When You're Ahead, She's Coming After

by KingofShallowynd

Anarchy sweeps Japan. Izuku strikes out on his own, separated from those he cares about. Meanwhile, Nejire and Tamaki take to the lawless streets as pros for the first time. Izuku has no intention of getting close to his fellow students anytime soon, but his two senpais represent a grey area, and when he and Nejire intersect, she proves to be hard to shake off. Post-CH 306

15. Chapter 15: The Cat With One Life

"I won't do it," said Tamaki.

The white fluorescent lights buzzed over the narrow room. The carpet was grey and dirty, and the only furnishing under the harsh light was a long plastic table with a fake wood print, which may have been for meetings, once upon a time in this small local office.

Now it was being used for a meeting of a different kind: one of an entirely impromptu nature stirred up by a few heroes who had nothing better to do right now than sit around and debate out loud about the insane plan they'd chosen to go with.

"Look, I get your reservations, but nothing bad is actually going to happen to us-" Nejire began to try and reason with him.

"Doesn't matter. This is an absolutely ridiculous thing to ask of anyone."

Izuku put his head in his hands, sitting at one end of the long table. He rubbed his eyes forcefully and pulled on his eyelids, trying to quell his headache. Gang Orca was quietly leaning against the wall near the door, looking about as out of it as Izuku felt.

"We aren't students anymore, Amajiki! This is part of the job!"

"It's not even that we are freshly graduated. This would be ridiculous if I was thirty-five."

"If you were thirty-five, you'd be a recognizable pro with your face plastered everywhere," said Mirko, bluntly. She was standing on the other side of the table from Izuku with her hands on her hips. When she stepped sideways, her false cybernetic foot made a pneumatic sound as it pressed into the carpet. "Also you'd no longer be appealing as a male escort. Sorry."

"That's just lovely to hear, ma'am," Tamaki told her through gritted teeth. "Your input is greatly valued."

"Listen, I'm just sayin'! Like the cat lady said, you two do have a choice." Mirko nodded at Mandalay, who was in the far corner of the room in a separate chair, dark circles under her eyes. "Pros are the ones authorized to do this kind of work; we do it often. I've posed as a drug runner before to catch some crooks. You wouldn't believe the kind of stuff the Commission heroes get into. Hawks probably has some stories…"

"This is different," Tamaki insisted. "This crosses a line."

Izuku groaned and began to speak as he dragged his hands off his face. "Mirko, don't tell me you support the Commission's strategy here."

"That's not what I'm saying. Whenever I do this kinda thing it's just because I personally think it'll work, and it usually does."

"But this isn't that. This isn't like what you me and do, jumping around on our own and managing our own boundaries in terms of what challenges we choose to face. This is an organized hero outfit with orders from a higher power, in this case Nezu, which has to create plans and agendas in accordance with who works here. With the eventual goal of restoring the country."

"But they are being given the choice to not do it," Mirko pointed out. "And I respect that if that's his choice. If it's not gonna work, it's not gonna work, but…"

"But I can do it!" Nejire protested.

We are going AROUND IN CIRCLES.

"Hado, please," urged Tamaki. "This isn't about us getting recognized for our work. It doesn't have to be this way. There are better ways to make a difference. You showed me that, when we flew off to Annaka to help Midoriya on a whim and saved a ton of people."

"Hey now." Mirko looked sternly at him. "You've made her choice, and she's made hers. That's that."

"But this…this is the exact kind of thing that the heroes would have done in the old times. The kind of thing that shows up in the news as a scandal, and ruins people's reputations." Tamaki glanced around at each of them in turn. "Am I wrong?!"

"I don't…I don't see it that way," mumbled Nejire, seeming to become sheepishly defensive. "I think Miss Mirko is right. The fact that she's here right now, working with an organization…" She glanced over at Izuku pointedly. "...Despite her reputation, says a lot. She sees the nuance of this that I think you're missing. This may be an organization, and I may have my problems with it, but I don't see this as a case of…of what you're saying. We have to do whatever's in our power to make Japan better. There will be better times where we are faced with easier choices later…but we have to work for them."

Gang Orca stood.

"I confess…" His voice was gruff and shaky at the same time. "That I still have trouble seeing you as more than kids. You are technically adults now, and capable of deciding whether or not you're going to do this. And you have proven that you can act boldly and make positive change, like at that hospital." He looked at Nejire, and then looked at Tamaki. "But…that doesn't mean I have to like it. You're right, Suneater. This is the kind of thing we used to do. And even now after that disaster of a war, we're still having to do things we used to do, to fix problems we used to let fester, and we've dragged you right into it. You, who should be better than us and should be more loved by the people. I don't like any of this. I am going to excuse myself for a while. I need some air. I'm sorry."

