I sat on the couch with a mug of coffee. It wasn't really early, but it seemed I was the first up. I couldn't sleep. I heard footsteps and turned my head to Kirishima all dressed and ready.
"You're up early."
"Oh hey, Kitia. Yea, work study today."
"In your uniform?"
"Yea. For some reason they didn't want us to wear our costumes today."
I nodded, thinking.
"Well, I'll see you later." Kirishima and went to walk out.
"Oh, wait, Kirishima."
"Huh?"
I got up, over to him and started to fix his collar. "If you're gonna wear your uniform, make sure it's neat, yea?"
He grinned. "Yea, thanks. I better go."
"Yea. Right. Cya."
He walked out and I went back to my coffee. A few seconds later, Midoriya walked past, waving to me. I waved back, and heard him catch up with Kirishima. Then Tsu and Ochako walked out too. I wonder what's going on? Work studies, of course.
After they left, I finished my coffee and went up to my room to pack for my work study. Now that I was really thinking about it, the idea was freaking me out. I kept remembering all Todoroki's warnings about his father. I shook my head and kept packing. I would also need to go get the rest of my costume from Mei.
I got dressed and went to the Studio for my costume.
"Oh, you're here early!"
I scoffed. "Look who's talking. It's like you practically live here."
Mei grinned. "Well, you wouldn't be wrong!"
"Hey, is everything ready?"
"Sure! Here!" She pointed to my stuff sitting on the bench. "Hey, are you alright?"
I picked up my gloves and put them on. They just looked like normal gloves, though a bit chunky. "Uh, yea. I got a work study with someone and I've just been thinking about it, is all."
"Oh! Who'd you get a work study with?!" She stood in front of me, eyes shiny.
"Well, um. I'm not exactly keen on telling anyone right now. I mean, there's one person in particular that I don't want to find out. At least, to begin with, because I dare say he'll find out eventually."
"Oooh! Scandalous!"
I shook my head, laughing. "Shuddup! Besides, if I told you, you'd freak out and I'm already freaking enough, thank you very much."
"Oh fine! But you gotta tell me after you start, alright?!"
I sighed heavily. "Fine, but you can't tell Todoroki, deal?"
She nodded, grinning. "Deal. Though I don't understand why you wouldn't tell him."
"Once I tell you, you'll get why. Now, I gotta go. I'll see you later, ok."
"Ok, bye! Come back soon!"
I headed back to the dorm and straight up to my room. I put most of my costume away, then closed the curtains to my balcony and pressed my hand to my door.
"Ok." I muttered to myself as I sat on the bed. "Let's see what work studies really are."
I pressed the button on my wrist and a blurry image popped up. I frowned as it started to clear a little.
I scoffed. All I could see was the back of Kirishima's neck. Oh well. It still works; but where are they? I tapped my chin. I wonder...I flash my eyes briefly at the image.
The image got smaller as a map appeared beneath it. I grinned. Oh, that's cool. Definitely an enhancement I like! The map showed them somewhere in the city, in a tall building. I didn't know the area at all.
"Hey, Ryukyu, you said it was a meeting, I know, but what about?"
Was that...Hado's voice? What's she doing there?
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Mr Aizawa!"
"What are you doing here?"
Tsu and Ochako, too? And Mr Aizawa? Something must be up...
"I was called out suddenly." Makes sense as to why I haven't seen him. "I heard roughly what's going on."
"Girls, I told you before, didn't I? Even if you're still students, now that you're here for work study, you're a legitimate part of our forces! You two seem like you'll be able to play an active role in that matter."
That matter? What matter? This is starting to get interesting...
"Nighteye, let's get started."
"Thanks to the information we received from you all, the investigation has moved forward substantially. We will now have a conference to share what information we have acquired regarding what the small organization, Shie Hassaikai, is planning."
I widened my eyes. The Shie Hassaikai? That's what this is about?
"I'm completely in the dark about this...'Hassai'? What's that?" Kirishima's voice came in clearer than anyone elses. I'm guessing because he was the one I attached the device to.
"They might be thinkin' of doin somethin bad, so this is a time for us to discuss it together. You two are also very much involved."
I heard footsteps and then chairs being scraped across a floor.
"Well then, let's begin. Those of us from the Nighteye Agency have been conducting an independent investigation into the designated villain group known as the Shie Hassaikai, for about two weeks."
Two weeks?
"What prompted this?"
"An accident involving a gang of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs."
"I heard about that."
"The police wrote it off as an accident, but there were a number of points that didn't make sense, so we started tailing them.
