Disclaimer: The intellectual property rights to Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 belong to Atlus and its respective creative directors, as does the My Hero Academia series, with Kohei Horikoshi.

Author's Notes: It's been exactly a year since I published this story. Here's to a milestone that I'd never thought I'd see again.

0.0

Living in a dormitory was a return to routine for Arisato Minato. While living on his own had afforded him more personal freedom and convenience, he missed the sense of kinship that came with living with a group of his peers.

As Minato made his way down to the common area, he was surprised to find most of his classmates crowded before the television. That, in itself, wasn't the strange part; it was the unearthly silence that permeated as they watched the morning news segment.

"Did something happen?" he asked the person closest to him.

Amajiki gave him a sidelong glance before answering grimly, "It's Stain… The police found Pinch Hitter dead—his body abandoned in some random alley in Toshima ward."

Minato shook his head in reply, and for once, the other teen didn't look quite so panic-stricken. Belatedly, he realised this was the first time he had even tried to strike up a conversation with Amajiki.

Mirio was seated on the couch before them. "It took them almost a week to find his body after he was reported missing." His face tightened, as his oval-shaped eyes narrowed at the television screen. "That kind of cruelty… No one deserves that. Least of all, someone who dedicated his life to heroism."

To his left, Shougo leaned against an armrest, his posture languid. "Yeah, but this dude's only been active for like what?" he asked. "Less than a few months? And he's already killed nineteen pros so far?"

"Eighteen," Amajiki corrected. "Ingenium pulled through."

"Not to mention he's ended the careers of so many other prominent Pro Heroes," Mirio said. "First Ingenium, then Pinch Hitter… Sir Nighteye was saying that Tokyo is practically on lockdown because of this."

Aragaki was fretting where he stood, stealing nervous glances around the room. "I-I guess that means we could be next…"

Minato could hear a pin drop in the ensuing silence.

For the other seniors, their responsibilities in their agencies were just shy of an actual sidekick, but the dangers were ever-present. That was why he didn't have to ask about the two empty seats in a classroom meant for twenty students. Heroism was a dangerous profession, and people rarely remembered those who fell short of the mark—either forcibly or not.

He understood that much.

He couldn't say the same for Nejire.

The girl was standing behind an armchair Yuyu was seated on, casually brushing the other girl's hair with her fingers. "Ehhh~~ Do you think this will affect the school's internship this week?" The ease in which she defused a potential landmine was masterful in its own way; Minato wasn't sure if it was intentional on her part. "Ryukyu said she nominated one of the first years. I was so excited too…"

Mirio slapped his hands together, grinning. "No one caught Sir's eye this year. Then again, considering what happened during the Sports Festival…" His smile dimmed just a fraction, and he quickly turned to Amajiki. "Did Fat Gum nominate anyone, Tamaki?"

"Even if he did," Amajiki said, regaining some of his natural-born gloom, "I'm sure no one would accept. Who else is willing to travel all the way down to Osaka and back like I do?"

"Don't see it that way!" Mirio cheered. "Fat Gum is one of the nation's top Pro Heroes. I'm sure whoever he nominates will jump at the chance, right Minato-san?"

"Do you really have to travel like that?" he asked Amajiki.

"Every… two… weeks…"

Mirio winced. "Some of us are interning at agencies outside of Tokyo. For them, UA has this policy where students on field assignment have to rotate two weeks on and two weeks off for their studies."

"I admire your dedication, Amajiki-san," Minato told him as much.

"That's what I've been saying this whole time!" Mirio reached over the couch and slung an arm over his friend's neck, pulling him into an odd-sort of hug. "Plus that all that hard work is going to pay off when Tamaki becomes one of the top-ranked Pro Heroes out there!"

Amajiki was side-eyeing the nearest wall, but was ultimately forced to suffer the torment of being praised, with Mirio holding him back—quite literally.

"How about you, Minato-san?" Mirio asked. "You're interning under Mount Lady, right? Is she planning on bringing anyone else in?"

Like a precursor to the inevitable, Mirio's words coincided with his phone vibrating in his pocket. Wordlessly, with a sense of trepidation, he wrestled it out to find 'My Hot Boss' emblazoned across his screen; he really should do something about that name.

Minato briefly spared Mirio a look, half-paranoid that he could see into the future, before excusing himself to a quiet corner of the room to take the call.

"Yu?"

"imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry…"

"Did you burn down the apartment?"

"What?! We didn't meet for one weekend and you think I burned down the apartment?" Yu asked, aghast. "I can't sense your special kind of sarcasm over the phone, Minato. Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Yes."

"Apartment's fine, dummy," she intoned lazily. "Anyway, that's not the point. I have a teensy tiny favour to ask. I lost track of a few things—a few important things." Her laughter, weak as it was, trailed off.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Before you get mad, I want you to know that it was the right thing to do."