He left the room.

Nejire's face twitched. Her eyebrows were arched up; it seemed as if she was going to cry.

"I'm not going, Hado." Tamaki crossed his arms. "And you can't go without me. A young man and a woman was the deal."

"That's true," Mandalay spoke up, very quietly from her corner. Her eyes were far afield. "Maybe we should just try and think of another way."

"Before May fourteenth?!" Nejire protested. "Before more of those people get sold out of that basement? They don't have time for us to debate whether or not this crosses a line. Whether or not it's okay for me to pretend for a moment to be something that they must be every day. Every conceivable line in their lives has already been broken! It's a pro's job to put our life and minds and bodies through it for others! I believe that this falls under that description, and if this villain is as powerful as you say, then…"

"I mean…" Mandalay laughed in resigned despair. "If we could find someone else to pose with you, then…the police?" She looked to Mirko. "None of them are recognizable, and they, along with pro heroes, can lawfully falsify their identity in the name of stopping crime."

Mirko snorted. "Good luck getting any of those snot-nosed cowards to go along with it. They're terrified of this Skindancer."

"Well, unless you have another pro handy whose face wouldn't be recognized, then-"

"We do," said Izuku, quietly.

All four of the other people in the room stared at him at the same time, with the same stunned expression.

"No," said Nejire.

"Absolutely not," Mandalay echoed, standing up and finding some energy. "Midoriya, do not even think for a moment that-"

"No, you listen to me!" He stood up and matched her, slamming his fists on the table. Tamaki and Nejire started, and even Mirko's eyes widened.

Izuku's eyes were ablaze. "I sat here and listened to you talk and talk and talk, about this and that, about ethics and morals and choices. Forgetting the simple facts. There are people to save, and there is a terrible person we need to stop. So, how do we do it? This is how we're going to do it." He pointed at Mirko and Tamaki. "You two are going to take my job. You're going to sneak into the lower levels, take out the guards before they can get a word in edgewise, and rescue all those people. You're both excellent fighters in close quarters, have stealth capability, and Amajiki can carry plenty of people at a time in his Chimera form if he gets proper food access. Which we now have thanks to the re-establishment of the base and the recent supply runs, correct?"

"Ah…yes…" Mandalay half-squeaked.

"Right. That job is difficult and requires fighting, but you two are more than capable of doing it. It's not something you necessarily need me for. Then what do you need me for? Well, I'm fast. I am the fastest person on the hero side within a thousand miles of here, if not more. Mandalay, Nejire-chan, and I are going to go in there, meet directly with this Skindancer, and figure out the conditions of her Quirk's activation. Whichever one of us figures it out, we signal to the others by pointing to a spot on our body, making an emphasis on a certain word in conversation, or in Mandalay's case, she can transmit the message into Nejire and I's heads. Once we know it, I will figure out a workaround and rush her and take her out. You two can handle any other enemy in the room at the time. If that involves other high-profile Harbor criminals, then we try and take them back with us, but priority is snagging her. We at least leave with her. We at least bring her to justice."

"But…Midoriya…her Quirk. She can literally pull you inside out."

"She is not going to pull me inside out," he responded, resolute.

"But, if she sees you about to attack her-"

"She isn't going to see that. I'll ensure it. I can knock her unconscious in the blink of an eye." Izuku stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. "We can handle this cleanly tomorrow, save everyone we intend to save, and maybe bust a weapons deal and a mass murderer while we're at it. And we can do it without a hitch, if we do it this way. The Skindancer won't even have time to remember why we're there. Let me take her out, and nothing will go wrong. You know it's true. I know it's true. Why are we suggesting anything otherwise?"

Blank faces and several seconds of silence was the response.

Izuku stared at them, his heart racing, his brain slowly rising out the fog of war and becoming rapidly aware of how firmly unlike him that whole display had been.

Full-on panic was about to set in, and then Mirko started laughing.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" She wiped her face and sniffed. "Pfffffffffft." She took a deep, rattly breath, and kept laughing, hitting her prosthetic arm against the table. "Holy shit, kid. I think you've convinced me."

"I mean…if you're sure…" Nejire considered.

"But…Midoriya!" Mandalay gasped, aghast. "You don't know what you're saying! How could we possibly explain this to…"

"To who? To all the people who are more than okay with me almost getting killed every day I'm out here?" His fire was rising again, encouraged by Mirko's encouragement. "I don't really care. I don't even see this as something that's going to be an issue. The Skindancer is going down. If you have to tell the rest of the operation something, or tell Nezu something, or whatever, just tell them that my role is that I'm going to punch her in the face. As for the enemy, well…if I show up and they think I'm a sex worker for a minute or two, then that's their mind. They can think whatever they want. I'm still gonna punch them."