"I, Centipeder, conducted a follow-up investigation. In my investigation, I found out that in the past year, the members of the Shie Hassaikai have increased contact with those outside of their organization and other groups involved with shady businesses, moving with the aim of expanding their organization and increasing their funds. And soon after beginning the organization, he was in contact with a member of the League of Villains, Jin Bubaigawara, villain name: Twice."
I gritted my teeth. Twice, you idiot!
"They were wary of being tailed, and I was unable to follow them-"
I breathed out. Good, so we weren't caught...Yet.
"-but with the help of the police, I was able to confirm that an altercation had occurred between the two organizations."
"Since the League was involved, they also reached out to Tsukauchi and me."
"Where is Tsukauchi?"
Who is Tsukauchi?
"There were other eyewitness reports to look into, so he went to check them out. Kid, I didn't think it would end up like this. I'm afraid I've pulled you into something troublesome."
"I don't think of it as troublesome." Midoriya? Figures he'd be there too.
"It's the old man with All Might in Kamino! Midoriya knows some amazing people..." Kirishima only muttered, but I heard him clear as day. So, these were people associated with All Might? Sir Nighteye was his sidekick for awhile, and now this old man they were speaking about. Plus, Mr Aizawa and Bubble Girl. Who else was there, aside from the students?
"Please continue."
"So after all this happened, we put out a request for help on the HN-"
"You can skip that part."
"Right."
"HN?"
"Hero Network. It's an online service only those with pro licences can access. You can see reports of what all the heroes in the country are working on and request help from heroes with helpful quirks!"
Hero Network, huh? This is just getting better and better...
"Even if they're from UA, why are there kids here? We'll never get anywhere with them here. The sun'll set before we get to the actual plan."
I grinned. Rock Lock too, eh? I'd know that cynical voice anywhere...
"Don't say that!" I jumped as a voice beside Kirishima shouted. Damn, that guys loud..."These two have super important information!"
"Us...?"
"I can't take this..." Amajiki?
"Anyway, I think I'm meetin a lot of you for the first time, so I'm Fat Gum! Nice to meet you! Oh here. Have some candy!"
Never take candy from strangers...
"We suspect one of the Hassaikai's main sources of income is unauthorized drugs. So I requested help from heroes who are well versed in those matters."
"I crushed tons of guys like that back in the day! And then, at Red Riot's debut fight the other day...! A type I've never seen before was shot into Tamaki. A drug that destroys quirks."
So, this drug is getting around a lot...
"Destroys quirks?!"
"What?! Tamaki, you're ok, right?" Mirio, too. Makes sense I guess. The other two Big Three were there after all.
"Yea. I recovered after I slept. Look at this cow hoof."
"So you had a bowl of beef for breakfast."
Wait...What? I just realized I don't know what Amajiki's quirk is...
"I feel better knowing you can recover from it. So it's not gone for good?"
"No. We will hear from Eraserhead on the matter."
"It seems a little different from my erasure, since I don't attack the quirk itself directly. The quirk is an extra part with a special function added to a basic human body. Those extra parts are lumped together as quirk genes. I only stop those genes temporarily, but I cannot inflict damage on them."
"Right after Tamaki was shot, we had the hospital take a look at him, and his quirk genes were damaged. Thankfully, they healed on their own and he's back to normal."
"What about the analysis on what was shot into him?"
"There was nothing wrong with the rest of his body. It was only his quirk that received any damage. The guy who shot him isn't sayin anything either. The gun's in pieces and the only bullet we had was the one that'd been shot! But thanks to Kirishima's brave actions that led to one bouncing off his body, we were able to get one still filled with the drug!"
"Me? That surprised me! It came out of the blue!"
"Good job, Kirishima!"
"So cool!"
"Hardening, right? I know about that! It was the perfect match-up!"
"And after analyzing the contents, we discovered something that made me sick. Human blood and cells were inside!"
Wait...Did that mean...They were developing the drug from a person? Oh hell. I need to tell Doc straight away...I pulled my phone out and was just about to press call.
"A quirk that destroys quirks."
"Hmm...I'm not sure I'm following. How is this related to the Hassaikai?"
"The guy Kirishima captured, and the illegal drug that guy used! The distribution channels for things like that are complex. It's gotten a lot smaller these days. But various people and organizations sell them wholesale until they finally reach the end user. There's no proof that the Hassaikai handled the goods, but they did interact with one of the intermediaries."
No proof, huh? I think I got all the information I want, but I still want to know what their plan is gonna be.
"The other day, when Ryukyu's team broke up a fight between two villain groups, controlling one of the groups was the intermediary dealer organization."