"Yu…"

"One of your juniors from UA submitted an application to the agency, and well… I accepted," Minato swore he could hear her wince over the call, "I didn't nominate anyone, I swear! I would have ignored it, but this girl tacked on an essay about how she wanted to learn from one of the best transformation-type Pro Heroes in Tokyo… I mean, I couldn't say no to a hero-in-training that wants to better herself, amirite?"

"She played to your ego," Minato said.

"That's beside the point."

Distantly, he was aware that the doorbell to their dormitory was ringing. He moved into the dining area for privacy. "I would have preferred some notice," he relented, "but it's fine."

"I was gonna tell you, but then you sprung the apartment on me, and I got distracted with work n' stuff, and then I kinda spent the weekend shopping online here and there…"

"You forgot."

"I did," Yu said, without preamble. "I totally did."

Minato sighed into the phone. "What is it that you need?"

"I got called into the NPA HQ today—like right now actually. They want me to hand over an investigation I was doing on the side. But that kinda means that I won't be able to meet this new intern. She's supposed to come over to the office in the morning."

"So you need me to babysit?"

"Yes, please," Yu pleaded with a whisper. "I already asked her to look for you. If it helps, she looked super cute in her application p—"

"Arisato~~"

Looking up, Minato found an unfortunate soul trapped in the clutches of his class representative. The younger girl, with orange hair pulled into a side ponytail, had misty blue eyes that practically radiated her distress. She smiled still, albeit a touch uneasy, as she bore the brunt of Nejire's affection-slash-attention.

"She showed up at the door asking for you." Nejire stood on the balls of her feet, and draped her arms around her hostage's neck, pushing her forward. "Itsuka-chan! Itsuka-chan! Ne, show him your Quirk! Did you know she calls it 'Big Fist'?"

The girl bowed, as much as she could with Nejire still clinging onto her. "Y-Yo, Arisato-senpai," she said. "Mount Lady asked me to look for you? I'm her new intern, Kendo Itsuka."

Itsuka looked at him nervously, then at her human backpack.

"Could you help me out, senpai?"

0.0

Takeyama Yu eyed the yellow-stained walls with distaste.

A smoking room in a far flung corner of the National Police Agency Headquarters wasn't exactly what she had in mind when Kaneko pulled her aside for a meeting; he even dangled the carrot of introducing a new contact to her. Although, it was unfortunate that both of them were heavy smokers.

She coughed lightly, waving away the deadly haze as the two men lighted up. "Five minutes. I'm not staying in this death trap of a room any longer than I have to."

"Live a little, will you?" Kaneko said.

Kaneko's companion, Mera Yokumiru, was a middle-aged man with gaunt, angular features. His eyes, beady and red-rimmed, had noticeable bags that made him look like a walking zombie—a dishevelled one, given the state of his hair and attire.

The mid-level bureaucrat from the Public Safety Commission took a deep puff of his cigarette and chuckled mirthlessly. "Kaneko and I are firm believers of 'what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger'."

"Yeah," she said. "Whoever thought of that must be a real genius. Look, Kaneko… What's with this hush-hush meeting suddenly?"

Kaneko sighed. "The way I see it, it wasn't right the way you were treated that night. Figured if no one from my side was gonna give you an official apology, an unofficial one, from a friendly face at least, would work all the same."

"I don't blame you, Kaneko."

"Yeah, never thought you did, but given the circumstance, you had a right to. The last time we met, you were telling me about that lead that you had, remember? I brushed you off. Maybe if I'd listen, the operation could have turned out differently. I was stubborn, acting like some prickly persian. That's on me, Takeyama."

Yu nodded, but didn't say a word.

For once, being in the right didn't feel as great—not when it meant being brought back to square one. Her meeting regarding the handover of information was less contentious without the presence of Chief Inspector Taro, but the detective-in-charge, a consummate professional, had been thorough in his work.

It was coming close to evening by the time they were done.

"I'm running late as it is," Yu said, pointedly checking the time on her phone. "I gotta go. Kaneko." Yu stood up and bowed to the other man. "Mera-san, it was nice to meet you. Maybe next time, we could—"

"Your agency hasn't hired a permanent sidekick, am I right?" Mera asked suddenly. "A temp? One from UA?"

"Yeah." She quirked a delicate eyebrow. "Why does it matter?"

Mera rubbed the back of his neck and stared up at the ceiling, muttering, "I just came out of a very unproductive meeting with both sides of the aisle. Between the Trigger epidemic, Stain and an actual cabal of villains, we're effectively fighting three different types of war on three fronts."

"What's this gotta do with me?"

"I'm just a mid-level lackey openly complaining about the new workload he has to take on." Mera stared at her from the corner of his eyes. "Did you hear about Pinch Hitter, Takeyama?"

"Yeah… I didn't know him personally, but it's messed up." Yu sat back down in her seat, wary. "Hell, I could say the same for any of the pros who crossed that psycho."

