Chapter 4

Have confidence and in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Hebrews 13:17

Sometimes I would sleep, and then I would be awake. When I was awake, I would either talk with the others, watch a movie, play a game, listen to my music, or eat what the waiter had brought. Then I would try to try to fall back asleep. For the first time since I had left home, I didn't have nightmares.

I would often have nightmares living under my father. When they were moments that I had a sweet dream to cherish, that moment would be up and gone by my father sneak attacking me in the middle of the night. It was as if he could tell when I was having a good dream, or when I was having a nightmare. Either way, this was the first time I was having a peaceful sleep, with no nightmares and no sneak attacks.

Around 7:30am, an announcement came over the speakers that brought us from our slumber.

"Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking." said the captain, who had a Japanese accent, over the loudspeakers. "We are currently arriving at Narita Airport in about thirty minutes. Please reframe from using quirks, and stay to your seats. Thank you." He then did the Japanese translation of his message, and we were on our way.

"This is it!" I said excitedly, looking at Maddox and Sunshine.

"I know, right?" Sunshine asked. "I got butterflies in my stomach!"

Th-th-that's th-the air-airplane fo-food…" Maddox stuttered a joke, causing Sunshine to laugh and ruffle his hair.

We flew around the airport for about thirty minutes, and then we finally landed. After a few minutes of waiting, the signal that the plane had landed came, and we were allowed to retrieve the luggage we had brought with us onto the plane.

We then got off the plane, through the entrance tube, and into Narita Airport. After we had regrouped, Zilo pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Instructions." Zilo replied. "The guy who brought Maddox and I to the airport gave them to me, before we departed. Sorry I didn't show you guys, but I didn't think of it at the time. It says here we're supposed to go to Gate 5, where our caretaker will be waiting to pick us up."

"Well then, let's get our luggage and find this guy." Larry said.

We then started walking through the airport, to luggage claim. What amazed me the most was the diversity in the airport. People from all over, with all kinds of different quirks were here. Zilo even had a bit of fun with a group of guys who had wings on their backs: He went up to them saying 'Brothers!' with arms open wide. The three guys didn't speak English, but they got the joke, which cause them to laugh.

Soon, we came to luggage claim. The luggage came out on a conveyer belt that went around for a couple times. After a few minutes of waiting and somewhat falling half asleep, our bags came out. We then retrieved them, and began making our way to the gates.

"Alright," I said, walking beside Zilo. "Which gate was it again?"

"Gate 5." Zilo replied. "It looks like this…"

He then showed me the instructions on the paper, which had the Japanese character for the number '5' on it. I nodded, and he folded the paper and put it in his pocket. After some more walking, we came to the gate with that Japanese character on it. Although a lot of people were standing there with signs that said different things, a Japanese man with a sign that said 'American U.A group' stood among them.

"I guess that's our guy…" Zilo spoke.

We then approached the man; The man was about thirty-three years old, and had short black hair, fair skin, and brown eyes. He wore a pair of black sunglasses, a white dress shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. He also carried the sign that said 'American U.A group' on it.

"Excuse me." Zilo said to the man. "You for the American U.A group?"

"Yes sir." The man replied, with a perfect American accent.

"Hey, you speak English very well!" said Margaret.

"Thank you." The man replied. "It's my quirk; I can understand any language spoken to me. My name is Tetsuo Otosan, and I'm going to be your caretaker."

"Zilo Shiloh." Zilo replied, bowing his head once. He then directed his hand towards us. "And this is Sunshine DeMorris, Maddox Walters, Larry Jenkins, Margaret Tanner, and Joshua Rourke. We're the winners for the American draw for U.A."

"I've noticed." Tetsuo replied. "I see no reason for us to keep standing here; take your bags and follow me."

"Aren't we supposed to get a welcome?" Larry asked, as we picked up our luggage.

"Welcome to Japan!" Tetsuo spoke, almost as if he heard that comment. "We'll be going to Musutafu, where U.A is located. It's also where you guys will be living."

"Cool…" Larry replied.

The six of us followed Mr. Tetsuo out of the airport and to the parking lot. We then went to a large, white van that he had waiting for us. We put our luggage in the back, and then we got in. Zilo sat in the front passenger seat, Sunshine and Margaret sat in the middle, and Maddox, Larry, and I sat in the back.

Mr. Tetsuo then started up the van and backed out of the parking lot. He then put it in forward, and drove out of the parking lot.

The drive to Musutafu was about thirty minutes, and during that time, we tried to find out what we could about our caretaker. We learned that Mr. Tetsuo's quirk allowed him to speak virtually any language you could think of, and his job was to teach foreign language classes, and that he wasn't married. He also had taken self-defense classes since he was seven, and was a master of Ninjutsu and Judo. All in all, he seemed like a pretty decent guy, and a good protector to boot.

Finally, we arrived at his home, which was a two-story house painted a white and dark brown color, and which had a Japanese design to it. We got out of the van and began unpacking.

"Alright, once you get your bags out of the back, follow me inside; I want to lay down some ground rules with you people." Mr. Tetsuo said, as we parked in his driveway.

"Yes sir." Zilo replied, getting out on his side.