Nejire was grinning now. "That's the energy we need!" She punched her fist into an open palm, eyes practically glowing. "I do think this is the best way, Mandalay! Let's take down her whole castle!"

"I…I…" Shino Sosaki closed her eyes for a moment. "I suppose…if you want to take these things into your own hands, outside the bounds of the operation…and still want my help as the broker of the deal…as well as with communication once we're in there…my Quirk, and myself, are at your service." She bowed, trembling a little.

"Oh, so we're like…going rogue, then?" Mirko raised one eyebrow, looking back and forth between Izuku and Nejire. "Kinda? Phew. I didn't want to say anything, but I kind of prefer it that way."

Mandalay sighed and sat back down. She still seemed exhausted, but she was clearly done protesting.

Tamaki had an odd look on his face. "I can help with the rescue part, like you suggested," he declared to Izuku. "I'll follow you and your judgment. I didn't mean to imply before that…I had no desire to help at all. I absolutely want these people to be saved. From the bottom of my heart." He made a fist.

Izuku nodded to him, smiling. He held a lot of respect for Suneater; there was a sense between them that they'd both stood up for themselves in this context more than they were used to, that they'd both gone out of their comfort zone today, and were acknowledging that in each other. He is more than capable of doing what they asked me to do originally. He sideyed Mirko. Especially since she's involved.

"Alright then." He cleared his throat, realizing they were all expecting him to say something, even Mandalay. "I guess that's…meeting adjourned?"

…

"Stop there!"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

At the boundary between hero-controlled territory and Hojo-controlled territory, a person was walking up.

They were tall, lanky, dressed in a two-piece suit, with paper-white skin and huge, glassy eyes like a bug's. They walked with their hands folded behind their waist, fearlessly in the middle of the street toward the police holding guns on them.

"Stop, or we will be forced to open fire!"

They finally stopped with a slight smile, maintaining their posture, just staring with those massive eyes. "I come at the behest of Naru Hojo, with a message. In the spirit of good conduct, I am not armed." Their accent was not Japanese - it was difficult to place.

The police parted to let the pros step forward. Mandalay, Deku, Nejire, and Suneater all walked forward to meet the new arrival.

"An envoy," said Mandalay under her breath.

The person's smile widened. "Ah. Greetings, Shino Sosaki. Others." They nodded to the younger heroes in turn. "Some of you are recognized, based on attacks we have endured at our venues. Could the great Naru Hojo have the honor of learning your names?"

"Why should I give you my name?" Nejire said loudly. "Why shouldn't we give you handcuffs instead?"

The envoy spread their hands. "I have done no crime. Unless you know something I do not. Which I highly doubt." They blinked with strange, multi-layered eyelids.

"Say your piece from your boss, then," Mandalay told them. "Go on."

The envoy nodded appreciatively, and unfolded their long arms from behind their back. The police officers flinched, still holding their weapons up, but the envoy only lifted one long finger to their face…and waved their hand in a rotating gesture about the wrist. Their lips pursed, and suddenly they were wearing another face.

"Whoa!" a policeman blurted. Amajiki let out a small yelp, and Izuku gasped in mild curiosity. Mandalay remained solemn.

The face was not one they recognized, but based on the voice, it could only be Naru Hojo himself, speaking directly through this envoy. "The beautiful Queen of the Pussycats, Shino Sosaki. Welcome to Kijimi, my dear. My men and personnel have been deeply graced by the presence of your…voice."

Mandalay crossed her arms and strutted a hip out to one side. Her throat was tight. "Nice to meet you," she said testily.

"And you others. Fledgling heroes. Respected officers of the law. Where is Gang Orca? I have great admiration for mutant-kind as well."

"Busy," spoke up Deku. A middle-aged, narrow face. Lined. He's got a mole. I'll remember this.

"Well, regardless, I would like to extend you all a warm welcome to Kijimi. As you have probably gathered, there is much light and life to be found here. I hope you can grow to appreciate it as much as I have."

One of the supply personnel, a wolf mutant, let out a sound that was almost like a growl. "Is he serious with this shit?"

"I, as an investor in this community, am deeply saddened by its decline in recent months in the aftermath of these grave conflicts. I know these things are happening everywhere, but I can't help but feel particularly sad about my own home." The face made a pitiful expression. "Since these are unprecedented times, and I am a forgiving nature, I will let slide the fact that you have encroached upon my territory with these operations, and am willing to be cooperative. Let us work together in restoring peace and prosperity to this once-thriving district."