"One of the two that turned giant had been given an inferior drug that didn't last very long."
"There have been a rash of gang-related crimes recently, and most could be connected to the Hassaikai if you tried hard enough."
"It sounds like you're trying really hard to make the Hassaikai guilty."
Because they are...
"Don't you have something that implicates them more obviously?"
"The young head, Chisaki's quirk is Overhaul."
I blinked. He named himself after his quirk? Wow.
"His power let's him disassemble things and restore things. A bullet that can break down quirks. Chisaki has a daughter named Eri."
Overhaul...Has a kid?
"There are no records or details of her birth, but when Mirio and Midoriya encountered her, she had a large number of bandages wrapped around her arms and legs."
How is he making it?
I swallowed a lump in my throat. I guess this makes sense. Stealing someone's quirk to rid others of theirs...I have to call Doc. I quickly pressed call.
"Doc."
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Overhaul! He has a kid! He's making them from her!"
"Whoa, hang on, slow down. How do you know that?"
"It doesn't matter, just listen!" I told him everything that had been said in the meeting so far.
Doc was quiet. I had woken him, but he hadn't made any complaints, especially after hearing all that. I half listened to the rest of the meeting. They didn't have a full plan. Just searching for this Eri girl.
"What'll we do, Doc? I need to get a message to my brother."
"And tell him what? He probably knows about this already."
"No. Not this. Tell him they know. They will close in on them soon enough. He needs a plan for when that happens."
"I'm sure he already knows. We're not getting involved."
I stared at the phone. "What?!"
"I said, we're not getting involved. It's too dangerous, and that's the end of it."
I bared my teeth and growled. "I see."
He sighed. "I need to get back to work. I'll talk to you later." He hung up.
I stared at the phone, listening to Mr Aizawa talking to Midoriya. He was allowing him to help out with the rescue. Saying that they didn't think the League was involved, but that they still might be. I put my phone down and pressed the button on my wrist. I had to make a decision. Should I tell Tomura, or let him get taken down along with the Hassaikai? No. The Hassaikai are the current problem, not the League. I picked up my phone again and dialed a different number.
"Hey, I wasn't sure if you were going to answer."
"What is it?"
I took a breath. I wouldn't tell Kurogiri everything, just that the heroes suspect their involvement.
"I'll inform Tomura Shigaraki." He was quiet for a minute. "Kitia Shigaraki?"
I blinked a couple of times. That's the first time I remember him using my name. "Uh, yea?"
"Thank-you for the information."
"Uh, no problem." He hung up. Ok, so that's one thing done. I still haven't heard when I'll starting my work study or where to go, or anything remotely like that. All Endeavor had said, was to be ready. Well, I'm ready.
Luckily everyone had come back before I had to leave for my work study. I managed to subtly take the tracking device back from Kirishima. The one time I was glad he's a hugger.
"You have a work study?!"
"And you're leaving today?!"
"Who is it with?"
"Where are you going?"
I put my hands up. "I can't say right now, and I don't know where I'm going just yet. I don't even know when I'm leaving or what's happening."
"Actually, I just got a phone call about that."
I blinked at Mr Aizawa. "Oh yea?"
"There'll be a cab coming to pick you up in 10 minutes to take you to where you need to go."
"A cab? So it's close by, then! We might get to see you in action!" Ashido pumped her fist in the air.
I laughed. "I doubt it, Dodo. I could still be going anywhere."
Her grin dropped and she lowered her arm. "Yea. I guess you're right."
"Welp, I suppose I better go. I'll see you guys." I walked out quickly. I had been avoiding Todoroki, and I think he noticed. The longer I could avoid telling him where I was going, the better.
"Hey!" I closed my eyes slowly. I had managed to get away from the dorm and a fair way down the path towards the school's enterance, but Todoroki still managed to catch up with me.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Where are you going?"
"Uh, my work study. A cab's gonna be here to pick me up in a minute."
I kept walking, forcing Todoroki to keep up with me.
"You know what I mean. Who are you doing the work study with?"
I didn't look at him. I didn't want to lie, so I kept my mouth shut. I understood his previous concerns, I really did, but I needed to do this.
Just before we got to the gate, he grabbed my shoulder, stopping me.
"Uh, Ice-man...?"
He sighed. "Look, I can't tell you what to do, clearly, but if anything happens..."
I looked up at him. "If anything happens...?"
He squeezed my shoulder. "You have my number. Just...Call, alright?"
I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.
He nodded towards the road. "Cabs here." He turned and walked away. "Text me when you get there."
"Uh, sure." I frowned after him, then spun around when the driver honked the horn.