"Do you know why it took so long to find Pinch Hitter's body?"

"He normally operates out in Chiba, right?" she asked, hesitant. "And they found his body here? In Tokyo?"

Mera nodded slowly. "We're noticing a pattern. Pinch Hitter was the first real lead we had in narrowing Stain's behaviour profile because he went outside his jurisdiction. Of the forty or so incidents, we've attributed ten deaths to Pro Heroes actively hunting Stain—most of their activities were undocumented."

"Great," Yu muttered. "So the killer sociopath has a creed. He only kills pros who he thinks are glory hunters. How does that help anything?"

Yu saw the way Kaneko was nibbling at his nails, his brow furrowed in thought. "Cast a smaller net," he said. "That's the plan, isn't it? Pull him to where you want him to be. Find a Pro Hero he couldn't possibly resist and ambush him?"

Yu's heart stilled in her chest. "You want me to be the bait?"

"Nothing of the sort," Mera said, scoffing. "I don't have that kind of authority in the first place. The higher ups want Endeavor for the role and he's already agreed to it. What I need is to finalise a roster of pros willing to work the graveyard shift. That's why I asked about what kind of support personnel you had; it might help mitigate your workload."

"Oh? That's it? You want me to work nights instead?" Yu blinked, adding, "You were kinda building up to something a little more serious there."

"Asking Pro Heroes to do a thankless job where nobody will ever see 'em?" Mera guffawed. "It's like asking a university professor to teach elementary school. I've learned the art of balancing those fragile egos, kiddo."

"You're a cheery guy, aren't you?"

"Meh, it's not like I'm asking you without reason. We need a massive show of force; one that will go in some way to help reassure the public. And…" Mera dithered, thinning his lips into a line.

"And what?"

"Direction from up top," Mera continued, "is that we need Stain to eliminate certain high-value wards. We're pulling more Pro Heroes from nearby prefectures to bolster the ranks. Their plan is to crowd out the whole of Tokyo and push him to where we want him to be—where Endeavour will be waiting."

Kaneko shook his head. "Singling out one ward out to the wolves, huh? That's risky. They say which ward it was exactly?"

"Can't say. It's confidential." Mera turned to Yu. "Takeyama, you got a good track record for a rookie, barring that one infraction recently." He shared a look with Kaneko, who merely shrugged it off. "Would you consider coming on board as a liaison in the Hero Killer investigation? It'd get you closer to the case, and you could put your ear to the ground for anything more."

"What's the catch?"

"The work is shit. The hours are shit. The pay-off is shit." Mera paused. "Oh, and I need you to start tonight."

"Is this really how you balance fragile egos?" she asked.

"It's very nuanced."

"Fine, I'll do it. I wanna do whatever I can to help put down this psycho." Yu looked at Kaneko, murmuring, "Besides, it's not like I'm working on anything else at the moment."

The cat's ears twitched. "I'm still a rookie detective, Takeyama. Nobody important on the task force will listen to a junior member like me."

"Of course they won't—since they got their heads stuck up their asses."

Kaneko chuckled uneasily. "Even so, I'll try to do right by you." At her questioning look, he answered, "I'm not stupid. I know you won't stop with your little crusade. Just come to me first, alright? I'll back you up when I can—within reason, of course."

"Yeah, sure," Yu said, sparing Mera a glance. "Maybe not the best place to talk about this."

Mera was humming quietly to himself. "Oh, please don't mind me. I'm just here for my smoke break; not to listen to potentially illicit activities between a Pro Hero and an officer of the law."

"Ever the realist, aren't you?" Kaneko remarked.

"I'm not sure what you mean. I was distracted by my own humming."

"Right, this has all been very enlightening," Yu said, standing. "As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I really have to run. You know, Pro Hero stuff—impressionable minds to mould, indomitable hearts to conquer and all that."

Kaneko was nonplussed, but let a small grin slip across his lips. "Weren't you yapping about needing to pick up some kind of present?"

"It's along the way!"

0.0

"Uhm, please tell me if I'm bothering you, senpai," Itsuka said. "I know it can be very distracting."

Arisato Minato had been caught staring. In truth, it was hard not to. "It's fine," he said, shaking his head to clear off the lingering mental cobwebs. "It's not you. I needed a break from this report anyway."

Minato turned back to his work terminal; a clunky but serviceable desktop Yu had provided for him. He was in the process of finalising a summary report of Yu's activities for the first half of last week. It figured that heroism had its fair share of bureaucracy, with an ungodly amount of paperwork to submit. Still, it was a routine task which helped to wile away the hours.

He couldn't say the same for his fellow intern.

Itsuka had been forced to improvise by using this spare time to train her Quirk; a transformation-type ability which allowed her to enlarge her hands to the point where she could have easily encapsulated half the ceiling with only her palm. She had found some space near the entrance to their office, and would run through a series of kata, all the while incorporating her Quirk into it.