"HA!" Mandalay barked. "And in exchange, you'd have us leave you alone, right?"

The envoy spread their hands again, and Naru's face spoke. "All I can offer is what I have. Potentially useful information on our mutual opponents, the Harbor, and possible financial cushioning and support for your ongoing endeavors. As a token of good faith and trust, I would like to formally extend an invitation to one of you to attend a charity ball I am holding at my personal venue in a month's time. Hero support at this event could mean much for the future of the community."

"You gotta hand it to the guy," Suneater muttered, "he's a grade-A troll."

"One of us, come to one of your parties?" Mandalay was incredulous. "More like all of us. And we'll be busting the door down."

"Truly, that saddens me to hear. I was hoping that you would take the invitation yourself, Sosaki-san. I was so looking forward to meeting you in person." Naru's frown lines deepened. "Ah. Well. In case you change your mind, my messenger here will leave behind a device containing invitation information and a scannable code that will allow you into the venue at the designated time. Until then…good day, heroes."

He winked at Mandalay, and then his face vanished, leaving behind the odd paper-faced bug-eyed messenger.

"Goodbye, now," said the envoy, and then they simply melted to the ground, vanishing, resulting in a chorus of gasps from everyone present.

"Why did they walk up when they could just do that?" asked Nejire. "Just for intimidation?"

Mandalay stepped forward and picked up something off the ground where the envoy had just vanished. A wrist device. She pressed a button on it, and a holographic invitation buzzed up and out of it, floating projected just above her hand.

She made a clicking sound in disgust. "Unbelievable."

Is it? thought Izuku. Is it so unbelievable?

…

Later, Izuku got a drink of water and a granola bar from a supply table, set up in the lobby of one of the abandoned apartments, and then went into the small garden seating area that was under a glass ceiling, open to the sun. He sat down with a sigh and leaned his head back, chewing, surrounded by dying plants. Shiozaki-san wouldn't be happy to see this.

He had to figure out a way to use one hundred percent again. If I could cheat it somehow without incurring permanent damage to my arms, that would be the easiest way to take out the Skindancer. But how? The users didn't want to tell him, which meant that it must have been something obvious he'd missed, something that they thought he was fully capable of figuring out himself…

You're a weapon, Izuku Midoriya, said a fake Lady Nagant inside his head. A weapon. A weapon…

"I'm glad you seem to be getting better at taking a break."

He tilted his head forward to greet the person who'd just walked into the garden. "Hello, Hado."

She had her usual bright, bubbly expression, her hands clasped behind her back. "Mind if I sit?"

Izuku shook his head. Nejire plopped down next to him.

"I'm not really taking a break," he said. "I'm thinking through strategy. How to best use my Quirks to…well. Yeah."

"Ah. Am I allowed to know? Or is it super secret stuff between you and All Might?"

It occurred to Izuku that if he told her about the literal ghosts in his brain, she might find that disturbing. "It's mainly that there's a few combinations of my skills I can use to take Mitoma out quickly…but the truly best one is kinda locked to me, since…since the doctors told me that my injuries were too severe to go all out anymore."

Nejire's face fell a little. "Oh. I…see. Well, you seemed pretty confident back in the meeting! I like this new you!" She playfully punched him in the arm.

Izuku laughed weakly. "Y-yeah…don't expect that too often. I just got really frustrated and that all…spilled out of me, I guess. It's kinda embarrassing to think about now."

"You're the leader of the operation now. You better not be having second thoughts. We're counting on you. Even Mirko and Mandalay are, I think."

"I'm not having second thoughts, it's just…" He turned and managed to look Nejire in the eye. She seemed happy, expectant even. Excited to talk to him. He still couldn't really fathom why a girl like her wanted to be around him so much. Why is it hard to hold a deeper conversation with her all of a sudden?

"What makes you brave enough to do something like this?" he asked her softly. "I'm not talking about any one aspect of the mission in particular so much as…all of it. Even before the new plan, you were ready to…face an evil, not as a hero but as…as someone the evil can exploit."

Nejire kept smiling, but her eyes angled down to the floor, and she seemed…more forlorn. "I don't see it as any different from fighting Shigaraki," she said. "Don't forget…you're not the only one who's allowed to put their life on the line."

"I know that. It's just…Amajiki did make some good points. And Mandalay and Gang Orca were regretful about this even though they were the ones who came up with the plan. I'm not judging you for your choice, but I just want to make sure you read the room before you make it."

"Mirko seemed fine with what we decided."

"Mirko is Mirko." Izuku frowned. He felt pulled in so many directions. What's the right path? Organization, or bold, brazen independence? Which one leads to less corruption? To more positive results? He was not even sure.

