Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia. I only own my OCs and my story plots.
Lapis Lazuli
Chapter 3:
Dream Team... Not
Fukui Toshiaki, head of the Special Operations Force stands and walked to the front. "Allow me."
He presses a button to wake the computer and start up the slides, showcasing a map. "The place we are talking about is located between two big civilisations based in the Tohoku region. The Kasumi Nature Reserve, named after the fog lingering there in the early mornings and nighttime, the past few months has shown it to be shrouded in mist twenty-four seven."
The slide changes to show various images of a group of five people, shots taken from various different angles. "About four months ago, it has come to our attention that a group of villains had been having a hand in unauthorised research. After monitoring them for a couple weeks and evidence cross-references, we've concluded the suspicious activities in the Kasumi Nature Reserve is related to them since it had started happening around that time. This case has been transferred three times before it became the joint-collaboration it is now."
The next slide showed the severity of the mist covered reserve, and boy was it hard to see more than a few meters. "It has been gathered that people tend to lose their sense of direction once inside, internet signals and radio connections lost within the span of minutes. The mist also makes it nearly impossibly to see far and with the intelligent wolf pack including other inhabitants prowling about, investigations are harder to carry out smoothly."
"A couple weeks ago, with the help of All Might, we've managed to retrieve over half of the policemen and heroes that was declared MIA. However, they were unable to coherently confirm the happenings during the time period where they were missing. Medical reports showed missing blanks in memories and random blackouts, very little of the event was actually remembered. We've set up a barricade around the reserve to hopefully keep things in and also out, so it is currently off limits to all."
"On the other hand," He gestures to the Number two Hero. "Endeavour here is the only one so far who has showed no signs of being affected by any of the aforementioned symptoms. We suspect his Quirk might have something to do with it. All Might was only able to leave the nature reserve by taking to the sky, which not only cuts short exposure time to the mist, but also negate— to a certain extent— the issue with identifying directions. That would be the end of my summary. Any questions?"
I raised a hand. "What of gas masks?"
"Apparently, not only do they further limit field of vision, but they also do not work very well. Anything more than that is too bulky for the user and they'll become a literal sitting duck. Anything else?"
"Not at the moment." I replied and with that, he bows slightly and returned to his seat.
"And that concludes the case summary. We would need to eradicate these pink lilies before anything else could be done. Since they grow deep underground, our main two issues aside from the fog are the wolves and centipedes. Due to the fact that only All Might and Endeavour has proved capable of leaving the Kasumi Nature Reserve on their own, they will make up two of the three-man cell we have decided upon earlier. Tsukuda Rumi." He levelled his gaze on me. "You will be acting as their human GPS, with the least amount of encounters with the inhabitants, direct them to their target."
"Roger." I said.
"Stick close to Endeavour. His fire should minimise the negative effects of the mist." Scientific translation: Endeavour is our make-shift bunsen burner, ensure we all stay in that sterile zone to remain unaffected from the mist.
"Mission objective: Eradicate the pink lilies. It will begin tomorrow morning, nine sharp."
Mom is getting dinner ready while Dad is off in his study room filing out the highly detailed complaints on my attackers to ensure that they get the help they needed, mental or emotional-wise. Obviously, they had to had some issues, relatively normal people don't just go around hurting others for the mere reason your face don't sit well with them. ...That I know of anyway.
Since that one time I clashed with a gang in middle school and subsequently wiped the floor —single-handedly might I add— with them, I earned the nickname "sleeping dragon". Hence, getting accosted and chased by rival groups from other neighbourhood schools became a normal occurrence, unfortunately. It got so bad that I quickly became a famous hot topic within the police departments alongside the local hero agencies. By now, the number of times I got into a street-fight is almost directly proportional to the number of law enforcers I'm well familiar with, which is near countless.
Even with All Might and the rise of heroes, there are still a lot of common "bad guys" than one would think. Ranging from school bullies, gangs, thieves, molesters and so on, they are always around, waiting. Nothing much has changed compared to the pre-quirk era apart from the added ability to spring nasty surprises in the form of quirks on both ends.
Dad had made me sit in the room in silence while I go through the existing case files along with tomorrow's mission. I could still hardly believe I have to work with All Might and Endeavour. This by far, is the biggest case I've ever tackled. This teenage-case-cracking-job all started three years ago when I just entered high school, encountering a few detectives on a case after school and pointing out some evidence that could not be found unless you know exactly where to look— would have taken them ages to find and by the time they did, it would have been long gone.
Then the next one is a cold case that no one could solve for almost a good century. Afterwards, due to the accuracy of my intuition and with my dad as vouch, I've been requested to help solve many other cold cases or time-sensitive ones. Mom once mentioned we had been descendants of people liken to Shamans dating back to the pre-quirk era, our sixth sense most probably came from there. Now, it's just merely another Quirk amongst countless others.
"Dinner's ready." A knock came from the door before Mom retreats. Placing the file on the mahogany table, I heard shuffling of papers that indicates Dad is tidying up his work to set aside for the meantime, I scrambled to the living room where she is currently setting the table with food. Sliding into one of the seats just as Dad emerges from the office, running a hand over his face.
Dinner is a relatively silent affair, apart from the occasional light clinks of utensils made on the plates and bowls. Mom suddenly turns to me, narrow sapphire blue eyes piercing. "All is not what it seems, do not let down your guard. It's a free-for-all in there."
"And don't break formation." Dad chips in around a mouthful of rice and vegetables.
Least to say, I got myself my mom's Quirk. I nod once. "I won't."
With parents like mine, I never had secrets to hide and even if I did, it wouldn't be for long.
Author's note:
I have drawn Rumi and posted it on my tumblr account "kirakirabluemoon", do check it out! X3
~kirakira_bluemoon