It was fascinating to watch how she had been able to take traditional martials arts and make it uniquely hers.

"Are you sure?" Itsuka asked.

Minato nodded. "It's our fault to begin with. I'm sorry there's nothing for you to do around here," he said, not unkindly. "But I can see why you wanted to join the agency. There's a lot of potential to synergise your Quirk with Mount Lady's."

Itsuka scratched her temple. "Yeah, I was really happy too that she accepted my application. I only had a single nomination to my name, so I thought I'd just try my luck, you know. Seeing Mount Lady during the Sports Festival really clinched it for me; I knew then and there that I wanted to come and intern for her agency."

"I'm glad it worked out."

"Can I ask you something, senpai?" She inched over to his workstation, looking embarrassed, as she whispered, "Is it normally this… slow? I know Mount Lady got called away for a big meeting, but I was kind of expecting not to be cooped up in an office all day."

"We'd go out and eat once in a while."

"N-Not like that," Itsuka stammered. "I mean, proper hero work—going on patrols, catching villains, and…" she paused, blinking at him, "Arisato-senpai, aren't you in your third year of Heroics? Wouldn't you have gone through all of this before?"

Minato unconsciously made a sound in the back of his throat. "You would know more than I do," he admitted. "I only transferred in last week."

Itsuka sat back in her chair, dazed. "You're the guy everyone's been talking about; the one who transferred to Heroics without a Quirk." She made a face, asking, "That can't be true, right? I mean, the school went out of its way to accommodate your transfer during the semester. They wouldn't do something like that unless they had a good reason for it."

With a wordless sigh, Minato held his palm out and reached into his sea of souls.

A crackle of electricity sparked from his fingertips the moment he felt a persona settle into his being. The energy snaked and meandered, zapping nearby surfaces. He pulled his hand away when it sparked at his monitor; the last thing he wanted was to start his report from scratch again.

Itsuka smiled, embarrassed. "The rumours did sound kind of stupid now that I think about it."

"It's complica—"

The door to the office was shut close, the lock resounding with a small clatter. Minato turned around, to find Yu standing in the doorway, staring at him with half-lidded eyes. Squeezed in the crook of her arm was a small potted plant.

"I guess you forgot to tell me a few things yourself, huh?"

Minato regarded the electricity pooling in his hand and back at her. He promptly clenched it into a fist, letting the energy dissipate. "Moving into the dorm took the whole weekend," he said, by way of an explanation. "What's with the plant?"

"It was supposed to be your housewarming gift," Yu brought the potted plant up to her eye level as she tried to burn a hole in the stem with her gaze, "but I'm trying to decide if I'm petty enough to not give it to you. You know, for not telling me something so important, like I dunno… finally being able to use your Quirk?"

"I forgot."

She looked at him blankly then said to the plant, "Guess you're staying with me for a bit until Minato learns to share stuff about his life."

Minato rolled his eyes at Yu and subtly hinted to his underclassman. Itsuka had rocketed up from her seat the moment Yu entered the office. Instead of being able to greet the older woman, she fidgeted in place.

"Welcome to the agency, Itsuka," Yu said, smiling. "Sorry I couldn't get away today. Has Minato been treating you right? You can tell me if he hasn't. I can bash his stupid lying face in and—"

Itsuka shook her head. "It's no trouble, ma'am. And senpai's been really nice to me; he even treated me to lunch," she said, all the while laughing weakly. "I can see that the two of you have some things to work out. I really shouldn't impose…"

Minato pulled Itsuka back by her shoulder and gestured to the sofa. "You, sit," he told her. "And you," he walked over to Yu to relieve her of his new plant, "be nice."

Yu stuck her tongue out, dumping the plant into his awaiting hands, and brushed past him. She took the seat across from Itsuka and began her introduction in earnest.

Minato returned to his desk and resumed his unfinished report, all the while keeping an ear over their conversation. There was a quality to Yu that he had never quite noticed until he watched her interact with his underclassman. She had a certain way with words that wasn't immediately apparent; it showed in the way the tenseness in Itsuka's posture melted as the older woman went through the scope of her internship.

"I know it's your first time, so if you're ever unsure about anything, don't be afraid to come to me and ask," Yu told her. "If anything else, there's always the backstabbing liar over there."

A natural wordsmith, for sure.

The wariness crept back onto Itsuka's face. "I understand, ma'am."

Yu waved her hand glibly. "None of that please. We're a progressive agency. I don't want us to get hung up on rank or formality. When I'm not in costume, just call me Yu, okay?"

"Got it, Yu…" Itsuka said uncertainly, as if she were testing out the name. "And again, I really wanted to thank you for accepting my application. I know there must have been so many other qualified candidates, but I'll prove to you and senpai that I have what it takes to work in your agency."