"It's about time."
I stood in a huge office. The desk was massive, and two couches faced each other in the centre of the room.
"It's kind of hard to be on time when I don't know where I'm going."
"I see your mouth hasn't learnt when to keep shut."
"Terribly sorry. Must have a mind of it's own while it's around you, sir."
Endeavor glared at me. He was a huge man and tall too. It was enough to intimidate anyone, but since our face off at the sports festival, I hadn't been as afraid of him. Maybe I should have been, I don't know.
"This is a work study, so you'll be treated as a sidekick. It won't be like your internship. It'll be harder and more demanding."
I wonder if he knows I was interning with Gang Orca...
"I will also be training you while you are here. We'll be patrolling all different areas, taking calls to different emergencies. I won't be coddling you just because you're new."
"I wouldn't expect otherwise. Especially from you."
He ignored the comment and continued. "You'll be sleeping under this roof, so I expect you to conduct yourself the same as you would if you were out. Respectfully. I also expect you to keep up with your studies at school, so I've made arrangements for your school work to be sent here. You will do that whenever you have the free time."
I internally frowned as he spoke. What exactly did he think he was to me? He was acting like a father. I tried not to shudder at the thought.
"I'm not going to bother with the house rules right now. You will become accustomed to them quickly. I'll show you where you will be sleeping."
I followed him out of the office and down the hallway to the back of the building.
He pointed out the common areas, eating areas and his room. He said it was for when it was too late to go home.
"This is your room." He opened the door and stood back so I could go in.
"It's...huge."
"Bigger than the rooms in those dorms, yes."
I ignored that comment. It was probably was twice the size of my room back at the dorm. It had a double bed, a desk and a walk in wardrobe.
"I don't think I even know if I have enough clothes to fill the wardrobe..."
"It's fine. You can get more later on."
I shifted my eyes sideways and frowned. What an odd thing to say...
"Unpack and get changed. We're patrolling today. You have 10 minutes."
He left before I could argue. He didn't even bother closing the door. I sighed and closed the door.
I made sure I was back in Endeavor's office in 8 minutes. It was mainly to piss him off though. He was standing at a table, over a map of the city.
"We'll be patrolling these areas." He traced his finger in a large circle to East of this building.
"What's there?"
"A lot of petty crime has sprung up ever since All Might's retirement." I heard the bitterness in his voice. "But there's been a few bigger crimes here, here and here. We're going there to show we're aware of these crimes and watching."
"A scare tactic. Not bad. Of course, you're physically scarier than me."
"They haven't heard you speak, have they?"
I blinked. Was that a compliment come out of his mouth? I straightened up. "Well, standing around here isn't going to get it done." Without waiting for his response, I walked out. He wanted to treat me like a real hero, then I'll act like a real hero. Besides, it not like I didn't know where I was going. He did show me a map after all.
"The red-light district? Really?"
"Real heroes patrol every area. Even ones as distasteful as this..."
"You do realize how unpopular you are, right? That fire of yours just shows your personality before you even speak."
Endeavor glared at me, but I wasn't fazed. I looked around. Of course, can't say I wasn't curious. Why were we here? You wouldn't imagine crime happening here, in an area where this stuff was legal...
I heard a scream and just started running. I nodded to a few of the workers, male and female, who pointed in the direction of the scream. I frowned. It seems odd that they're unfazed by it. Maybe crime happens around here more than I thought.
I turned down an alley and saw six guys and two female workers. Three had one on the ground and the other three had the other girl against the wall. I stopped, remembering my younger self in the same situation. The men all turned to look at me and laughed.
I bared my teeth. "Oh, you think this is funny?"
One guy nodded and grinned. "Oh, absolutely! I'm not gonna lie! They send one little girl to do this job? I mean, you against the six of us?"
"Heh. It's only six against one if you let those two go. Otherwise, it's an unfair advantage. For me."
"Oooh listen here will you, guys? This girl thinks she's a big shot hero. Alright, let those two go. We have a better one."
I narrowed my eyes. Endeavor hadn't showed himself, so I'm guessing he wanted to test me. I couldn't use anything other than my Reveal quirk, since he didn't know about the other ones.
The two girls ran past me.
"Thank-you!"
"I'm definitely getting out of this line of work!"
"They weren't even going to pay us!"
I didn't even respond. They left, and the men all turned their attentions on me. I lifted my hood over my face, then lowered my goggles from my head.
I looked up slightly. "It's dangerous to assumed because of my age that I'm not capable."
The men laughed. The one who had spoken to me before, didn't though. He was staring at me. I stared back, not moving or saying a word.