"Do you want me to do as you say, but not as you do, is that it?" Nejire jutted her chin out toward him, a teasing lilt in her voice. "You really are becoming a leader."

"Hah…maybe I should just shut up. You don't have to listen to me if you don't want to."

"I like listening to you," she mumbled.

Izuku stared.

Nejire glanced back, and then quickly waved her hands frantically. "Not in a weird way or anything! Just…you have strength and you have confidence in it. Maybe not even as much as you should, but it is there. And I feel good about this mission with you at the point of it."

"Thank you," he squeaked, averting his gaze and trying to fight down a blush. "That…means a lot. I just wish Camie hadn't run off…with her Quirk, we could have disguised anyone as escorts, or even generated some fake ones, though that might have been too easily figured out…" He trailed off, muttering, then snapped back to reality when Nejire snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Sorry. You did say that she left right after you mentioned May fourteenth?"

"Yeah. It was super weird." Something in Nejire's face seemed…muted. Had he said something wrong?

"I don't know what she could have meant by local business, but maybe she'll be back soon. I guess we'll see." He sighed and took another bite of his granola bar.

"Midoriya-kun…you know. Your classmates really miss you."

Izuku paused mid-chew, and then finished chewing and swallowed. "Yeah?" he murmured.

"Every time I go back to UA, Ochako-chan or Kirishima or Iida comes up to me and asks me if I've seen you. I always lie and say that I haven't, because…well. I kinda made a promise to bring you back. To them."

Izuku turned his head to look her in the eye again. "You can't keep that promise."

"I know. They don't get that, though. They don't really understand how it is out here, and I don't have the words to make them understand." Her lips pursed. "They do miss you a lot, though."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

Nejire's throat moved up and down in a gulp. "Well. I don't know. I guess, it's just…you and I are about to do this thing. Together. Kind of a scary thing. Heading into the fire, you know." She laughed uneasily. "But hey, we got this, right?" She offered a fist.

"...Yeah. We got this." He bumped it, and then stood up, crumbling his bar wrapper. "I'm gonna go do some scouting. Let me know if you want to talk anymore, about what we've got to do tomorrow. Later."

"Later, Midoriya…"

He felt her eyes on the back of his neck as he left the garden.

…

Nejire crossed her arms and tapped her foot, pouting on the bench. We were having a moment, and he went and brought up Camie. How dense can he get?

Wait, why did that make her so mad?

…

While out, Izuku took stock of the riverside hotel where their target was hiding.

It was a tall structure with a half-moon plaza in the front, and an adjoining parking garage that pushed up against the water. There were lots of windows, but the flat light from the clouds made it hard to see inside.

The garage has cars in it. None were moving, but there were what looked like hotel employees out front in the plaza, and Izuku watched as one of them moved back inside through automatic double doors that still worked. This place seems almost business as usual compared to the rest of the country.

He made numerous notes on what he could see and flew back to base.

…

When he landed, Smokescreen dissipated around his feet, and he walked over to the nearest technician. "Excuse me, do you know where I can find a field computer? Is there one?"

"Yeah, it's set up inside the billiards club. Second floor."

"Thank you."

Izuku entered the club and went up the side stairs. Narrow and dingy, the walls were covered with old, peeling posters for various acts that had come here to perform. He got to the top of the stairs and turned left into the dark second-floor room. Here there was an abandoned stage, and a dance floor with a long table set up in the center. A field computer was unfolded on the table, emanating pale blue light. There was just one chair in front of the table, and it was occupied.

Shino Sosaki was sleeping softly in her hero costume, her arms stretched over the table's surface. She had her head nestled between her elbows, with her brown hair draped around it. Her cat-ears had fallen off and were laying just next to her head. Her chest rose and fell, her face peaceful.

Izuku stopped, and turned around to go back down the stairs and leave her be, but then she stirred.

Mandalay sat up, heavy eyes slow-blinking awake, and then she shook her head, hard, and smacked herself.

Izuku made a sound of surprise, and she noticed him.

"Ah-"

"Ah-"

"Midoriya! I'm…sorry, I was just…"

"No, no, it's okay…I only came up to use the computer. I can wait, though."

"No. I shouldn't be falling asleep here…that's not right…" She shook her head a little more and focused her tired eyes on the computer, where it seemed that she'd been trying to load some kind of software. "This won't take long…are you putting scouting notes in? Here, you just go ahead while that's downloading. I can wait."

Sosaki stood up and conceded the seat to Izuku. As he sat and opened the scouting logs for the operation (putting in a separate new column for himself entitled GUEST 1), he stifled a chuckle.