"You're in this agency to learn first and foremost, so don't stress yourself out about having to prove yourself." Yu reached over and patted the girl on her knee. "I know you'll be a great fit here, Itsuka. Trust me, I have a good eye."

"Thank you!" Itsuka brightened at the praise, sitting straighter in her seat. "So… what do we do now?"

Minato spared a glance at his watch and spoke up, "How about dinner?"

"Nuts, I didn't know it was that late already." Yu shook her head, pressing her palms to her cheeks, and made a show of mulling her decision. "Itsuka did just join us, so I guess we should have a small celebration. It'll have to be a fast one. My patrol is about to start soon."

"Oh," Itsuka muttered. "I didn't know Pro Heroes had to work nights."

"Yeah, it's never in the brochures, is it?" Yu smiled, a touch chagrin. "Don't worry too much. It's not as common as you'd think; there's normally a select few pros that hoard all the night-time patrols to themselves."

"Is this about Stain?" Minato asked.

"Pretty much… Tokyo's a little stir-crazy right now, so it's all hands on deck at the moment." Yu clinched her forehead, adding quietly, "Just the right time for me to take you two out on a patrol, to be honest. I'll see when I can squeeze in an afternoon." She leaned back into the couch, head dangling over the backrest, and stretched in place. "My schedule might be a little tight, especially in the next two weeks."

"Tell me later. I'll note it down in your calendar."

Yu grinned at him. "You're the best, Minato," she said. "How much longer do you need? I got another two hours before my shift starts."

"I'll be done in ten."

Itsuka shuffled out of her seat, saying sheepishly, "That gives me time to use the restroom then. Excuse me…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yu approach his workstation just as Itsuka left the room. She idled by his desk, picking out a pen from his bundle of stationery, and twirled it between her fingers. "So… we gonna talk about how you can suddenly use your funky mind summoning Quirk, or do I have to do the whole meaningless chit-chat first?"

"It's called a Persona, Yu," he corrected her, without thought. "And I'm not sure how I got it back. It's strange. My power, it's there, but it's not how I remembered it—different, less than what it had been."

"But you're getting better?" At his hesitant nod, she continued, "So that thing that you said you needed, some medium or whatever, you found it?"

Minato paused, staring up at her fully. "I think… I did."

"Is it me?"

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

She tilted her head to one side, cheshire smile widening. "You got quiet all of a sudden and had this weird look on your face. Plus, you gave that bullshit answer—like you think you're in some cheesy drama and what you needed was my love all along."

"Sure, why not?" he said, turning back to the screen. "The sooner I finish, the sooner we get to eat."

"Mi-Minato, you stupid tsundere!" Yu burst out laughing, face frozen in delight. The woman didn't hold back, her mirth spilling in snorts and wheezes despite her attempts to muffle it behind her hand. "Oh my gawd! Stop looking at me like that! I can't take it!"

"Hn."

"Aww, don't be like that~~" she cooed. "Come gimme a hug~~" Yu pawed at him, trying to snuggle into the crook of his neck, but Minato held her back at arm's length.

The door to their office opened.

"Hey, so what's with the restroom here? Why is there an 'out-of-order' sign on the—?" Itsuka's smile died in her mouth, as did her words, when she took in the scene of Yu half-straddling him on his chair. She forcefully slammed the door shut behind her.

"Itsuka, be careful with the door," Yu called out, wincing. She then added quietly, "It's probably the most expensive thing in this office."

He could see Itsuka, her back pressed against the frosted glass panel. Her voice was muffled as it carried through, "S-Sorry! I'll just wait outside! By the cram school! I really didn't see anything!"

The older woman looked down at him, askance. "She knows she left her bag here, right?"

"Yu, get off me…"

0.0

Humming quietly to herself, Hachisuka Kuin trailed a finger down the border of the display rack. She plucked out a pair of sunglasses from its slot, and placed it over her eyes, leaning back to catch her reflection in the small rectangular mirror.

Kuin clucked her tongue.

This one didn't match the shape of her face.

She proceeded to dump the sunglasses back into its slot and swivelled the rack in its place, repeating the process.

The thing about trying to be inconspicuous was the ability to hide in plain sight. Objectively, she was cute, but save for the large medical eye-patch that she was forced to wear over her left eye, she rarely stood out.

Despite what others believed, it was never a fashion choice.

Brushing her fringe aside, Kuin examined herself in the mirror, dabbing a finger at the swollen lump that was her eye. Her hive reacted to her touch, their movements rippling the skin of her eyelid.

As their queen, she was more than a host for the swarm of bees that inhabited her body. They fed from her, bred inside her. Because of it, every single worker bee that subsisted on her flesh fell under her thrall. It was, at its core, mutualism in action, but it soon went beyond that.

Emotions bled through. Pain shuttered between them. A limited awareness was shared.

In the end, they had become as much a part of her as she was to them. Their symbiosis had evolved into a codependency for survival; one could not live without the other.

