Me, him, his quirk baby sister," Geten's eyes widened. "And two children with quirks we picked up in our lives, he's… he's a lot kinder than he looks," she grinned as Obito huffed.
"..." Geten looked embarrassed, angry, and yet guilty. "..." He walked off, leaving a solemnly smiling Rikiya in his wake.
"That was probably good for him, in the long run," he said simply as the two nodded.
"There are good people out there, Obito's family is one of them… w-well, not all of them but his grandfather is great!"
"Hmm, I see," Rikiya nodded with a smile before gesturing into the building. "Come, please, let me speak on the behalf of our club and organization."
The two nodded as they followed after him.
It seemed that things might have been a bit more on the up-and-up… but Obito was prepared.
He knew what a smiling facade could hide.
~NRK~
And that's a wrap. For those wondering, I've literally almost finished writing another chapter of Void Breathing. I'm working on the next chapters of Unlimited Courage and Nao-Shi, though, on that last one.
I'm thinking about just releasing shorter chapters of that story. It really isn't easy writing SOL as much as I'd like without supernatural elements so I'm probably going to approach that story differently.
Now, for damn near most of this fic, I've had a few discussions about Obito's 'style' in it and I've come to a final form of it. If anyone knows Jujutsu Kaisen, he's going to be a 'Toji' character, we saw a bit of it in this chapter and he's collective future bits and pieces while having two leads on making more Quirk Equipment.
So, yeah, I now need to come up with a 'Curse Hammer Space' for this fic… hopefully I can make something possible but it's not an easy thing, ya know?
Ciao, see ya in the next one.
~NRK Out~