"What?" the older heroine asked, now standing off to the side and putting her cat-ears back on.

"It's just…the way you had your arms stretched out. You were literally taking a cat nap."

Why'd I say that.

Mandalay deadpanned. "Funny. I assume you went to the hotel?"

"Yeah. I saw some stuff that could be helpful." He began to type in his notes. "We'll all reconvene tonight and go over the details, with both this and the schematic. Is there any other info you guys have that I could compile here?"

"Erm…I can take a look when you finish up there."

"Alright." Izuku typed a bit more, and then paused and looked back at her. "Is there something you still needed to do?"

Mandalay sighed. "Yeah, I…I received a private communication link with the Skindancer when I made the deal, so I'm going to have to call her to confirm the details of our appointment. A video call."

"Oh." Izuku looked back at the computer, somewhat nonplussed, and tabbed over to the software she was downloading. "This is a…"

"It'll suppress any tracking she's using and disguise the computer's network. She won't be able to tell where I'm calling from."

"I see. I guess you'll want me out of the frame of the camera when that happens."

"Yes, I…well. I meant to come find you and the others to come to this room and listen in. I was going to make the call in an hour. I…fell asleep, though…" Mandalay rubbed her arm and looked at the floor, melancholy.

Izuku stared at her for a moment. He almost blurted a silly question like what's wrong? But the answer, no, scratch that, answers to that question were obvious enough.

"I'm tired, too," he finally muttered. Sosaki's eyes moved up, from the floor to his face, in surprise. "There's been a few times in the last month where I've…well. Collapsed. But you gotta keep moving forward." He turned back to the computer. "Forward."

"Collapsed?" Mandalay stepped closer in alarm. "Midoriya! Have any of these times been since we last spoke?"

"You mean at the shelter after you guys rescued me?"

"Yes! And I told you to be careful!"

"I mean…maybe once or twice…"

"Midoriya." She sighed and knelt down next to him to get even with his sitting position. "You have to take care of yourself. Not just because you're important to the heroes, but because you're important to the people who care about you. That includes your mother, and your classmates, and Kota, and me, and I think Hado, too."

Izuku chose to ignore that last part. "I appreciate your concern," he said, "but you did basically concede the operation of this mission to me."

"Because I believe in your power. But that power only works so far as your mind is able to wield it. If you go in there and lose focus, or freeze up…"

"Well, I obviously can't make you believe me when I say that won't happen. But, you have chosen to treat me and Hado-senpai as adults, for better or worse. So, can you at least trust me?"

Mandalay bit her lip. "I just…I feel…" She hung her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. This situation is…overwhelming me."

"I could tell. Your advice goes both ways." He softened his voice. I'm letting my frustration out too much again. "You have to take care of yourself too…Sosaki-san."

She exhaled through her nose and smiled bitterly. "I…I really have failed as a role model, haven't I? I've let you young people down. When you have really been the one to cover for me at every turn…saving Kota, and now this."

"No, I…" Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. His brain was infuriatingly reminding him of the massive crush he used to have on Mandalay, and that was not helping. "You…you may have messed up, but…you haven't let me down yet. I don't think so at least. I mean, so much has changed, but…"

Mandalay was now making prolonged eye contact with him, and he was finding it harder to speak, but he swallowed and forced himself to finish. "...But there's still part of me that will always see you as…you know. The leader of the Pussycats. Strong, steadfast. A rescuer."

She exhaled again, and her nose twitched. "Ah. Well…" A smile spread on her face. "This particular cat doesn't have nine lives, Midoriya. I've only got the one, and…it's getting harder and harder for me to see the future, with my old soul…"

"I'll repeat what I said at the safehouse. You're not old."

"Hah. Sorry. I'll try to think of it that way." Sosaki stood back up straight. "I do trust you, Midoriya. With a great deal. But, regardless of everything…I'm still going to try and be the adult of this situation. Do most of the talking and protect you two with my life. That's what I can do here."

He finished typing his notes and nodded, tabbing back to her software. "It's fully downloaded. I guess it's ready for you to make your call and…do the talking, as you say. I can go get the others."

"...Thank you, I would appreciate that." She gracefully accepted the seat after he stood back up and offered it to her.

Izuku walked toward the stairs, and then stopped. "Ah…Mandalay, about that…invitation. The one we got from the Hojos."

She was frowning now. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's just…with that and this deal…these villains seem awfully comfortable acting chummy with the heroes, still, even as we're moving into their territory. Like they've been comfortable here awhile."

Mandalay did not look at him, but her mouth was tight. "I cannot speak to that one way or another. I was a rural rescue hero before I was assigned Kijimi. I have come to this place with eyes as fresh as you have."