"Could I help you with something, miss?"

Kuin smoothed her fringe back over her eye, and said to the attendant, "I'm just browsing." She reached for another pair, her fingers clasping around a thin round metal frame. The lenses were large enough to hide parts of the swollen bump not covered by her fringe.

Her phone vibrated in her hand.

+81 3-5927-9290: Kugutsu Mario. Trigger dealer based in Osaka.
+81 3-5927-9290: Dropped contact last month. Surfaced in Tokyo yesterday.
+81 3-5927-9290: Suspected to be aligned with another entity.
+81 3-5927-9290: Fact-finding. Eliminate once done.

You: (peace sign)

Kuin smiled appreciatively at her reflection and turned to the attendant.

"Actually, do you have this in red?"

0.0

Takeyama Yu stifled a yawn.

Tired was an understatement at this point. After a hearty celebratory dinner with Minato and Itsuka, all she wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed. Maybe stuffing herself for dinner, having gone the whole day without, was a poor decision in hindsight. Unhealthy eating habits aside, it didn't help her already sour mood to face down someone equally irritable.

"A what?" the officer asked.

Yu swallowed her frustration and smiled politely. "A liaison," she repeated. "For the Hero Killer investigation. I was asked to report to the Akasaka met-station and speak to the on-duty inspector."

"Well," the man, portly and middle-aged, said. "I'm the on-duty sergeant, and Inspector Itoh never mentioned anything about a Pro Hero coming in. Are you sure they asked you to come here? It's mainly just Snatch who handles the patrols here in this district."

"Quite sure. Could you please tell Inspector Itoh that I'm here to see him, sergeant?"

The man turned in his seat, looking around. "He's not at his desk; that much I can tell you. You mind waiting a bit? He may have stepped outside for a break. There's a reception room around the corner. You can—"

"Mount Lady?"

Yu spied another man approaching from down a corridor. He was younger, closer to her age, with neat well-kept black hair and defined features. Even from afar, there was no hiding that physique beneath his pressed uniform.

Ugh, he was cute…

"Inspector," the sergeant said, slowly getting to his feet. "She asked to see you—said she's just been assigned here and needed to report to you."

"Thank you, Sergeant Hachirou. Inspector Itoh," he introduced himself. "Thanks for coming in. I just got a call from my superiors telling me that you'll be rotated into the ward for the next two weeks. Would you come with me? We can speak inside."

Yu nodded blithely, and Itoh led her into the main office enclosure beyond the lobby. Seeing that it was past eleven at night, the number of personnel available was considerably lesser, with only essential bodies around to man their posts. They passed through rows of meticulously aligned workstations, stopping before a large board displaying a detailed map of Minato ward.

The universe had a quirky sense of humour sending her here, of all places.

"My superintendent mentioned something else—a liaison position," Itoh said. "He wasn't too clear with the details. Could you elaborate?"

"Of course," Yu said. "PSC wants me to run point and investigate any leads here in Minato ward regarding the Hero Killer. Please don't see my presence here as a hindrance to either the investigation or your station's operations. I'm here in my capacity as a Pro Hero to assist, Inspector Itoh."

"I see…" Itoh smiled thinly. "I'm not naive enough to be able to look past the political motivations behind this."

"Excuse me?"

"It's in the name, isn't it? 'Hero' Killer," Itoh pointed out. "Imagine the repercussions if anyone other than a Pro Hero was the one to bring him to justice. There's already enough tension in the city. I suppose the government couldn't run the risk of continuing to have their Pro Heroes be seen as fallible."

Oh God.

He was a weirdo…

Yu resisted rolling her eyes. "You're awfully blunt, Inspector," she said flatly.

Itoh laughed. "Only when I find it impossible to ignore the inadequacies of our society. We jump through so many hoops and create meaningless divides just so we could live out our days in fear; one that we could barely manage. There has to be a better way, don't you think? One where everyone—Pro Heroes, the police, and civilians—could contribute meaningfully to safeguard our community."

"I guess… But what can you do about it?"

"I plan to change it." His smile grew, revealing a perfect set of teeth that was far from natural; she could only assume the cosmetic work must have cost a bomb. "I'm not going to stay as an inspector forever. Meaningful change can only come from the top."

"Okay… I'll be sure to vote for you if you ever become an assemblyman in my area." Yu turned back to the board, gesturing at the map. "Mind if we get back on track? I was wondering what kind of set-up there is to monitor the chatter about the Hero Killer here in your district."

It was remarkable how quickly Itoh flipped a switch—from a would-be politician to a consummate professional.

"Currently, we've only been able to dedicate a small team to manage the public hotline tips sent in from HQ, but verifying and collating all that information is a drain on our resources. Worse, the number of calls has started to pile up, as of late."

"I'd like to start there then," she said. "Is it possible for me to have all that information on hand?"