The man grinned. "I want that one unharmed. She's mine. Bring her to me."
The other men ran towards from the back of the alleyway. I lifted my hand and pulled out the Wakizashi from the sheath slowly.
Three on the right, two on the left. Two are closer than the other three. Not knowing their quirks could be dangerous...So glad I went with my Reveal quirk.
I flashed my eyes at the closest two. Ones arms turned into saw blades, while the other ones long hair thickened and became rope.
I smirked under my hood. Amateurs.
I quickly replaced the Wakizashi with my Naginata.
"Hey!"
"My quirk! What the fuck?!"
I used the few seconds they where distracted to cut the long haired mans rope-hair off and kick him in the face. He went down, knocked out.
The man with the saw blades jumped on me and pinned me to the ground, aiming the turning blades at my face.
I grinned and the blades stopped spinning.
"What the-"
I kicked his stomach and knocked him out with the hilt of the Naginata. The three other men who ran at me had stopped, watching me. They looked confused and unsure. Good.
I didn't need to use my quirk on these three, because they decided to show theirs themselves. Idiots. Two ran at me while one stayed behind. Out the corner of my eye I saw something move. I jumped out of the way as a brick from the wall came flying at my head. Right, so I need to take that guy out first.
The second guy ran at me, his nails extending into long razers. At the same time, the third guy tried to distract me with thick, sparkling light coming down like snow.
I grinned. Sorry, boys. I'm not like your average novice.
I slipped under Razer-guys right hook and hit him in the base of the head with my hilt. He went down rather quickly.
Next was Brick-guy. He was easy to take down too. He obviously needed to concentrate for his quirk to work. I knocked him out with a kick to the face.
Sparkly-snow guy was frozen, and didn't move when I walked up to him.
"So, can't fight, huh?"
He shook his head, sweat on his face.
"Well, next time, don't underestimate someone. K?" I smiled and head-butted his nose. "Stay down." The man writhed on the ground. "Good dog."
I looked at the last man. "So, no introductions? How rude."
The man grinned and small blades appeared in his hands. "My apologies. Sharps. And you?"
"Sharps? Really? That's the best you could come up with?"
Sharps shrugged. "I never really cared for names."
"Fair. Rune." I gestured to my scars. "Self explanatory."
"I see. Well then. Shall we?"
I replaced the Naginata with the Wakizashi. "Sure. Let's."
The man threw small throwing daggers at me. He had a decent aim, but I managed to dodge them all. I moved to the side, then jumped forward, slapping a couple of daggers with the sword.
He aimed one for my head. I moved and it grazed my cheek, and got caught in my hood. Annoying, but I could deal with it.
I jumped off the wall and spear tackled him. Not any kind of pretty, I know, but effective. I pinned his arms with my legs. I put the sword back in the sheath and lifted my googles, but left my hood up.
"Never underestimate someone you don't know. That's the first rule of this society, man." I sighed. "Sharps? Seriously? I can't get over that, mate. It's so bad."
Sharps stopped struggling. "I told you, I don't care about names."
I put my fists on my hips. "Well, you're gonna wanna care about one name in particular. Endeavor."
Sharps widened his eyes. "Where?"
I shrugged. "Probably watching. I am only a work study student. It's sad you got beaten by someone like me. Pathetic, really." I looked at him for a moment. "You're decent with your quirk."
He shifted his gaze to me. "I could be better."
I nodded. "Yes, you could. Shame you're not stronger. You would be a helpful human-being if only you were." I sighed again.
He lifted his leg, shoving me forward. I landed, my hands either side of his head, and my hair covering my face. I pressed one hand to his throat. "We could use someone with your skills. You know. If you weren't in this predicament." I muttered.
Sharps widened his eyes, like he was afraid. He head-butted my forehead, then flipped his legs around so I fell off him.
He got up and ran towards the end of the alleyway. Don't turn around...
He didn't turn around. He kept running until he was out of site.
I sat on my ass, hood down, rubbing my forehead. Dick. Could have been gentler...
"So, how did you like the show?"
Endeavor stepped into view as I stood up. "One man got away. You are a UA student, doing a work study at my agency." He looked at me with those cold, blue eyes. "He shouldn't have gotten away."
"Typical. I take out five guys, on my own I might add, and you focus on the one who got away. Tsk." I shook my head and looked at the unconscious and writhing bodies. "What are we going to do with this lot?"
"The police should be here shortly."
I nodded. "Good." My stomach growled. "I'm hungry. I need food." I looked up at Endeavor. "You're buying. You know, since you made me do that on my own."
He just glared at me.