"...Yeah, I know. Sorry. I'll go get the others."

…

A little while later, they were back in the computer room again - Izuku had gathered Nejire, Tamaki, and Mirko.

He'd also found Gang Orca and asked if he wanted to see, but the hero had only answered, "When the time comes, my sidekicks and I will provide perimeter support and communication from outside the facility. What you do inside is up to you."

So it was the four of them, standing off to the side while Mandalay powered the computer up to call the enemy. A separate monitor pad had been plugged in, allowing them to view what was happening on the screen while not being in front of the camera.

Mandalay glanced at each of them in turn, eyes strained. "Everyone ready? I'm about to make the call."

"Yeah/mmhmm," said Izuku and Nejire.

Tamaki opened and closed his fist. "Just do it."

Mirko was holding a pen and paper in her lap above her crossed legs. "If I think of any good insults or comebacks you can give to her, I'm gonna write them down and hold them up to you, 'kay?"

Mandalay deadpanned. "Appreciated." She dialed in.

There was a repeated buzzing sound from the computer. The external monitor was dark.

They waited in anticipation. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.

Nejire whispered, "Maybe she's busy-"

Izuku held up a finger to make her silent when the pause before the next buzz was slightly too long…and then there was a dial-tone. Doo-doo-doo-DUH.

Both monitor and computer brightened, and there she was.

"Sosaki-san! To tell the truth, I've been waiting for you to call." Renata Mitoma was a middle-aged woman, austere and poised, with long dark hair, rich eyeshadow, and decorative tattoos on her bare arms. She was wearing a white bathrobe, of all things, and appeared to be sitting on a bench in what Izuku would only guess was a sauna - the camera was somewhat steamed up.

Mandalay had put on a businesslike expression. "Is that so? Well, I just wanted to confirm a few details about our deal before we proceed tomorrow night."

"Sure, sure. And if you don't mind staying online for a short moment after?" The Skindancer stood up, carrying whatever she was using to call with her, and began to walk out of the steamy sauna area. Izuku caught glimpses of other people in the background, but they were blurry and went by quickly. "There's something I think you can help me with."

Through gritted teeth, Mandalay answered, "Perhaps, if it's within my power to do so."

"I believe it is." Mitoma's eyes twinkled. Izuku didn't like that twinkle. Or anything about her. She seemed far too casual. Just like the Hojos. Far too comfortable. Relishing in this. In her own evil.

The Harbor leader was now walking down a hallway, her camera shaking a bit with each footstep. She ran her free hand through her hair, untangling it. "So? What were these matters?"

Mandalay, to her credit, managed to not look over at the others. "A young woman and a young man, as we agreed."

"Yes, yes. May I ask for details?"

"They're…well-built. In peak physical condition."

"Ah! The type you heroes love." The Skindancer chuckled. "You lot must sleep with each other all the time, and get used to strength in the bedroom. Not that I would know."

Mandalay put on a pretend coy smile. "No, you wouldn't."

"Yes, well, all the same. You'll find it easy to believe that my hero clients most often go for the muscular types. Some of your own colleagues may be the ones who end up…sampling your supply." Mitoma tittered. "I don't suppose you're interested in knowing who they are?"

"If you told me about them, I could only assume that you would tell them about me. Which I don't want."

"HA! Clever lady." The Skindancer rounded a corner. "You sure you don't want to partake yourself? There are pl-enty of options, and there's no rush at all."

"I'm afraid there is." Mandalay became solemn again. "Remember what you're giving me in return."

"Yes, yes. Enough money to pay for passage out of the country." Mitoma waved a hand. "Borrrrring. I was excited to learn that you were a degenerate, Shino Sosaki, but at least many of the other degenerates are staying to fight. What will you find worth doing on the mainland? Your side business will thrive much better here in the coming months."

"Yes, with a side dish of possible death." Mandalay snorted. "I respect you, but not every fish in the sea wants to play fair with business anymore. Honor among thieves is a thing of the past in Japan."

"Oh, honey, that's so true. Mm. Man, I wish we had more time to chat." The Skindancer laughed.

Izuku found it hard to not watch the cat heroine, watching the subtleties in her face as she navigated this minefield of a conversation. She is playing her role well. He'd had no idea that her pretend motivation for wanting to make this deal was to book passage to leave Japan, but it was a good cover story. Better to look wholly pathetic in the eyes of the enemy. This way, it seems like she's got absolutely nothing to hide.

"So, what else? Let's see, meeting at 7 PM, you will be intercepted by my helper at the intersection of Dauphin and Route 14…any other details you need from me?" The Skindancer appeared to enter a large, warehouse-like room.