"Unfortunately, for security reasons, I can't grant you access to our database. However, we do have a manual workaround." He pointed to a printer.

"Yu looked at him, askance. "You can't be serious?"

"Welcome to the world of bureaucracy."

Minor Arcana: Cups (III)…

Side Note(s): I've had some fantastic help from Katsugi this chapter to really make the story stick, so kudos to him for being the patient dude that he is. As always, feedback and comments are definitely appreciated.

The extras below are canon btw, FYI!

Extra (A): And so, Kendo Itsuka's teenage romantic comedy is wrong, as expected…

Three days into her week-long internship, Kendo Itsuka was still very much undecided over her experience.

On one hand, Minato and Yu were seriously, seriously nice people. On the other, she felt like an extra being billed as 'Third Wheel #1' in the ending credits of a rom-com movie; it didn't help that she had accidentally walked in on them the other night.

Her upperclassman had tried to play it off, but… c'mon, it wasn't like she was born yesterday.

Being the eldest daughter in a family with three younger brothers had made her accustomed to the role of a 'no-nonsense' big sister. This naturally bled into her school life where she took it upon herself to corral her wayward peers—or just the one in particular.

So coming into an entirely new dynamic where she was the youngest, to be cared for and looked after, took some getting used to; she found that she didn't entirely dislike the notion.

Yu was helpful when she was around, but had been mostly absent for the last few days. Her liaison role in the 'Hero Killer' investigation, on top of the irregular patrol hours, meant that Yu couldn't afford to give her internship much attention. The older woman had repeatedly expressed her regret at the circumstances, but Itsuka didn't have the heart to blame her; it was obvious in the last day or two that Yu had been running on fumes alone.

At the very least, there was the patrol to look forward to tomorrow.

Thankfully, Minato had stepped up to fill much of that void, which was why she was currently eating crow, face up on the practice mat for what must have been the fourth time this morning.

"That's," he exhaled audibly, "…match."

"I got careless," Itsuka said, turning around to lie flat on her stomach. She took off her protective headgear and wiped away the sweat from her chin. "If I'd watched my footing more, I could have had you right then and there."

Even if her sparring partner had her at a disadvantage with the reach of his weapon, Minato was a quick-study when it came to a fight; the kind of opponent that was infuriatingly good but didn't make her want to tear out her hair in frustration. It made her want to be better. Itsuka bore her losses with an even mind, which was the way she had been taught ever since she took her first steps into the rigorous style of Kyokushin. She did, however, start the unhealthy habit of hoarding her wins over her upperclassman, of which she had her fair share of yesterday.

As good as he was, he didn't have the stamina for a prolonged fight.

He hit hard.

He hit fast.

But she lasted longer.

"You're breathing awfully hard there, senpai," Itsuka noted, grinning. "You're not getting tired, are you? It's barely been an hour. I'm still just warming up."

Wordlessly, he made a motion with his fingers; the universal sign of 'come get me'.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"You talk too much," he told her, breathless.

"And you talk too little." Somewhere behind her, she heard a man laugh, saying, "You know, Arisato… When you asked me for permission to use my place this week, I was half-expecting you to come with Yao-chan. Instead, I find you here canoodling with someone else."

Minato had mentioned the man in passing. Takahara Shinji, the owner of this kobudō training hall.

From what she had been able to glean, the two had struck up a friendship and an unspoken understanding over the use of the man's premises—have it be spotless at the end of practice and it was theirs. Between herself and Minato, they had spent the better part of an hour yesterday afternoon doing exactly that.

"Yaoyorozu?" she couldn't help but ask. "From 1-A?"

"We're friends," Minato said. "Why?"

Itsuka fiddled with her ponytail, laughing weakly. "Oh, just something stupid I heard." He raised an eyebrow, to which she continued hesitantly, "W-Well, someone said she got caught making out with one of the seniors during the Sports Festival. Honestly, I should have figured that senior was you, senpai… By now, probably half the rumours in UA involve you somehow."

Her upperclassman closed his eyes and sighed, almost as if all of it was beneath him, and his life wasn't like those terribly clichéd harem protagonists stories that her brothers secretly… enjoyed… reading…

"So, aren't you going to introduce me to the little spitfire here?" Takahara asked Minato, nudging him in his ribs lightly. "I didn't know you had it in you, kid."

Oh, no…

The look Minato gave her was a mixed one, halfway between meaningful and encouraging. "She's my—"

"Itsuka!"

She shook her head quickly.

"I-I meant my name," she stammered. "My name is Itsuka. Uhm, Kendo Itsuka. I'm his underclassman at school, and we work at the same agency together. That's all it is…"

The traitorous thought at the back of her mind seemingly whispered:

For now…

Itsuka coughed into a hand, her cheeks colouring. "Right," she said forcefully. "I'm an idiot and I need to hide in the bathroom for a while. Takahara-san," she bowed low at the waist, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for allowing us to use your dojo. In the meantime, please excuse me."