All six of us got out of the van, went to back, and got our bags. As we were unpacking, I took notice of somebody watching us from across the street, behind a power pole. The others didn't notice him, but I did, almost as if this person wanted me to notice him. While we were unpacking, the person motioned for me to come to him.

"Hey Joshua, you coming?" Larry asked, as they were going into the house.

"Yeah! I'll be with you guys in a minute!" I replied.

The five others went inside, while I crossed the street to speak with this person. The person in question was a man of Japanese descent. He had black hair that had several red streaks in it, grey eyes, and fair skin. The clothing he wore was a black bandanna around his forehead, a black t-shirt, black short-sleeved jacket with silver designs on the arms, black gloves with silver designs, black cargo pants with silver designs on the sides, and black sneakers with silver soles and silver laces.

"You want something?" I asked, staring at him.

"You Joshua Rourke?" the man asked back, speaking perfect English.

"Yes. And I'm guessing you're the agent that Mister All for One sent?"

"Yes." The man replied. "I'm the agent All for One sent, and I'm required to report back your findings. If you go rogue, I'll be the one to assassinate you, sadly. My name is Daisuke Haruki, but you can call me by my villain name, which is Shuriken."

"Nice to meet you." I said sarcastically. "I'd introduce myself, but you already know my name."

"True." Shuriken replied. "Now then, tomorrow is the tryouts, where you and your friends will be going up against several other competitors for spots in U.A. Hopefully, all of you will make it, particularly into class 1-A."

"What will we be doing?"

"Destroying robots in a mock battle. The more you destroy, the more points you get."

"Okay." I said. "And you'll be staying out of my way for that time?"

"Of course." Shuriken replied. "Just don't step out of bounds, and we'll be the best of friends."

"Wonderful…" I said sarcastically. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go inside."

"Of course." Shuriken replied.

"One last question, before I go." I asked. "Why do they call you Shuriken?"

He then raised his right arm towards me, and five large, metal blades came out of the back of his forearm; That must have been his quirk.

"They come out all over." said Shuriken. "Just hope I don't grab you while I'm like this, cause these things are razor sharp."

"Understood." I replied, as he put his arm down and the blades disappeared.

I then walked away from this Shuriken character and back to the house. At least I knew who the agent they sent was; Now I needed to find a way to get rid of him, or at least delay telling information to him. When I turned around to look at him one last time, he was gone.

I went inside the house, and went into the living room. The living room walls were painted white, and the room was decorated with a couch, a couple of chairs, a coffee table, a rug, and some sparse pictures on the walls. Larry, Maddox, and Margaret were seated on the couch, Zilo was sitting on an ottoman, and Sunshine was lounging in a large, comfy armchair. Mr. Tetsuo was standing up.

When I entered, Zilo turned to me and asked, "What took you?"

"Sorry." I replied, taking a seat in an empty chair. I then said, "One of the neighbors says hi."

It was lie, and I hated lying. Every time I told somebody the false truth, it felt like a punch in the gut. However, I couldn't let them know I was conversing with a villain; it would be terrible if they found out!

"That's good; the neighbors are very friendly around here." Mr. Tetsuo spoke. He then looked at all of us and said, "Now, I know I'm not your parent, but I want to make this clear: I am your caretaker, and this is my house, and as such, you will be required to follow the rules. I'm very strict about these rules, and I'm gonna be on your back if you don't follow them. You follow them, and I will go easy on you. Understand?"

"Yes sir…" We all replied, but not at the same time.

"Good." Mr. Tetsuo replied, walking around the living room slowly. "Rule number one: When you leave this house, make sure to tell me where you're going, and what time you'll be back. I'm not being a stick in the mud, but Japan is full of people that have different quirks, and some have ill intentions in mind. The last thing I want is for you to be kidnapped and used for some heinous experiment. So, make sure to tell me where you are going, understood?"

"Yes sir." We all replied again.

"Good. Rule number two: I have only four bedrooms in this house, so you'll have to double up. You can work out sleeping arrangements, but no co-ed. It's going to be girls with girls, and boys with boys. If I catch you sleeping in the wrong room, with the wrong gender, I will personally fix you. I may not have a quirk that allows me to enhance my physical attributes, but I can handle myself in a fight, even against those with quirks. Understood?"

"Yes sir." We all replied again, a little bit frightened this time.

"Good. Last rule: You will each help clean up around the house. I don't want this place to become a pit with all of you living here. When you make a mess, clean it up. I find a mess in this household, I will give you a warning. You don't clean it up after my warning, then you will be in trouble. Also, correction will be dealt swiftly. Don't think you can avoid it by using your quirk; Like I said before, I can handle myself in a fight. Understood?"

"Yes sir." We all replied again.

"Good." said Mr. Tetsuo, who then looked at his watch. He then said, "Now, it's 9:30am, and you all must be tired from jet lag. Work out the sleeping arrangements, and then get rested up: Tonight, we're gonna go out. Dismissed…"

Mr. Tetsuo then left the living room and went to the kitchen. Since we were so tired from the trip, we decided to sleep in the living room and work out the sleeping arrangements later. Sunshine slept in the armchair she was in, Zilo, Larry and I slept on the floor, and Maddox and Margaret fell asleep in the couch. All I gotta say is, it must've been weird for Mr. Tetsuo to come back and see six teenagers all passed out in the room.