"Ermm…no, that all sounds agreeable."

"You seem worried about something, Sosaki dear."

A bead of sweat traveled down Mandalay's face. "It's just…well…one of them has…a scarred face. Burns."

Nejire shifted in place and made a nearly imperceptible sound.

Mitoma frowned. "Which? Girl or boy?"

"The girl."

"Oh!" The frown vanished. "How interesting! I have quite a few scarred males, but no scarred females. Hmm, no, this wouldn't be a problem at all. Refreshing, even."

"Alright." Mandalay made a show of sighing in relief.

"Was that all? I suppose getting access to clean specimens is more difficult in these times. I've had to change many of my own methods…but I imagine you know all about that, working at that hero base. Your colleagues are giving me a lot of trouble, you know."

"Well, there isn't much I can do about that. It's all I can do not to be discovered here. I fail to help them as much as I dare. If they find out that I'm planning to flee…"

"Hmm, yes…you are still privy on conversations of strategy, though? I assume?"

"Is…this about the thing you wanted me to help you with?"

"Yes." Renata Mitoma grinned, and turned the camera.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the space was the Hojos' envoy, the tall white-skinned person with the bug eyes. They were tied up and gagged, knelt on the floor. Three men stood behind them, and one held a gun to the back of their head.

Mandalay gasped. Mirko was writing something down furiously on her paper, and Tamaki had a lump in his throat.

The Skindancer came back into frame, in front of the hostage. "This creature was found in my territory. Teleported into it. Perhaps a Quirk malfunction, or simply an issue of range? Nevertheless, they surely came from your neck of the woods. Now…" She nodded to her men, and the one with the gun cocked it, preparing to fire. The envoy made a whimpering sound through the gag, and Mandalay covered her mouth in pale-faced shock.

"...My instincts lead me to believe that they are working for my Kijimi rivals, the Hojos. But they came…from your territory." Mitoma put on an expression of false innocence. "Therefore, what am I to think?"

Mandalay was frozen.

"Have you heroes been dealing with our mutual enemy behind my back?"

A test, thought Izuku. Whether she believes Mandalay is really a secret criminal or not, it's obvious that Mandalay hates what she's having to do, and Mitoma wants to make her hate it even more. To bully her.

"To unseat me and my empire?"

Izuku knew what he would do. He would save the life at any cost. But Sosaki has already compromised so much. In too deep…

"Have you taken up with one group of criminals in order to take out the other?"

The envoy was surely a criminal, too. A hero in Mandalay's generation could be expected to not even think twice about this situation. Some would let this go right away for the sake of the greater mission.

"Obviously, Hojo scum on my streets cannot stand, but…perhaps, if there's some other explanation…" The Skindancer held up a finger to her men. Time seemed to slow.

Nejire's hand grabbed Izuku's in a sudden, tight grip.

"Don't do it!" Mandalay blurted, throwing her own hand off her mouth. "Please!"

Izuku's heart pounded. Nejire's grasp on him slowly relaxed.

Mitoma's finger bent down. She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why might that be?"

"They're…they're not with the Hojos. They're with us," Mandalay lied. "It must have been a Quirk mistake, so…" She jammed her eyes shut. "Please. If my colleagues knew that I'd had this opportunity to fix things and had squandered it, I would be finished. Please spare their life. Return them to me and dock the price from my cut of the deal. I can find the rest of the money elsewhere."

Renata Mitoma smiled…and lowered her hand. The man with the gun pulled it away from the envoy's head and began to manually remove the bullets from the cartridge. The envoy closed their eyes, their shoulders sinking down in relief.

"Very well," said the Skindancer. "You have an interesting moral compass, Shino Sosaki. Very interesting."

"I'm still a hero," said Mandalay. "You cannot take that away from me."

"Whatever you say, dear. If that's all, then…7 PM tomorrow. See you then." A wink, and the call was cut.

Nejire let out a massive exhale. Tamaki slumped in his seat, totally drained from holding that tense quiet for so long.

Shakily, taking deep breaths, Shino Sosaki turned to look at the others, her eyes seeking for their reactions to everything they'd just seen.

"You did brilliantly," said Mirko, blunt as ever, "but you should have looked at the notes I was holding up a few times."

"I thought she was going to figure everything out for sure," said Nejire. "That was risky…lying about that messenger!"

"It wasn't a lie that has anything to do with our mission, at least," said Izuku.

"I couldn't let a person die like that, with all of you watching," Mandalay muttered. "I had to save them. I thought to myself…" Her eyes met Izuku's. "That it's what you would have done."