0.0

As Itsuka removed herself from the hall, her head bowed and features dearth, Takahara turned to Arisato Minato, whistling.

"They just keep dropping around you like flies, huh?" Takahara said. "You better be careful, Arisato. That's how they get ya. Take it from a guy who's been married twice."

"Hn, you talk too much."

Extra (B): And so, Yaoyorozu Momo is nominated for a different internship…

"Do you know why I nominated you?"

It was a simple question, an expected one; it was a question Yaoyorozu Momo had anticipated, scrutinised and practised for in the last few days. However, instead of her carefully well-rehearsed answer, what came out of her mouth had been a remark her father had thrown around in passing.

"You… You interned for my father once."

The woman looked surprised. "He remembered that?" Even as her lips parted to reveal a row of sharp teeth, her smile was genial—one that reached up to her eyes. She scratched at her temples, brushing aside her fringe. "How embarrassing… He wound up being so busy that I barely spent any time under him."

"Father has asked me to pass you his well-wishes," Momo said. "And he looks forward to how well you will perform in this year's ranking, Ryukyu-sama."

"I'll be sure to thank Councillor Yaoyorozu myself." Her sharp eyes narrowed ever so slightly, saying, "But you never answered my question, Momo."

Momo bit the inside of her cheek.

"I can't quite say."

"You came very highly recommended," Ryukyu said, not unkindly. "While I was not present for the Sports Festival, one of my subordinates was. She was adamant that I consider nominating you for a position in my agency."

"Your subordinate?"

"Yes." Ryukyu stood up, walking across the length of the meeting room to unfurl the blinds to the glass partition. "This one…"

Pressed up against the glass, a girl in a skin-tight bodysuit rapped her knuckles on the partition. "You got her!" she called out excitedly, her voice muffled through the glass. When she spoke, the twin spiral horn-like appendages in her hair seemingly bounced in excitement along with her, "You got the Doraemon girl!"

While her face was far from forgettable, her undying exuberance was something Momo could never forget. "Ah! The senior from the Sports Festival!"

"—Arisato with Itsuka-chan! I promise to take her out on patrols every day! And bring her out for lunch! And teach her everything there is to know about being a Pro Hero! And-And…"

"She told me how the two of you met—assisting with the evacuations during the festival," Ryukyu explained. "From what Nejire told me, you displayed great leadership and initiative. To be able to keep such a level-head, especially in the midst of a disaster, is not something many people your age could do."

"Ne, ne! Ryukyun~~! Are you listening? Are you listening? Her Quirk is really amazing! Did you know it allows her to break down her adipose cells and convert the resultant release of fat-soluble vitamins to—"

Ryukyu redid the blinds, blocking them from view once more. "Don't mind her," she said. "Nejire can be a bit of a know-it-all, but she honestly means well."

"Aww~~ You didn't let me finish!"

Extra (C): And so, Itoh Nagai meets an old colleague…

"Hail HYDRA, brother," the voice whispered in his ear.

The moment Itoh Nagai tried to turn his head, his cheek came into contact with something cold and foreign. The inspector reached out for the proffered object and chuckled quietly upon seeing it for what it was.

A carbonated sports drink—HYDRA-8.

He turned fully. "You know, Tokoname-senpai… It amazes me that you can remember something as minor as my favourite sports drink, but somehow struggle to keep track of the time."

Tokoname Tatsuyuki was a muscular man with a pronounced square-ish jaw. Decked out in an elaborate purple body-suit, he stood tall and rigid, with well-defined arms posed lightly by his hips; it gave off the appearance that he was much larger than he let on.

The Pro Hero known as Slidin' Go had been a regular feature in the district of Akasaka during Itoh's earlier stint as a patrol officer. The two had struck up an easy-going friendship at that time. It was only natural that they got close—sharing interests and ideologies that weren't exactly commonplace. It was only a few months back that the man had been rotated out of Akasaka, stationed in a smaller city in the outskirts of Tokyo.

"My apologies, Inspector," Slidin' Go said, chipper. "There was a minor altercation along the way that required my immediate attention. It took slightly longer than I expected." He gestured to the sports drink. "Hence, the apology gift!"

"Think nothing of it, senpai. I was joking with you." Itoh smiled lightly. "It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has. I was pleasantly surprised that you reached out to me. Or was there something else you needed?"

"Well, now that you're here… I feel like I may have prematurely shot the gun."

Slidin' Go waggled his forefinger and tutted under his breath. "Now, now, Itoh. I am your senior in the organisation after all. It is only natural that a kouhai should lean on his senpai for support!" He leaned in close, whispering, "Have you been spreading the good word then? Is there a high-value target that's caught your eye?"

Slowly, Itoh nodded.

"There is—a woman. Another Pro Hero by the name of Mount Lady…"